Chicken and Waffles

Chicken and Waffles
Cook-off Winner

This recipe is basically three separate recipes. Below you find first the schedule that I followed and then the three recipes.  When I was looking for these recipes I found that there are a LOT of different versions of chicken and waffles. I tried to put together these recipes based on what I thought would be the best overall pulling from several recipes.

Schedule

Day Before

• Prepare the chicken tenders and refrigerate overnight
• Mix all of the dry ingredients and put in bags ready to use.
• Set aside all of the wet ingredients ready to transport.

Day of

• Pack everything the car and the food into coolers. 
• Prep coals for the Dutch ovens
• Mix waffle batter and set aside to rest.
• Take out the bowl of chicken and let it rest to remove the chill.
• Preheat Dutch oven and add oil for frying
• When the batter has rested start cooking the waffles.
• When the oil is ready, fry the chicken. 
• In the meantime prep the sauce (I did this the night before)
• Plate the chicken and waffles (use a toothpick if needed and/or is pretty), add the sauce and top with green onions. Serve with a smile.

Chicken

Tools

• Dutch Oven X2 (can be done with one)
• Large tray (to bread the chicken) X2
• Tongs (to bread the chicken)

Ingredients

• Dry Ingredients
• Flour – 2 ½ Cups
• Oregano (a lot) – 1 tablespoon
• Thyme – 1 teaspoon
• Paprika - 1 teaspoon
• Cayenne Powder – ½ teaspoon
• Chili Powder – 1 teaspoon
• Onion Powder – 1 teaspoon
• Garlic Powder – 1 teaspoon
• Salt (a lot) – 1 tablespoon
• Rosemary – 1 teaspoon
• Pepper – 1 teaspoon
• Wet Ingredients
• Buttermilk – 2 cups
• Hot sauce (optional)
• Chicken Tenders – 4 or more sliced
• Vegetable Oil (for frying) – At least 1 bottle

Directions

   Day before

• Fill a large bowl with a carton of buttermilk, and add some oregano, salt, and cayenne pepper into it, and mix it around a bit. (Optional: add a splash of your favorite hot sauce)
• Then add the chicken tenders. 
• Let the chicken sit in the buttermilk for at least a few hours, but overnight is preferable. 

   Day of

• Preheat the Dutch oven and fill with oil (about 2 inches). You will know when the oil is ready for frying by throwing a pinch of flour into the oil. If the oil bubbles and hisses, it’s ready.
• Preheat a second Dutch oven as a warming oven to hold the chicken until you are ready to serve it.  
• Take out the bowl of chicken and let it rest to remove the chill.
• Fill a large tray with flour, and then add the seasonings into it. You may need to add more seasoning based on how much chicken you are making, or how strong you want the flavors to be. 
• Take the chicken out of the buttermilk, and put it in the flour tray, covering it in a layer of the seasoned flour. Re-dip in the buttermilk marinade and dip in flour mixture again.
• Put ONE piece of floured chicken into the oil as a test, to make sure the chicken won’t burn and the skin will be crispy enough. Take the chicken out when it reaches 165 degrees.
• Add the chicken to the oil 3 or 4 pieces at a time. Make sure they aren't sticking together, then cover the skillet and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the chicken isn't getting too brown. Turn the pieces over, cover again and cook 3 to 5 minutes more. All the while, monitor the temperature of the oil to make sure the chicken doesn't burn. Transfer the fried chicken pieces to a baking sheet
• Put the chicken in the second Dutch oven to keep it warm and to help the internal temperature of the chicken even out.

Waffles

This recipe came out a little crumbly at first.  I added some water and it worked out better but in the future, I might use a regular recipe with a few add-ins or maybe cornbread waffles.

Tools

• Waffle Iron (I used a cast iron waffle iron to use outside.)
• Trivet (to hold the waffle iron above the Dutch oven.
• Spray pan/oil (I used a grilling one to try and avoid flare-ups.)
• Gloves

Ingredients
   Dry Ingredients

• Flour – ¾ cup
• Corn Starch – ¼ cup
• Baking Powder – ½ tsp
• Baking Soda – ¼ tsp
• Salt – ½ tsp
• White Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Brown Sugar – 1 tbsp

   Wet Ingredients

• Buttermilk 1 – ¼ cup
• Vegetable Oil – ½ cup
• Vanilla Extract – 1 tbsp

   Optional

• Chopped green onions
• Chives

Directions

• Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir it around with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are all combined. (Do the night before.)
• Now pour the buttermilk and the oil into the mix, then the vanilla. 
• IMPORTANT: do not mix it very much. You just want to combine the liquid and the dry ingredients and get huge lumps out of it. Its ok if there are some little lumps. You really don’t want to overmix the batter, or your waffles will not be fluffy and light and wonderful. Mix it for like 10-15 seconds.
• Now let the batter rest for 30 minutes. Resist the urge. 
• Pam/Oil up the waffle iron, then cook the waffles according to your waffle maker. 

Sauce

Tools

• Saucepan

Ingredients

• pancake syrup – 1 cup
• bourbon (use bourbon extract) – 1/4 cup
• salted butter – 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)
• cayenne pepper – 1/4 teaspoon

Directions

• For the sauce: Pour the pancake syrup and bourbon in a small pot and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, then the cayenne.