Best Southern Fried Chicken and Waffles Recipe
Southern Fried Chicken and Waffles: Recipe for crispy fried chicken and fluffy waffles, with warmed maple syrup.
Today I’m sharing this amazing recipe for Fried Chicken and Waffles. This recipe has it all, sweet and salty, and crunchy and soft. It’s perfect weekend food, and has become a family favorite.
Perfect Combination
I had never tried this combination before. I’m not from the South, in fact I live way up in Canada where chicken and waffles hasn’t really been a thing. I first tried at a restaurant, and I thought it was so good. I mean I already loved fried chicken and I already loved waffles, but it was hard for me to imagine how they went together.
When I was a kid I had some pretty strict food rules. One of which was no mixing sweet and savour. I’m glad I out grew that one…except for Hawaiian pizza, cause it’s just not right, are you with me?
When I as older and tried chicken and waffles I thought they were a match made in heaven. The waffle is soft and sweet, and the fried chicken has that crispy crust and is a little bit salty, and topped with maple syrup is just the perfect combination.
Fried Chicken
Southern fried chicken has to be one of the best foods there is. There’s nothing better than a crispy fried chicken piece that’s nice and moist and tender on the inside. This fried chicken recipe is first marinated in a buttermilk brine to help tenderize it and keep it moist. The acidity in the buttermilk helps break down the protein structures in the meat and creates a more tender and soft piece of chicken.
To contrast that moist and tender chicken the breading creates the crispiest chicken skin. The contrast between the crunchy outside breading and the soft tender chicken inside is perfect. You can make chicken strips if you prefer, but we like to use the bone-in chicken pieces because they make the best chicken that’s juicy and not dried out. The breading is a mixture of flour and spices and makes the best southern chicken.
We like to shallow fry our chicken and then finish it in the oven. You can use a deep fryer to cook the chicken, but we prefer this method because the chicken doesn’t get too dark on the outside, and then can finish cooking all the way through in the oven without fear of it burning on the outside in the fryer. Because the chicken wings are smaller, they may be cooked through after being fried, so be sure to check them before putting them in the oven.
Waffles
The waffles are an important part of this dish. Our waffle recipe makes the most delicious and fluffy waffles. Beating the egg whites and folding them into the waffle batter makes them light and fluffy on the inside, with a crisp outside. A waffle mix might be quicker, but it just doesn’t create the perfect texture that making these from scratch produces. As soon as you take these waffle iron they will be nice crispy waffles, but if they sit for too long they’re start to lose some of their outside crispness, so it’s best to serve them right away.
Maple Syrup
Chicken and waffles isn’t always served with sweet maple syrup. It’s often served with honey. But being I’m from Ontario, real maple syrup is a favorite and I think works so well. If you want to add some heat to the dish you can even add a little hot sauce to your maple syrup and make it into a spicy maple syrup. It’s best to serve warm maple syrup. Just heat it up in the microwave for a few seconds. You don’t want to add fridge cold syrup to your nice warm waffles.
Some people find the syrup to be too sweet of an addition, but really it isn’t more sweet than honey, and you can add just a little if you don’t want too much sweetness. Do make sure it’s real maple syrup and not just table syrup. The two really can not compare.
Oil
We like to fry our chicken in peanut oil. It has a high smoke point, so you can fry at a higher temperature. The hot oil helps to create a more crispy coating on the outside. If you prefer you can use vegetable oil or canola oil for frying your chicken. Or if you or someone you’re cooking for has a peanut allergy you can substitute vegetable oil or canola oil for the peanut oil.
Chicken and Waffles are the perfect mix of salty, crispy chicken, and sweet, soft and fluffy waffles.
Fried Chicken and Waffles
Ingredients
For the Fried Chicken
- 1 chicken cut up into 8 pieces
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp Lawyer's seasoning salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- oil for frying
For the Waffles
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup butter -melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
Instructions
To Make the Fried Chicken
- Marinade the chicken in the buttermilk from 12-24 hours.
- To make the breading, combine the flour, seasoning salt, paprika, black pepper, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.
- Remove the pieces of chicken from the buttermilk mixture and dip each piece of chicken into the flour mixture to coat.
- Fry breaded chicken in a pan with a few inches of oil heated to 350 degrees, until golden brown, about 5-7 min on each side. Work in small batches of about 3 pieces, taking care not to over crowd the pan.
- Place fried chicken on a baking sheet and finish cooking in a preheated 360 degree F oven, until cooked through. (Wings may not require the oven cooking, they may be cooked through after they're fried.). Chicken is cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
To Make the Waffles
- Sift together in a large bowl the flour, baking soda, salt and sugar.
- Separate the eggs and beat the 2 egg whites until stiff peaks but not dry.
- In a separate bowl combine the egg yolks, milk, and melted butter. Stir these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a few swift strokes. The batter will be slightly lumpy.
- Fold the egg whites into the waffle batter until just combined.
- Cook in a waffle maker.
- Serve the waffles hot with fried chicken on top, and warmed maple syrup drizzled over top.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 505Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 1320mgCarbohydrates: 77gFiber: 2gSugar: 22gProtein: 16g
This dish is best served hot when it’s first made. If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and re-heat in the oven to restore some of the crispiness.
This great recipe is such a winner and makes the best Sunday brunch food. I like to serve it with a big kale salad with dried cranberries as a side dish. Any salad that’s sweet and tart is a great pairing. A spinach salad with berries and poppy seed dressing, or a sweet and creamy coleslaw would be an excellent choice also. I’ve served chicken and waffles to guests many times and it’s always a hit. They’re sometimes not too sure at first if they’ve never had this combination because it’s still not that common where I live. But they always love it. This has become a real family favourite. It’s perfect for a special occasion. I love to serve chicken and waffles for a fun dinner party too.
Time Saving Shortcut
If we are ever short on time when making this we sometimes pick up the chicken at our favorite fast food place. It’s a great little hack if you’re short of time. Send you’re partner to pick up the chicken while you make the fresh waffles, and by the time they’re back your waffles should be ready and it’s a quick and easy meal. Of course the homemade fried chicken is better, but if you’re in a time crunch and don’t want to deep fry, but still want to enjoy this amazing a dish, this little hack might be helpful.
With homemade Chicken and Waffles, life really is a party!
More Recipe Inspiration
You might also like our Homemade Onion Rings recipe here.
Also check our our Homemade Potato Chips recipe here.
You might also enjoy our Marinated Flattened Chicken recipe here.
