Name: Pulled Buffalo Chicken Melts
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage; 2 celery ribs, sliced thin; 2 scallions, sliced thin; ½ cup bottled blue cheese salad dressing; ½ teaspoon table salt, divided; 8 tablespoons unsalted butter; 3 garlic cloves, minced; ½ cup Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce; 1 (2½-pound) rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups); 4 brioche hamburger buns, toasted; 4 slices cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

Why This Recipe Works

Starting with a rotisserie chicken dramatically reduced the time it took to get these sandwiches on the table; the shredded dark and white meat readily soaked up the buffalo sauce in the minute it spent warming through. Cooking the garlic in butter before whisking in the hot sauce mellowed its bite and built a richer, more cohesive sauce. We broiled the sandwiches open-faced with the cheddar positioned on top: cheddar’s sharpness stood up to the heat of the buffalo sauce without losing its sharp nuttiness. Tossing the cabbage, celery, and scallions with blue cheese dressing rather than a vinaigrette-based slaw dressing echoed the classic buffalo chicken flavor combination while adding a cool, creamy contrast that kept each bite from being one-dimensional.

Before You Begin

Coleslaw mix can be used in place of the red cabbage. Choose a high-quality blue cheese dressing for this recipe; we like Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese. Serve with jarred sliced jalapeños for extra spice.

Instructions

Combine cabbage, celery, scallions, dressing, and ¼ teaspoon salt in bowl.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until light golden, about 3 minutes. Whisk in hot sauce and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and bring to simmer. Stir in chicken and cook, stirring, until warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Adjust oven rack 8 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Arrange bun bottoms on rimmed baking sheet. Divide chicken mixture evenly among bun bottoms. Top each with 1 slice cheddar, then broil until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Divide cabbage mixture among sandwiches. Cover with bun tops. Serve.