I consider myself a fried chicken sandwich aficionado, bordering on sommelier. I’ve eaten countless fried chicken cutlets and I can tell you that the Popeyes chicken sandwich is one of the best. That said, it’s a gamble to order one delivered to your door. The moisture that can build up in the bag really destroys some of the best qualities, including the much-vaunted crispy crust. It’s a risk you simply shouldn’t take. I consider it my great duty and honor to present to you the secrets of how to make the best Popeyes chicken sandwich at home.

The Popeyes chicken sandwich seems basic—on paper. It’s a breaded, fried chicken breast in a soft bun with mayonnaise (or spicy mayo) and a few slices of pickle. Its greatness, however, is achieved with two key details. The chicken, of course. It needs to be perfectly juicy on the inside (easily achieved with a buttermilk marinade) with a rugged landscape of crispy batter surrounding it. Less obvious is the importance of the bun. You’d think any hamburger bun would do, but there’s a decidedly correct choice here. I’ll get into that at the end, and how to make it right.

The internet will tell you all about the secret recipe for seasoning the marinade, or the "right" combination of spices and hot sauce, but I truly believe that those factors play a minimal role compared to the basic treatment of the chicken and the bun. Follow these steps and you'll have a Popeye's chicken sandwich that Popeye would be jealous of. Here we go.

Place a whole, raw chicken breast, about 8 ounces, on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to split it open to create two thinner pieces of chicken. If you leave the chicken breast whole, it will take forever to cook through when you fry it, which will likely cause it to over-brown on the outside. And trust me, a whole fried chicken breast is surprisingly just too much for a well-balanced fried chicken sandwich. Trust me, I’m an FCS sommelier, remember? Now let’s move on to the marinade.