CHICKEN PHILLY

Written By Devin Burns

Toasty, cheesy, chickeny! It’s the chicken philly of course.

What You’ll Need

  • 1 to 3 Chicken Breasts (Depending on how many people you are feeding)

  • 1 to 4 Hoagie Rolls (Depending on how many people you are feeding)

  • 1 to 2 Red Bell Peppers

  • 1/2 a White Onion

  • Cup of Button Mushrooms *Optional, I don’t like them but I’ve seen a lot of Philly’s use them

  • Cheese (Totally up to you. I used Pepper-Jack, but some people prefer Provolone, Cheddar or even American)

  • Salt & Pepper

  • Onion Powder

  • Garlic Powder

  • Paprika

  • Steak Seasoning

Let’s Get Cookin’

So first, go ahead and start preheating your oven to 450 degrees. It’s going to be used to toast up the bread and melt the cheese in the very end. A toaster oven can also work.

Next you’re going to want to cut up your veggies. For the bell pepper and onions, you’re going to want to cut them into strips. As far as bell peppers are concerned, this can be done by first cutting through the head of the bell pepper and then carefully cutting down through the the separated sections. Try to avoid getting any of the white parts (which is botanically called the placenta!). They’re kinda just tasteless and don’t have a good texture, but is safe to eat.

Now that you have all the sections cut, hold it flesh (not skin) side down and cut them into strips resembling the photo above. Set aside your bell pepper and onions for now as we move onto the chicken.

Now for the chicken you’re going to want to first slice through the chicken. You can do this by placing your hand on the top of the chicken breast and carefully sliding your knife through the meat of the chicken so you have two thinner cuts of the same breast. After that just cut them into strips and we’ll move to seasoning.

Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked or regular paprika and a little bit of steak seasoning. Like always I do not have exact measurements for you. Add enough so they look pretty decently coated in the seasoning mix. Additionally, you can also c off a singular strip in the pan and taste test that strip to determine if it is seasoned enough for you.

Now to cook the veggies.

Now heat up a pan on medium heat with a neutral oil like Peanut or Canola oil. I’d personally avoid Olive Oil as it has a relatively low smoke point, which means its burning and offsets the flavor.

Cook the veggies for a good 5 to 6 minutes or at least until the onions and bell peppers have softened a bit. Once cooked, set aside in a bowl or plate and we’ll cook the chicken in the same pan.

Crank the heat up to medium high and add a little bit more oil to the pan if it’s looking a little dry. The browning you see in this photo is what you are aiming for. This contains A LOT of flavor and looks visually appealing to plus. You don’t want the chicken to simply look white/slightly brown. Get in there and get a good sear!

Finally, cut open your Hoagie Rolls. Don’t cut them all the way through where you now have two pieces of bread. While it’s not the end of the world if you do, you’ll likely find a lot of the ingredients spilling out as you eat. And then you’ll basically be eating a deconstructed Philly cheese.

Fill your Hoagie Roll with chicken, then the veggies and then top with the cheese of your choice. Put the Hoagies in a baking sheet and shove them into the oven to toast up the bread and melt the cheese. Ovens vary, so keep a close eye on your Chicken Philly to prevent burning.

And there you have it, a Chicken Philly. In hind sight I added a little too much Pepper-Jack to mine (even Gordon Ramsay still makes mistakes, look at his grilled cheese video), but it was still super enjoyable.

Additional Topping/Condiments

So you can also add a variety of other things to this dish:

-Avocado

-Hot peppers (Jalapenos for example)

-Mushrooms (I didn’t use any but they are a popular addition to them)

-Mayo

-Lettuce

-Tomatoes

Quick Step-By-Step Guide

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

  2. Cut Veggies into Strips

  3. Cut Chicken into Strips

  4. Season Chicken with Salt/Pepper/Paprika/Onion Powder/Garlic Powder/Steak Seasoning

  5. Heat up pan on Medium Heat and cook Veggies for 5-6 minutes, then set aside

  6. Add a bit more oil to the same pan, crank up heat to Medium-High

  7. Add and cook the seasoned Chicken

  8. Add the Chicken, Veggies and Cheese to the Hoagie Roll

  9. Place constructed Philly’s on a baking sheet and throw into the preheated Oven

  10. Carefully watch the Philly’s until they are toasted and the cheese is melted to your preferences

Devin Burns
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