Chicken parm subs

Ingredients

Sauce

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; ½ tsp if Morton)
• 6 fresh basil leaves, torn (optional)

Cutlets

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2½ lb)
• 1½ tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; 1 tsp if Morton)
• ½ tsp black pepper

Breading

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 cups Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan

Fry

• About 3 cups vegetable oil (¼ inch deep in a 12-inch skillet)

Subs

• 8 Italian sub or hoagie rolls, about 8 inches (or 2 long Italian loaves, cut into 4 each)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella, sliced ¼ inch thick
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Steps

At home

1. Make the sauce: warm the oil and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat 2 minutes, until it smells good but hasn't browned. Add the tomatoes, oregano, pepper flakes and salt and simmer 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick enough to hold a line when you drag a spoon through it. Stir in the basil.
2. While it simmers, slice each breast in half horizontally into 2 thin cutlets. Pound them between sheets of plastic wrap to an even ½ inch. Season both sides with the salt and pepper.
3. Set up three wide dishes: the flour; the eggs beaten with the milk; and the breadcrumbs mixed with the Parmesan. Dredge each cutlet in the flour, dip it in the egg and let it drip, then press it into the crumbs on both sides. Set them on a wire rack 10 minutes so the coating sets.
4. Heat the oil in a heavy 12-inch skillet to 350°F. Fry the cutlets 2 or 3 at a time, 3 to 4 minutes a side, until deep golden and the thickest part reads 165°F. Drain them on the rack and let the oil come back to 350°F between batches.
5. Split the rolls, brush the cut sides with the olive oil and toast them cut side down in a dry skillet or under the broiler, 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Cool them and pack them in a bag at room temperature.
6. To carry hot, fill a cooler with hot water for 10 minutes, then pour it out and line it with a towel. Spread the hot cutlets in foil pans in a single layer, check that they still read 165°F, and cover the pans with foil, leaving one corner cracked so steam escapes. Bring the sauce back to a boil and pour it into a preheated insulated jug or a lidded pot wrapped in a towel. Set both in the cooler, cover them with a second towel and close it. Nothing cold goes in it. The mozzarella and parsley ride in the cold cooler at 40°F or below.

At the lot

7. Keep the hot cooler shut until you're ready to build. Check a cutlet from the middle of the pan and the sauce: both should read 140°F or above.
8. Heat the grill to medium. Open each roll and lay a cutlet on it, spoon sauce over and top with mozzarella. Set the open subs on a sheet of foil on the grates, close the lid and heat 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese melts. Check the bottoms after 3 minutes so the bread doesn't scorch.
9. Scatter the parsley, close the subs and serve them. Cooked chicken sits out no more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F.

Cook ahead

10. Make everything through step 5 the night before. Cool the cutlets on the rack, cool the sauce in a shallow container, and refrigerate both within 2 hours.
11. Build the subs cold: on each roll, a cutlet, a thin layer of sauce and the mozzarella. Close them and wrap each one tightly in foil. Refrigerate them, then carry them in the cooler at 40°F or below, above any raw meat. Jar the rest of the sauce.
12. At the lot, heat the grill to medium, about 350°F, and set up for indirect heat. Set the foil-wrapped subs on the cool side, close the lid and heat them 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until a thermometer pushed through the foil into the middle of a cutlet reads 165°F. Warm the extra sauce in a small pan on the hot side until it bubbles, and spoon it on at the table.