Step on up for this Southern brunch favorite that you can serve any time of day! Crispy, golden fried buttermilk chicken and fluffy slightly savory waffles are a match made in culinary heaven!
Okay, y’all. This one has been a long time coming around here, because it’s one of my husband’s very favorite things. I kind of blame that on our favorite brunch place (they serve dinner, too) down the street from his office in Virginia, The Hen Quarter. If you’re ever in Alexandria, check them out.
I’m looking more into the history of the dish, but as much as it’s become a Southern staple, it looks like it was a favorite both with the Pennsylvania Dutch (a pulled stewed chicken version with gravy) and a popular dish in the Harlem Renaissance.
It migrated south as a Soul Food staple and, like so many things that are just SO GOOD, it has been embraced by a wide range of cultures and culinary styles.
As with any dish where there are lots of different influences and different ways to make it, I just set out to find the version my family likes best. Here’s what we like about this one:
- The buttermilk brine. Perfectly crispy on the outside, nice and flavorful chicken on the inside!
- Belgian-style waffles. Crispy on the outside, soft and flavorful on the inside. Seeing a trend here!
- The sauce. Sweet hot honey butter sauce gives the chicken just that lip-smacking goodness!
- The combo. Everything comes together just so well!
Here’s what you may want to change: the type of chicken we use. Usually, chicken and waffles are made with chicken thighs, not chicken breasts. But nobody in this house (minus the dog) likes dark meat.
Plus, with as much chicken as we like around here, I just buy massive packs of chicken breasts and tenderloins at Sam’s Club, parse them out with my Foodsaver (not an affiliate link, I just love the thing), and thaw them when we need them. So please feel free to use the cut of chicken you like best – just adjust the frying time as whole chicken thighs probably need more time than the chicken breast chunks I cut.
The biggest thing I learned from practicing to make this recipe? How to properly dredge and fry chicken. Just remember this simple rule:
Dry THEN wet THEN dry again.
It makes all the difference when you’re trying to get your chicken nicely coated for frying. Oh, and place it on a rack, so that it doesn’t sag and get all mushy on the downward side.
Let’s make some chicken and waffles!
Crispy Honey Chicken and Waffles
Equipment
- 1 large frying pan or wok
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 each chicken breasts large, cut into 2 inch chunks
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 3 each eggs large
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- vegetable oil for frying
For the Honey Butter Sauce:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked ground paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
For the Waffles:
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 each eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- syrup for serving
Instructions
- Dry the chicken and then cut into 2" chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs. In a second large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and garlic powder.
- Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet. Dredge the chicken through the flour mixture, then in the buttermilk, and again through the flour mixture until each piece is well coating. Transfer the chicken to the cooling rack when done and keep going until all the chicken is coated.
- Fill your large frying pan or wok with vegetable oil until it's about 2" deep. Heat over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. You'll want to cook the chicken when the oil is at 325F or better.
- Carefully add chicken in batches to the pan with tongs and cook for about 6-8 minutes per batch, turning the chicken every 1-2 minutes. Cook until the chicken is golden brown and has an internal temp of 165F. Transfer to a clean rack for cooling. Keep going until all the chicken is cooked.
- Melt the butter for the sauce either in a small saucepan or in the microwave, and whisk in the honey and spices until well combined. Use a brush to coat each piece of chicken with sauce, and serve some extra on the side - because people will want more!
- For the waffles, beat the eggs in a large bowl until creamy and whisk in the flour and other dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until combined.
- Heat your waffle iron and spray with non-stick spray.
- When the waffle iron is ready, pour about 1/2 cup batter into the waffle mold, or whatever your waffle iron takes, and cook according to the waffle iron's directions.
- Serve waffles topped with fried chicken, maple syrup, and extra honey butter sauce!
