Walk into almost any shop with a hot counter in Ireland, from a city newsagent to a petrol station on a country road, and you will find a queue for the chicken fillet roll. A breaded chicken breast, chosen plain or spicy, is sliced into a crusty roll and finished from a long row of fillings while you watch: butter, mayonnaise, lettuce, grated cheese, perhaps bacon or the pink deli dressing everybody calls taco sauce. It is a relatively recent arrival, a fixture of the last couple of decades rather than a dish handed down from grandmothers, and it has comfortably been named Ireland's favourite deli food.

It feeds students, builders, office workers and anyone heading home late, and it has a well earned reputation as the morning after cure. The Irish talk about it with the affection other countries keep for their national dishes, and argue about the correct fillings with the same heat. Order with confidence: there is no wrong answer, only someone behind you in the queue with a different one.

Making the chicken yourself turns it into something rather special: juicy, crunchy and properly seasoned. Built in a few minutes and eaten in fewer, it is the ideal race weekend lunch, held in one hand while the other reaches for the remote at the restart.

Crisp breaded chicken fillets

Ingredients

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup (65 g) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk
• 1 1/2 cups (90 g) panko breadcrumbs
• 1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper or hot chili powder
• about 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil

Method

1. Lay each breast flat on the board, put your palm on top and slice it in half horizontally to make two thinner fillets. Put the fillets between two sheets of plastic wrap and tap them with the rolling pin, working from the middle outward, until each is an even 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick.
2. In the first dish, mix the flour with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. In the second, beat the eggs and milk with a fork until smooth. Put the panko in the third. For spicy fillets, stir the cayenne into the flour mix.
3. Using your dry hand, press each fillet into the flour on both sides and shake off the excess. Drop it into the egg, turn it with your wet hand and let the excess drip off. Lay it in the crumbs and use your dry hand to press crumbs firmly all over it. Set the coated fillets on the clean plate.
4. Pour oil into the frying pan to a depth of about 1/4 inch (5 mm) and heat over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Test it by dropping in a pinch of crumbs.
5. Lay two fillets in the oil, placing them away from you so any splashes go the other way. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until the underside is golden, then turn them carefully with tongs and fry for 3 minutes more. Move them to the wire rack and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Fry the other two the same way.

Garlic mayonnaise

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120 g) mayonnaise
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method

1. Stir the mayonnaise, garlic and lemon juice together in the small bowl. Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed, then leave it to stand while you fry the chicken so the garlic can mellow.

Building the rolls

Ingredients

• 4 demi baguettes or crusty sub rolls
• 2 tablespoons (30 g) soft salted butter
• 2 cups (100 g) iceberg lettuce
• 1 cup (100 g) sharp Cheddar
• 4 rashers crisp cooked bacon
• to serve tomato ketchup, barbecue sauce or hot sauce

Method

1. While the second batch of chicken fries, put the rolls in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Split each one along one side with the bread knife, leaving the other side joined like a hinge.
2. Spread the inside of each roll thinly with butter, then spread a generous spoonful of garlic mayonnaise along the bottom half.
3. Slice each fillet across into strips about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, as the delis do, and lay them along the roll. Scatter grated Cheddar over the hot chicken so it begins to soften, then add bacon if using.
4. Push a handful of shredded lettuce along the top, add a squeeze of any sauce you like, close the roll firmly and wrap the bottom half in a napkin or paper. Eat straight away.

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