Chicken & Waffles with Spicy Honey!

Being from the South, I am no stranger to the concept of chicken & waffles.  My family never ate it, but I knew it existed, and ordered it when I went out to brunch if I found it on the menu.

I never made it at home because the process is cumbersome and frying chicken is just a pain in the ass no matter how you slice it.

That is... until I got an air fryer... and discovered a waffle batter I could make the night before.  This has changed the chicken & waffle game forever!

If you don't have an air fryer, don't dismay!  Just cook the chicken in the oven at 400 on a cookie sheet lined with a rack.  I would think about 20 minutes would do the trick!

I fry the chicken and make the waffle batter the day before I want to serve this.  Both recipes are easy and you don't need to keep anything fussy in the pantry to make this.

Let's start with the chicken, since it's the most involved process.

Some classic recipes call for bone-in chicken pieces.  I think this makes the finished dish difficult to eat.  I like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  That way when you eat the finished product, it cuts well with a knife.

I always marinate my chicken in buttermilk and hot sauce.  Overnight marination yields the best results, but usually I only have time to let it marinate an hour or two in the ice box- and that's good enough.

I usually do 6-8 thighs at a time.  I put them in a pyrex pie dish and put enough buttermilk in with them to cover.  Put some hot sauce in with them (however much you want)- I've used sriracha, Texas Pete, Cholula... it really doesn't matter.  Cover the dish with plastic wrap and put it in the icebox for however long you can afford.

Find a gallon ziploc bag or a big paper grocery sack.  In the bag place:
1.5 cups all purpose flour
.5 cup cornstarch or tapioca flour or potato flour
1 teaspoon turmeric
.5 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder

Put everything in the bag and shake it to mix it all up.  If you don't have all the spices, don't worry about it!  Use whichever ones you have!

I use my air fryer to make the chicken, so I take the two racks out and spray them down with non-stick cooking spray.  I put a piece of parchment paper on the counter to make clean up easier, then put the two racks on the piece of parchment paper.

Take the chicken out of the ice box.  Pull one thigh out of the buttermilk- do not remove the excess buttermilk!  This makes the crunchity awesome crust!  Put the piece of chicken in the bag with the dredge ingredients and shake it around until it is completely covered in the flour mixture.  Put the piece of chicken on one of the 2 racks.  Lightly spray the piece of chicken with olive oil, or the same spray you sprayed your racks with. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken thighs, making sure not to crowd them on the racks.  If you have to, cook the chicken in 2 batches.

Set the air fryer to 375 and cook the chicken for 10 minutes.  Take the trays out and switch them, and cook for another 12 minutes.   Chicken is fully cooked when an instant read thermometer hits 165 degrees!

I take the chicken out and put the pieces on a cookie sheet fitted with a rack, then cover with plastic wrap and put in the ice box until the next morning.

Now- let's tackle the waffles!

I did not create this recipe, but I swear I don't remember where I found it.  If anyone recognizes it, then please let me know so I can give proper credit to its creator!

Yeasted Waffle Batter:

1.75 cups milk, warmed
2.25 teaspoons yeast (I used active dry, but whatever you have will work)
2 cups all purpose flour
.25 cups cornmeal
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
.5 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
.5 teaspoon baking soda

In a medium bowl put the warm milk (I usually nuke mine for about 40 seconds) and the yeast.  Stir it up a little and let it sit out on the counter for about 5 minutes.
Then, add the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, salt, eggs, and baking soda.  Mix well, then incorporate the melted butter.  Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter overnight.

When you want to serve the chicken & waffles:

Reheat the chicken pieces in the air fryer on 375 for about 5 minutes.
Heat your waffle iron and make the waffles.  In my waffle iron, this made about 8 waffles.  The batter is really thick- so make them however big you want them.

To serve, put a waffle down on a plate, then top with a piece of chicken.  You can eat this with plain old maple syrup, but I like to make it slightly more complex...

I mix about a quarter of a cup of honey with a few shakes of hot sauce and heat it in the microwave.  Then I drizzle the spicy honey over the chicken and the waffle.  Use whatever floats your boat!


Comments

jim.ryan@graybar.com said…
Hey Mimi!!

This looks REALLY good. Have you made this here also? I worry a little about leaving the yeasted batter on the counter all night with it being so much warmer in GA. We were only about 40 degrees warmer than you yesterday :)

I do love the idea of the boneless thighs. It's always a mess eating the fried wings most places serve.

Jim
Mimi said…
Hey Jim! I have not made it in Savannah, but I don't think it would be a concern. It's really no different than the no-knead bread recipes. You could, however, experiment with leaving the batter in the fridge covered in plastic. I would think the process would be the same, but the rise would just happen slower. Try it and see what happens!

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