Buffalo Chicken Sandwich -- The Burger That Held Us Together on a Loose June Day

Summer is settling in, pandemic version. The kids are home and the routine is looser now — no remote school, no laptops at the kitchen table, just the long days of a Nebraska June stretched over a world that is still uncertain. Tyler and Justin go to the pool most afternoons. Josie rides her bike. Amber reads and babysits the Hendersons when they ask, masked, because the Hendersons are nurses and the irony of a babysitter wearing a mask to protect nurses' children from a virus that nurses are fighting is not lost on anyone, but we have all stopped noting ironies because the ironies are infinite and noting them is exhausting.

I drove to Lincoln and back mid-week. The roads are filling up again — not to pre-pandemic levels but enough that the emptiness of April feels like a memory. People are moving. The trucks never stopped. The trucks were the heartbeat under the silence, and the heartbeat is still beating, and I am the heartbeat, and the metaphor is dramatic but so is driving an eighteen-wheeler through a pandemic, so I am allowing the drama.

Justin has been lifting weights in the garage. Dave set up a bench and a bar and some plates — nothing fancy, the kind of home gym that looks like it was assembled from a yard sale, because it was assembled from a yard sale. Justin lifts every morning before the heat makes the garage unbearable. He is preparing for football — high school football, GISH football, the real thing. He will be a freshman in the fall, and the fall feels like a distant country right now, and the country may or may not have football, but Justin is lifting as if it will, and the lifting is the faith, and the faith is the exercise.

I made burgers on the grill — Dave grilled, I assembled. Thick patties, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup, sesame buns. The burgers were the June standard, the weekly burger that we eat on the patio with paper plates and no pretense. Tyler ate two. Justin ate two and a half (the half was Tyler's, stolen when Tyler turned his head, and the theft was silent and effective and went unpunished because the evidence was consumed).

Those burgers Dave grilled were exactly what June called for — nothing fancy, just food that earns its place on a paper plate in the heat. We’ve been leaning into that all-American patio energy hard this summer, and the week after I got back from Lincoln I wanted to keep that same spirit going but shake up the routine a little. This Buffalo Chicken Sandwich has become my answer to that: still grill-friendly, still built for hungry boys who will absolutely steal each other’s food, but with enough kick to remind everyone that summer isn’t just about going through the motions — it’s still worth showing up for.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each), pounded to even thickness
• 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 4 brioche or sesame sandwich buns, split and toasted
• 4 leaves romaine or iceberg lettuce
• 4 slices tomato
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or ranch dressing, for serving
• Sliced pickles, optional

Instructions

1. Make the buffalo sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the buffalo hot sauce, melted butter, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set aside 1/4 cup for serving.
2. Season and oil the chicken. Brush chicken breasts on both sides with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Grill the chicken. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Place chicken on the grill and cook for 6–7 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
4. Baste with sauce. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, brush the chicken generously with the buffalo sauce mixture, flipping once so both sides get coated and slightly caramelized.
5. Toast the buns. While the chicken rests, place the split buns cut-side down on the grill for 1–2 minutes until lightly golden.
6. Assemble the sandwiches. Place a sauced chicken breast on each toasted bun bottom. Top with lettuce, tomato, and pickles if using. Drizzle with the reserved buffalo sauce and add blue cheese crumbles or a spoonful of ranch dressing. Cap with the top bun and serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 42g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 980mg