Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Brown Sugar Grilled Onions

If there is one thing that our incredibly long winter did to me (aside from making me curse a lot more than usual and start dreaming about moving to a warmer place), it made me pine for grilled foods of all kinds. Pretty much the second that the weather finally turned warm for good, Joe replaced the grill's propane tank, and we started cooking outside more often than not. We have been grilling All The Things, and these sandwiches are one of our recent favorites.

I had a craving for BBQ chicken sandwiches with pickles, and then I thought, why not add some onions to those sandwiches? And why not coat those with brown sugar and grill those, too? And why not add tons of cheese and, also, why not butter the buns and grill those as well? Sometimes I love the way my mind works. 

Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Brown Sugar Grilled Onions

4 chicken breasts
1 cup Italian dressing
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Juice of 1 orange
2 teaspoons chili powder
BBQ sauce

1 large sweet Vidalia onion, sliced into thick rings
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 sandwich buns
Butter
Sliced pickles
Mayonnaise

1. In a large food storage bag, combine the dressing, Worcestershire, orange juice, and chili powder. Add the chicken, close the bag, and toss to combine. Marinate for 1 hour, up to overnight.

2. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Toss together the onion rings, olive oil, brown sugar, and salt and pepper in a bowl.

3. Add the chicken and the onions to the grill. Cook until the onions are tender and charred and the chicken is cooked through. Brush both sides of the chicken generously with BBQ sauce.

4. Top each of the chicken breasts with a pile of the onions. Add 1/4 cup cheese to each breast. Close the grill and let the cheese melt.

5. Butter the buns and add them to the grill, cooking until crisp and fragrant. Serve each chicken breast on a bun with pickles and mayonnaise.