Chicken and Waffles, made with crispy buttermilk fried chicken and scratch made waffles, is a classic Southern breakfast recipe.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
soak time6 hourshrs
Total Time45 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8servings
Author: Krissy Allori
Equipment
Dutch oven
baking sheet
Mixing Bowls
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Ingredients
FRIED CHICKEN:
3poundschickenwhole pieces, bone in, skin on (I used breasts and drumsticks)
For the soak:
2teaspoonblack pepperfreshly ground
1teaspoonsalt
2teaspoonsmoked paprika
1/2teaspoondried rosemary
1/2teaspoondried thyme
1/2teaspoondried oregano
1/2teaspoondried sage
1/2teaspoonwhite pepper
1/2teaspooncayenne pepper
2cupsbuttermilkalternatively, you can use 2 cups milk + 2 tbsp lemon juice
For the seasoned coating:
1 1/2cupsall-purpose flour
1teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonsmoked paprika
1teaspoongarlic powder
1teaspoonwhite pepper
1teaspoononion powder
1/2teaspooncayenne pepper
For frying:
4cupsoilhigh heat tolerant for frying
WAFFLES:
3cupsall-purpose flour
3/4cupgranulated sugar
1/4cup brown sugarpacked
5teaspoonbaking powder
1/2teaspoonkosher salt
3largeeggsroom temperature
2 1/2cupswhole milkroom temperature
1 1/2cupsunsalted butter(3 sticks), melted
1tablespoonvanilla extract
Instructions
TO MAKE THE FRIED CHICKEN:
Combine chicken pieces with black pepper, salt, paprika, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, white pepper, and cayenne in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag to coat.
Add buttermilk to fully coat chicken. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
Combine flour, salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, white pepper, and onion powder in a large resealable plastic bag or shallow dish.
Remove chicken from the buttermilk and and shake to remove any excess. Dredge each piece in the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess and transfer to a plate.
Heat cooking oil in a large Dutch oven to 350 degrees F. Add the white meat pieces of chicken to the pan and cook for 16-18 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove chicken from the oil and transfer to a cooling rack set over a paper towel lined baking sheet. To keep warm, set on baking dish, tent with foil, and keep warm in 200 F degree oven.
Allow oil to once again heat to 350 degrees F. Add the dark meat pieces of chicken to the pan and cook for 18-25 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove chicken from the oil and transfer to a cooling rack set over a paper towel lined baking sheet.
TO MAKE THE WAFFLES:
In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Separate egg yolks from egg whites. In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. When melted butter has cooled enough to touch but is still melted, combine with room temperature milk and vanilla. Mix well, then combine with beaten egg yolks.
Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until soft peaks form and can just barely hold their shape. Take care not to over or under mix them.
Transfer wet ingredients (milk, butter, egg yolk, vanilla mixture) to the dry ingredients and stir by hand to combine. Add beaten egg whites and fold them into the mixture. Take care to gently mix in order to fully incorporate but also keep as much air in the mixture as possible.
Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions until golden brown.
Notes
FOR THE FRIED CHICKEN:The oil should be at 350 degrees F to start, but when the chicken goes in it will drop to about 300 degrees. It should rise back to 305-310 degrees F and the heat should continually be monitored and adjusted so that the temperature is held steady at these values.Internal temperature of cooked chicken should be about 165 degrees F. The white meat should take less time to cook than the dark meat.Since most of the buttermilk and a great amount of the oil is discarded, the nutritional information was based on consuming 1/4 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup cooking oil, divided amongst the 8 servings.Makes 4 extra large waffles (16 5" squares). Each serving gets 1/2 large waffle (2 squares each).