Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

I have invented about six different incarnations of Buffalo chicken. We love it and miss it so-- no wing joints in Switzerland. The addition of the olive sauce and shredded cabbage makes a nice, ever so slight improvement to the classic Buffalo chicken sandwich.

1 cup shredded white cabbage
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
30 small olives with pimento, diced
4 medium cornichons or 1 large, whole Klaussen dill pickle, diced
Mayo to taste
A two-inch square of dry Gorgonzola, Roquefort or blue cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoons vegetable oil or Pam
4 cups cooked chicken meat, shredded (see below for poaching directions)
Buffalo sauce-- I prefer Texas Pete Buffalo Style Chicken Wing BBQ Sauce
4 large, soft white sandwich rolls-- super fresh and good quality, this is key

1) You can use left-over cooked chicken or buy a rotisserie bird from the market, (just try to get one that is natural, not marinated or the end result might be too salty.) You can also quickly and easily poach your own chicken breasts: Place four boneless, skinless, raw chicken breasts in a pot, cover with cool water, put a lid on it and set it over medium-high heat. Bring to a strong simmer then reduce the heat to keep it just simmering (covered or not-- doesn’t matter). Cook for 30 minutes. Remove from the water, allow to cool, then shred the meat.

2) Toss the cabbage with salt and set in a colander on the sink for 30-60 minutes. This will draw out excess water and soften the cabbage a bit, while still leaving some crunch. You can skip this step if you like the super crunch of cabbage.

3) Either chop by hand or process in a food processor the olives and pickle. The mixture should be 1 part pickle to 1.5 parts olive. Once chopped, stir in by hand, the mayo and then the crumbled blue cheese. Cover and set in the fridge until ready to use (can be made up to a day in advance)

4) Set a large non-stick skillet over high heat and add in the oil or spray with Pam. Sauté all the shredded chicken at once-- you are just heating it through, maybe crisping it up a bit. After 2 minutes, add in Buffalo sauce to your liking (the more you add the spicier it will be). Incorporate sauce fully into all the meat.

5) Slice the rolls and spread the top half with the olive/pickle/blue cheese spread. Place ¼ of the cabbage on the bottom half. Mound the Buffalo chicken on top of the cabbage and serve piping hot!

Makes four large, messy sandwiches