Fried Chicken & Waffles

I've always been intrigued by fried chicken and waffles.  I know it's wildly popular down South, but after doing a quick poll amongst co-workers, 90% of them looked at me like I was crazy, having never heard of such a blasphemous thing.

But I tell you what.  It's far from blasphemous.  It's the perfect combination of salty and sweet.  Breakfast and dinner wrapped into one.  And you better bet your ass that if I ever open up a restaurant one day, it'll be on the menu.  This was awesome.  And is the perfect use for the remaining parts of your broken down chicken.

Ingredients:

Fried Chicken:

2 lb. Mixture of chicken parts - thighs, drumsticks, wings, tenderloins, drummettes
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon italian seasoning 
Vegetable shortening, for frying

Waffles:


1 cup whole wheat flour
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 & 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
maple syrup, optional (but not really, it's necessary, hehe)

Place the chicken pieces in a large plastic Ziploc bag and cover with the buttermilk.  Seal bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  This will help to tenderize the chicken.

Remove chicken from bag and pat dry with paper towels.  Set aside.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat about 1 cup of vegetable shortening.  You want to get about an inch or so layer once it's melted (or at least be able to cover the chicken pieces by half).  Heat until between 325 - 375 F. 

In a medium shallow dish, combine the flour, cornstarch, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. 

Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mixture and shake off any excess. 

Working in batches (I did about 4-5 pieces per batch), fry the chicken until cooked throughout, about 4-7 minutes per side (depending on the type of pieces you used, some cook faster than others).

While the chicken is frying, you can prepare your waffles.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla until combined.  Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.  Then whisk in the melted butter until just incorporated.


Grease your waffle maker with non-stick spray or butter and add about 1/2 cup of batter per waffle.  Cook per machine instructions and waffles are browned and crisp.

Serve fried chicken atop one large waffle and drizzle maple syrup around waffle.  Enjoy absolute bliss.

If you've never heard of chicken and waffles, I highly recommend you try this very soon.  You won't be sorry.

Have a great weekend guys!  That's it (for now) with the chicken posts - I used the carcass for a stock, Alton Brown's recipe.  I'll have a knife cut how-to up next and then we've got Espagnole Sauce (a mother sauce that's the base for fancy sauces like a Bordelaise, Chasseur, Chateaubriand, Cherveuil, Madeira, Marchand de vin, Perigueux, Piquant, Poivrade, and Robert).  So lot's of learning opportunities to come - for both of us!

Restaurant Recreations: The Tilted Kilt

Okay, let's get one thing straight.  I like Hooters.  The restaurant (get your mind out of the gutter).  You know, with the women in the short orange shorts, and tons of beer.  And wings.  While I don't frequent the place on a regular basis, I can say that they get my business every now and then.  Plus, they have a really good burger - I know, you've all just disowned me.  And I realize that this post isn't about Hooters, but I'll get back to that point in just a moment.

The Tilted Kilt over on Dutchman's Ln. (it used to be Ernesto's) can be summed up in just a few words.  Tacky. Irish. Version. Of. Hooters.  Girls in plaid skirts, school girl shirts tied just below their knockers, exposing their (not-so-attractive) stomachs.  Yeah, to half-drunken men - this is paradise.  To a 25 year old woman, just looking for a quick and cheap meal... not so appealing.

In fact, the first thing Andy said to me when we walked in - "Including you, there's only 3 chicks in here, not counting the ones that actually work here."  Great, I can see this going well.  Almost tempted to leave, (the place was PACKED - the Louisville vs. Ohio game was on - which is one pro to this place is that there are TV's EVERYWHERE, so it's a sports fan's paradise) we thought we'd stick it out for the food.  And we were hungry and desperate.

First of all, it took forever for someone to even talk to us.  I kept telling Andy it was because of my estrogen-empowered self, and if I was of the opposite sex, then we would have been waited on promptly.  But 20 minutes after being seated, we finally had our drink order taken from us.  I don't know about you, but I need to be spoken to at least 5 minutes after being seated.

Anyway, I decided to order the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Salad and Andy got some behemoth of a burger.  I find that ordering a salad with some chicken is always a safe bet.  Well, almost always.  This is what I was served.

Can anybody find the chicken in there?  That was my first response.  If I knew I would be getting skimped on the chicken, I wouldn't have ordered it.  I don't know, maybe I'm just high maintenance, but when chicken comes before salad in the title, I expect to have a decent amount of it.  I knew after looking at this that I would definitely be recreating it.  And definitely doing a damn fine job of it.

Moral of the story?  Stick to Hooters.  There's usually an even man to woman ratio, the food is better, and unfortunately also, the girls are a tad more attractive - if you're into that sort of thing =)




So let's get to this amazing salad... the one that I made.

Ingredients:

Fried Chicken:
Adapted from Simply Recipes


2 large chicken breasts, each cut in half
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, divided
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper
2 cups vegetable oil

Salad:


2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 navel orange, peeled and sliced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
ranch dressing, optional

In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, onion, parsley, thyme, tarragon, paprika, and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper.  Mix together and submerge chicken breasts.  Cover and let sit in fridge for about 8 hours (I put mine together in the morning before work and it was perfect timing).

Remove chicken from buttermilk and set aside on a plate.

In a shallow dish, combine flour, garlic powder, onion powder, remaining 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.  Mix well.

Dredge chicken in flour mixture and coat well.  Set aside.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat the vegetable oil under medium high heat.  You'll know it's hot enough when a bit of flour sizzles quickly when added.

Add 2 chicken breast halves at a time and fry for about 7-9 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  Place cooked chicken on paper towel-lined plate and cover with foil.  Repeat with remaining 2 chicken breast halves.

To assemble the salad, combine the romaine lettuce, tomato, and navel orange.  Toss well.  Slice up chicken and place atop lettuce.  Drizzle ranch (I know, I should have made my own, but honestly, I have this ridiculously large tub of ranch in my fridge - a Sam's Club purchase, of course - that is in need of being used) over salad and enjoy!

So what do you guys think?  Which salad would you rather have?  

Now this is what I call a proper Buttermilk Chicken Salad.  This is a proper amount of chicken.  And the plate was just so colorful and vibrant, I couldn't help but smile the entire time I was eating it.  Enjoy your Wednesday guys!  And if you haven't checked it out yet, I've got the first giveaway on the blog here.

Fried Chicken Spinach Salad

Phew that weekend just flew by, didn't it?!  It seems like there's never enough time to catch up!  But here Monday is, again, without fail.  It's been a hectic day, that's for sure.  The one thing that put a smile on my face, is that the local radio station I listen to on the way home, 91.9 WFPK, played a song from a band that Andy used to be in, Clyde.  I was mad at Andy today, for Lord knows what (something trivial I'm sure), but I couldn't help but smile when I heard the song playing.  Of course, I am no longer mad, and realize it was stupid to be mad in the first place.

Anyway, I've got a fancy for salads lately, and adding fried chicken strips is just the icing on the cake for me (of course, you could definitely be healthier than I, and go with grilled chicken strips, but there's no fun in that, now is there)


Ingredients:
Adapted from How Sweet It Is Blog - Roasted Apple, Pecan, and Chicken Spinach Salad

Fried Chicken Spinach Salad

 2 cups baby spinach
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 apple, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ounce pecans
2 chicken thighs, deboned
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet under high heat, add vegetable oil. 

On a small plate, combine the flour, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and salt & pepper.  Dredge chicken thighs in flour mixture, shaking off excess. 

Add thighs to skillet and fry for about 5-7 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through.  Let rest on a cutting board for about 5 minutes. Slice chicken into small pieces and set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 F.

Sprinkle apples with cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Spread in an even layer on baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, or until caramelized.

Combine spinach, chicken, pecans, cucumbers, and apples together. Top with dressing (recipe below). 

Apple Cider Vinaigrette 


1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients together and whisk well. Top salads with desired amount of dressing.