I like Chicken. I like waffles. I LOVE the combination of the two on one plate. The perfect forkful`– a balance of sweet, hot, crispy, salty… like American “Thai/Vietnamese” food.
So here’s a recipe… It’s the best version of this “classic” combo I’ve ever made… I dedicate it to Richard Blais who I was rooting on in the finale of Top Chef All stars while eating it tonight.
For this particular recipe, I’m going to do method and ingredients together… tell me in the comments how you like this format.
Ingredients:
For the Waffle(s)
92g AP Flour.
48g Cornstarch.
2g Baking Powder.
2g Baking Soda.
<Sift all above ingredients together>
16g Sugar.
2g Salt.
1 Whole Egg.
+2 Egg Whites.
217g Buttermilk.
86g Vegetable Oil.
<Stir to combine thoroughly>
Waffle Equipment:
iSi Canister.
N20 Cartridge.
Texas Shaped Waffle Iron — the recipe won’t work if your waffle iron isn’t shaped like Texas 😛
Hold wet and dry ingredients separate until just before service.
Just before service, add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk quickly until everything comes together.
Transfer the batter into the tall cup that once held the liquids… this is to make it easier to put into the iSi Canister.
Screw the top onto the iSi, charge with one N20 cartridge, and shake thoroughly. I think this technique is a real breakthrough! Using the iSi to dispense the batter does a few things.
- It keeps the batter aerated, this results in a lighter crispier waffle.
- It is the cleanest dispensing tool I’ve ever dished out waffle batter in… laddles and spoons are so out done by this one!
- Each waffle uses less product… better for economics.
With the canister charged, and waffle iron hot, we’re ready to go! Oh yeah, we need some non-stick spray.
Don’t cook the waffles until the chicken has been frying for about 5 minutes… this will maximize optimum temperatures!
For the Chicken
Dark Meat chicken (about 6 pieces).
2 cups buttermilk.
You could soak the chicken in the buttermilk overnight… if you had planned ahead. Or you could fudge it by vacuum sealing it in Food Saver canister for 1hr
Next we’re going to set up a breading station…
Mix the following sets of ingredients each in their own shallow plate.
1 Cup AP Flour.
Salt/Cajun Seasoning to taste.
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks (use the ones from the whites for the waffles)
Salt/Southern style Hot Sauce to taste.
1 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs.
Blue Cornmeal.**
Salt/Cajun Seasoning to taste.
**I learned a new trick from Chef Thomas Keller this week… well I read it in his book Ad Hock at Home anyway. Keller suggest you learn how much of a given product you can pick up by pinching one, two, three or four fingers. F-ing Genius! Knowing that if you pick up salt or sugar with one or two finger pinches and it’s ~2 tsp, or whatever your hands hold… AWESOME! My sulinary man crush on Chef Keller is intensified!
So going forward, you’ll see measurements in grams and “x finger pinches” on this blog… I’ll use this tip for the rest of my life… I hope you do too! So for this dish, I used a “Four Finger Pinch” of blue corn meal.
Okay, so the chicken comes out of the buttermilk, gets patted dry with paper towels, then gets flour, egg, bread crumbs. After each step, the excess product is dusted off. Once it’s breaded it goes right into a fryer with 325F oil. It should be done in around 12 minutes.
With the chicken about 5 minutes into the fryer, start your waffles. My waffle iron takes about 4-5 minutes, yours may be different. You want enough time so that the chicken and your first waffle are done almost simultaneously. Then season the chicken as it comes out of the fryer and make one more waffle while the chicken rests.
Firing the first waffle, note the iSi canister is upside down.
Waffle Done:
Chicken done, draining on paper bags…SEASON NOW!
Plating:
Take a waffle… slather it with butter, drench it in maple syrup. Take another waffle, repeat.
Carefully stack two pieces of chicken on top of the waffles. Add a few heavy handed dashes of your favorite Louisiana style hot sauce directly on top of the chicken… If some hot sauce drops onto the waffles… then so be it. Hit the chicken with a few grains of kosher salt. Serve with a beer. No snifer needed for this meal, jut pick a nice craft beer in a can. Try out Southern Star Bombshell Blonde Ale.
Boom done… dinner… Now GO TEAM BLAIS!
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