Sweet, Spice, and Pretty Damn Nice Chicken and Waffles with a Homemade Biscuit
If loving canned biscuits is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. And if you are what you eat, then I’m hot and spicy. But also a chicken. (You can’t have it all.) One of my favorite breakfast indulgences is spicy fried chicken served on waffles with a biscuit. Homemade biscuits aren’t necessary, but because it’s in our innate basic bitch nature to impress everyone we come into contact with, I’m offering a recipe that puts your favorite breakfast spot’s biscuits to shame. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Cracker Barrel (even though I’ll always be here for your cinnamon-forward Old Country Store). Top these bad boys with angelic syrup for a sweet escape that will almost allow you to forgive the South for its plethora of sometimes true stereotypes.
Ingrediënten
FOR THE SPICY FRIED CHICKEN
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 4 chicken drumsticks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt like Lawry’s
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup rice flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
FOR THE CHEDDAR-CHIVE BISCUITS
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1½ sticks cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- 8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese finely grated (1½ cups)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- ¾ cup buttermilk cold
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- FOR THE WAFFLES
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 eggs separated
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted, plus room-temperature butter for serving
- Maple syrup for serving
Instructies
- First make the spicy fried chicken: In a gallon-size zip-top bag, combine the buttermilk and hot sauce.
- Season the chicken with salt and black pepper and add to the buttermilk.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
- Fill a large Dutch oven with 3 inches of vegetable oil and heat the oil to 365ºF.
- Line a baking sheet with a wire rack.
- In a large bowl, combine the seasoned salt, 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder, ½ teaspoon of the cayenne, the all-purpose flour, rice flour, cornstarch, and baking powder.
- Add a few tablespoons of the buttermilk marinade and mix to create clumps.
- This will help make the chicken extra crispy.
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk marinade and dredge the pieces one at a time in the flour mixture.
- Dip back in the buttermilk and then the flour mixture again, creating a double dredge.
- A few pieces at a time, add the chicken to the hot oil and cook until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165ºF, 6 to 8 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and season with salt.
- Repeat to fry the remaining chicken.
- Set the frying pan aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 teaspoons cayenne, the remaining 1 teaspoon garlic powder, the dark brown sugar, paprika, and the chili powder.
- Whisk in 1 cup of the frying oil until combined.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the fried chicken with the spicy oil.
- Keep the cooked chicken in a warm oven until ready to serve.
- Next, make the cheddar-chive biscuits: Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, blend in the butter until it is broken down into pea-size pieces.
- Add the cheddar and chives and mix to combine.
- Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough just comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press it into a 6-inch square.
- Cut it into nine 2-inch squares.
- Brush with the melted butter and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the waffles: Line a baking sheet with a wire rack.
- Heat a waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, eggs yolks, and melted butter.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, about 3 minutes.
- Fold the milk–egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture until fully combined.
- Fold in the egg whites, making sure they are combined; do not overmix.
- Coat your waffle iron with nonstick spray.
- Scoop ½ cup of the batter into the waffle iron and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
- Repeat with the remaining batter.
- To serve, place 2 waffles on each plate and top with slices of butter and maple syrup.
- Add a chicken thigh, a drumstick, and a biscuit to each plate.
- Serve.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
The unbaked biscuits can be frozen for up to 3 months in a zip-top bag before baking. If you’re baking from frozen, add about 5 minutes to the baking time.
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