Late at night and early into the morning, I can usually be found sitting at the kitchen table with my latest novel.
This one particular night/morning, the characters were talking about bringing lunch back for a friend, who promptly asked for the chicken sandwich with pineapple.
Hmmm.
Off to da google I went, and came across a version of this on allrecipes.com.
INGREDIENTS
Marinade:
•1 (8 oz) can pineapple tidbits with juice
•1 cup lower sodium Tamari
•1 tsp onion powder
•2 tbsp sugar
•1/4 cup lemon juice
•2 tbsp barbeque sauce
•1/2 tsp curry powder
Chicken:
•Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Sammich:
•Everything brioche rolls
•Thousand Island Dressing
•Sliced pineapple
•Provolone cheese
•Shredded lettuce
Combine the marinade ingredients together (an immersion blender works a treat here) and pour over the chicken in a glass container with a tight fitting cover.
Note: most recipes I came across called for boneless, skinless chicken breast that was pounded to a uniform thickness; bit I think that boneless, skinless thighs have more flavor, and they are already kinda burger shaped, so did not bother with the whole pounding to a uniform thickness bit.
Cover the chicken and stash in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.
Note: if you like, once marinated, you can grill your chicken, but I opted for my trusty air fryer.
Heat your air fryer to 400º.
Note: I am on my third air fryer, and they all work a bit differently. My current model seems to work best at 400º and needs to preheat. By all means go by your experience with your model for cooking temps and all.
Line your cooking basket/tray with parchment paper, then remove the chicken from the marinade and arrange in a single layer. My air fryer is pretty big, so I added some frozen sweet potato fries.
Air fry the chicken for 12 minutes, then turn them over, place a slice of pineapple on each piece, and air fry for another eight minutes or so, until cooked.
Top each piece with Provolone and air fry just until the cheese is melted.
To serve, toast your rolls, then spread with Thousand Island dressing. Top with the chicken, pineapple, cheese, and lettuce.