Why pull the chicken at 155°F instead of 165°F?

Food safety is about time at temperature. Chicken held at 155°F for under a minute achieves the same pathogen reduction as 165°F. Pulling at 155°F and resting 3–5 minutes lets carryover cooking finish the job while keeping the breast juicier.

Grilled Chick-fil-a Club Sandwich

Name: Grilled Chick-fil-a Club Sandwich
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 large chicken breasts; 1 cup pickle juice (Holme’s Made Dad’s Spicy Dill); Texas Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for searing); 1/2 cup Duke’s mayonnaise; 1/4 cup Big Rick’s Jalapeño Honey Mustard; 2 tbsp Firebug Mild Grillin’ Sauce; 4 slices bacon; 4 slices Colby Jack cheese; Green leaf lettuce; Tomato, thinly sliced; 4 brioche or potato buns

Feb 25, 2026 • Tom Jackson

This Grilled Chicken Sandwich Chick-fil-A Style delivers everything you crave: smoky grilled chicken, crispy bacon, melty Colby Jack, and a tangy-sweet signature sauce—all cooked over hickory on the Yoder Smokers YS640S. The secret starts with a pickle juice brine that tenderizes the chicken and builds flavor all the way through. Pounding the breasts thin ensures even cooking from end to end and a juicy bite every time.

Cooked hot and fast at 425°F on a preheated griddle, the chicken develops a beautiful sear before being topped with cheese and gently steamed to melt. Crisp bacon adds richness, while fresh lettuce and tomato keep the sandwich bright and balanced. The homemade sauce—a blend of Duke’s mayo, Big Rick’s Jalapeño Honey Mustard, and Firebird Mild Grillin’ Sauce—brings that classic sweet barbecue flavor with just enough kick.

It’s a backyard-friendly sandwich that’s simple enough for weeknights and satisfying enough for weekend cooks.

What You’ll Love About This Recipe

Pickle-brined chicken for extra tenderness and flavor
Even cooking thanks to properly pounded breasts
Hickory-fired flavor from the pellet grill
Creamy, sweet, and tangy signature sauce
Crispy bacon and melty Colby Jack
Easy to prep ahead for weeknight grilling

Grilled Chick-fil-a Club Sandwich

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

4

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Calories

720

A smoky, pickle-brined grilled chicken sandwich stacked with bacon, Colby Jack, and a sweet-tangy signature sauce.

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Ingredients

Chicken & Brine

2 large chicken breasts
1 cup pickle juice (Holme’s Made Dad’s Spicy Dill)
Texas Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for searing)

Sauce

1/2 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
1/4 cup Big Rick’s Jalapeño Honey Mustard
2 tbsp Firebug Mild Grillin’ Sauce

Sandwich Build

4 slices bacon
4 slices Colby Jack cheese
Green leaf lettuce
Tomato, thinly sliced
4 brioche or potato buns

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Directions

Start by pounding the chicken breasts to an even thickness. This ensures the thinner tail and thicker end cook at the same rate and stay juicy throughout. Place the chicken in a vacuum bag or sealed container and add enough pickle juice to coat. Seal and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight for deeper flavor penetration.
Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640S with hickory pellets to 350°F and install the wood fired oven. Arrange bacon on a rack over a sheet pan and cook until rendered and lightly crisp, about 8–15 minutes depending on thickness. Remember it will firm up as it cools.
Increase grill temperature to 425°F. Preheat a skillet or griddle inside the oven. Add a thin layer of Texas Olive Ranch EVOO or duck fat to prevent sticking. Remove the chicken from the brine and discard the liquid. No additional seasoning is needed—the brine has already done the work.
Lay the chicken flat on the hot surface. Because it’s evenly pounded, it should sit flush against the griddle. Sear until golden, then flip and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 155°F. Thinner pieces may finish sooner—pull them as they hit temp. Carryover cooking will safely bring them to 165°F while resting.
Top each hot piece with Colby Jack cheese. Add a small splash of water to the griddle and cover loosely with a pan to trap steam. In 30–60 seconds, the cheese will melt perfectly without overcooking the chicken.
While the grill cools slightly, scrape and clean the griddle surface while it’s still warm, then apply a light coat of oil to maintain seasoning.
Mix together the mayonnaise, jalapeño honey mustard, and Firebird Mild Grillin’ Sauce until smooth. Chill until ready to use.
To build the sandwiches, spread sauce on both sides of the bun. Add lettuce first to create a moisture barrier, then tomato, the grilled chicken with melted cheese, and crispy bacon. Cap with the top bun and serve immediately.

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Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

How long should I brine the chicken in pickle juice?

A minimum of 2 hours gives you noticeable tenderness and flavor, but overnight (up to 24 hours) delivers significantly more depth — the acidity has more time to work through the muscle fiber and the brine flavor penetrates all the way in rather than just sitting near the surface. Don't go beyond 24 hours; extended brining in an acidic liquid starts to break down the protein texture in a way that turns mushy rather than tender.

Why pull the chicken at 155°F instead of the USDA-recommended 165°F?

Food safety is about time at temperature, not a single number. Chicken held at 155°F for just under a minute achieves the same pathogen reduction as an instant hit of 165°F. Pulling at 155°F and resting for 3–5 minutes allows carryover cooking to safely finish the job while keeping the breast juicier than it would be at 165°F. Use a reliable instant-read thermometer and pull the thinner pieces first as they hit temperature.

Why does pounding the chicken matter?

Chicken breasts are significantly thicker at one end than the other. If you grill them as-is, the thin tail cooks to 165°F — and keeps cooking — while the thick end is still at 140°F. Pounding to an even thickness means the entire breast hits your target temperature at roughly the same time, so no part of the sandwich is overcooked or undercooked. It also ensures the chicken sits flush on the griddle surface, which improves sear and reduces cooking time.

What does the steam-melt method do for the cheese?

Adding a small splash of water to the griddle and covering loosely traps steam around the cheese, melting it quickly and evenly without requiring additional cooking time on the chicken. Without steam, you'd either have to keep the chicken on heat long enough to melt the cheese — risking dryness — or serve with partially melted cheese. The steam melt takes 30–60 seconds and produces a fully coated, glossy melt every time.

Can I cook this Indoors?

We rate this a 3 out of 5 for cooking indoors. Works indoors with adjustments, but the grill is recommended. The entire technique — griddle sear, steam melt, oven-cooked bacon — can be replicated on a stovetop cast iron skillet and conventional oven. What you give up is the hickory smoke that filters through the pellet grill during the cook, which adds a subtle background flavor to the chicken that a kitchen can't reproduce.

Recipe Highlights & Insights

Pickle juice brining is the technique that makes this sandwich taste distinctly like its inspiration. The acidity tenderizes the chicken at a structural level — not just softening the surface — while the salt, dill, and garlic flavor from the brine penetrate throughout the breast. Holmes Made Dad's Spicy Dill Pickles produces a brine that's already well-seasoned and slightly spiced, so it does double duty as a flavor carrier and tenderizer.
The sauce — Duke's mayo, Big Rick's Jalapeño Honey Mustard, and Firebug Mild Grillin' Sauce — is designed to taste like the Chick-fil-A sauce profile: sweet, tangy, smoky, and creamy in one condiment. Duke's contributes rich eggy fat, the jalapeño honey mustard brings sweetness and a mild kick, and Firebug adds the BBQ note. Mixed together they're better than any of the three individually, and the ratio matters — adjust to taste but start with the proportions as written.
Cooking bacon on a rack over a sheet pan at 350°F in the wood fired oven renders the fat from all sides simultaneously rather than frying it in its own grease. The result is evenly crisped bacon without the hot spots and spattering of a stovetop pan. It also frees up the griddle and keeps the cook organized — the bacon goes in first at 350°F while you prep everything else, then you raise the temp to 425°F for the chicken.
Placing the lettuce directly on the bottom bun before the tomato creates a moisture barrier that prevents the bun from going soggy. It's a small assembly detail that makes a real difference if the sandwich is going to sit for even a few minutes before being eaten. Sauce on both bun halves, lettuce on the bottom, tomato on the lettuce, chicken on top — the order is deliberate and worth following.