Chicken and Waffles
Buttermilk-brined fried chicken on a yeasted waffle, with hot sauce and maple syrup poured over both. Sweet, salt, fat and heat in one plate.
Photograph credit: Chicken and Waffles (Unsplash) by Brooke Lark brookelark · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photograph credit: Fried Chicken & Waffles - Ed's Easy Diner 2023-09-01 by Andy Li · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Making Chicken and Waffles
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Whisk the buttermilk with the salt and hot sauce, submerge the chicken, and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
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For the waffles, whisk the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then beat in the milk, melted butter and eggs. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight, or at room temperature for 90 minutes.
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Mix the flour, cornflour, paprika, garlic powder, pepper and cayenne in a wide dish.
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Lift each thigh from the buttermilk, letting some cling, and press it hard into the flour. Press, do not sprinkle — that pressure is what makes the craggy crust.
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Rest the coated chicken on a rack for 15 minutes so the coating hydrates and stays put.
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Heat the oil to 165°C / 330°F. Fry 4 pieces at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, turning halfway, until deep golden and 75°C / 165°F at the bone. Drain on a rack and salt at once.
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Cook the waffles in a hot waffle iron until deep brown and crisp, about 4 minutes each.
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Serve a waffle under two pieces of chicken, with maple syrup and hot sauce poured over the lot.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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Notes for Getting It Right
- 165°C / 329°F, not hotter. Thighs on the bone need time, and a hot pan burns the crust first.
- Rest the coated chicken 15 minutes before frying so the crust bonds.
- Yeasted waffle batter overnight. It is a different food from the quick version.
Changing the Recipe
- Out of buttermilk? The usual stand-in is a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar stirred into 250 ml of ordinary milk and left five minutes; it is thinner than cultured buttermilk, so a batter may need a little less of it.
What to Serve with Chicken and Waffles
- Maple syrup and hot sauce
- Collard greens
- Strong coffee
Leftovers and Storage
Chicken keeps 3 days refrigerated; recrisp at 190°C / 374°F fan for 10 minutes. Waffles freeze well and toast from frozen.
Chicken and Waffles FAQ: Common Questions
How long does Chicken and Waffles take to make?
30 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 16 hours 15 minutes of chilling, so allow 17 hours 10 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 4.
Chicken and Waffles Nutrition Facts
No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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