Vegan Buffalo Ranch Chick’n Sandwich

This Vegan Buffalo Ranch Chick’n Sandwich features crunchy Fried Mushrooms, Buffalo Infused Breading, Homemade Ranch and Pickles! What’s not to love eh?

I love Buffalo Chick’n! One thing I’ve noticed however, is that sometimes after frying, if you coat the Chick’n in Buffalo sauce, it sometimes will lose it’s CRUNCH. So I got to thinking, what if we infused the buffalo flavor into the breading itself? And the results are AMAZING! I’m really happy with how this turned out and can’t wait to experiment more with infusing the breading with different kinds of flavors.

Buffalo Sauce & seasoning

The two ingredients that help out tremendously are Frank’s Buffalo Sauce and also Frank’s Seasoning. If you can find them you’re in business! If not, you can make your own Buffalo Sauce by combining Frank’s regular hot sauce (or the closest vinegar based hot sauce you can find) with equal parts vegan butter. All you gotta do is melt it over medium heat until the butter and Frank’s become one beautiful sauce.

If you can’t get the seasoning, then just use some Cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt to your liking. Should do the trick!

the shrooms

Oyster Mushrooms can be found at most Asian Markets, and I can find them at my local Whole Foods, and even at some of the other big chain markets. They are relatively inexpensive (I found mine for $6 a pound which sound expensive, but a half pound will make a TON of Fried Chick’n so it goes a long way).

This is what they look like…

All you need to do to cook these is make a dredging station and fry them! That’s it!

Now one thing we are doing differently is marinating them in a Buffalo Buttermilk mixture. The reason for this is they can sometimes be chewy and tough towards the stems and core, so marinating them for 30 minutes or so will help break them down a bit. While they are marinating, we’re gonna whip up a Vegan Ranch! Obviously you can use storebought if you want, but I really liked the homemade better!

All I did was veganize this recipe and adjust the seasonings a bit. I also used lactic acid instead of lemon.

Air Fryer Option

If you want to Air Fry these, you can! Just do a single dredge instead of a double (you can probably half the dry batter) and then Air Fry at 380 F for 6 minutes, flip and repeat until done! I also recommend spraying them with cooking spray when you put them in and after flipping, you don’t want to see any dry flour.

If you want to use parchment paper to ensure they don’t stick to the Air Fryer, just poke some holes in it so the air can get through. Don’t preheat your Air Fryer with the parchment paper however, as it can fly up into the coils and start a fire!

TIPS FOR VEGAN FRIED CHICK’N

• Use a heavy bottomed pot (Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Carbon Steel etc)
• I highly recommend a Deep Fry Thermometer to monitor the oil temp.
• Use a neutral tasting, high smoke point oil (Canola, Vegetable, Peanut etc.)
• Make sure to use UNSWEETENED plant milk. I like RIPPLE the best.
• Add flour as needed to thicken the vegan buttermilk mixture.
• Shake off the excess flour and batter when you dredge.
• Fry a test nugget to test the seasoning and adjust as needed.
• Let the chick’n rest on a Wire Rack after frying to prevent soggy chick’n.

SAFETY TIPS FOR DEEP FRYING

• Don’t leave the pot unattended.
• Keep children away from the pot.
• Don’t fill the pot more than halfway with oil. Don’t overcrowd it as well.
• Turn the handles of the pot away from you to avoid accidental spills.
• Keep a lid nearby so you can cover the pot if it catches fire.
• Never use water to put out an oil fire.
• Get a Fire Extinguisher just to be extra safe. This isn’t just good for deep frying, but for having in the house in general!

DEEP FRY ALTERNATIVES

If you want to see about alternatives to deep frying, check out my BEST WAYS TO FRY VEGAN CHICKEN post!

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