Description
Chicken and waffles is one of those combinations that sounds wrong until you try it, and then you wonder why every meal is not built this way. Crispy fried chicken on a fluffy waffle, drizzled with maple syrup and maybe a dab of hot sauce — the sweet, salty, crunchy, and soft hitting every note at once. It is brunch food, dinner food, and late-night food, and it has been a staple of the American South and Harlem soul food joints for generations.
Ingredients
Units
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying (about 3 cups)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pure maple syrup for serving
- Hot sauce for serving
Instructions
- Combine buttermilk and hot sauce. Add chicken thighs, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Make the waffle batter: whisk 2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring until just mixed. Do not overmix — lumps are fine.
- Mix the remaining 2 cups flour with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper in a shallow dish.
- Remove chicken from buttermilk, letting excess drip off. Dredge in the seasoned flour, pressing firmly to coat.
- Heat oil in a deep cast iron skillet or Dutch oven to 350°F. Fry the chicken in batches for 6 to 7 minutes per side until deep golden brown and cooked through. Drain on a wire rack.
- While the chicken fries, cook the waffles in a preheated waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions until golden and crispy.
- Serve each waffle topped with 2 pieces of fried chicken. Drizzle generously with maple syrup and a dash of hot sauce.
Notes
- The buttermilk marinade is doing double duty — tenderizing the chicken and creating a tacky surface for the flour to adhere to.
- Frying at 350°F is the sweet spot. Too hot and the outside burns before the inside cooks. Too cool and the chicken absorbs oil and turns greasy.
- Crispy waffles are critical. A limp waffle under fried chicken collapses into mush. If your waffle iron does not make crispy waffles, toast them briefly after cooking.
- Prep Time: 150 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Southern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 780
- Sugar: 18
- Sodium: 900
- Fat: 38
- Carbohydrates: 62
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 48
- Cholesterol: 195