Chicken and Waffles

As many things as I’ve eaten in my life chicken and waffles has never been one of them.  I really don’t know why, I’ve had the opportunity but it just didn’t strike me as something I would like.  Boy was I wrong!!  Today I just got some idea that chicken and waffles would be good for dinner, and it was.
Normally I would make my waffles from scratch, but I had some of the mix in the pantry that needed to get used.  In usual Real Housewife style I did change it up, I substituted half of the water for buttermilk.
I asked my hubs if you were supposed to put syrup on the chicken and waffles or what.  And that got me thinking, it needed a gravy, but one with maple.  I’ve never made a maple syrup gravy so I was kind of winging it with how much syrup to add.  I didn’t want it to be super sweet, but I also didn’t want for the flavor not to be present.  The end result was soooooo delicious.
Let’s just say I will be putting chicken and waffles on my menu rotation.

For the Recipe:

Waffles, I used a premade mix

Fried Chicken:

1 whole fryer, instead of cutting into 8 pieces I did 6, then de-boned the breast and cut it into 1″ thick pieces
seasoning for the chicken, I just used a basic seasoning blend
buttermilk
2 c. flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
Oil for frying

Season the chicken well, put in a bag and cover with buttermilk.  Let sit for a couple hours.  Heat oil to 350 F in a heavy pot.  Mix the flour and cornstarch.  Shake off the excess buttermilk from the chicken and dredge in the flour mix.  Carefully place the chicken in the hot oil, do not crowd the pot.  Drain the chicken when it’s done cooking.  I placed the chicken in the oven on a baking sheet lined with paper towels on 315F to keep warm while I made the waffles and gravy, which didn’t take very long.


For the Gravy:

4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
2 c. chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, this amount gives barely a hint of heat
1/2 c. maple syrup, please use real maple syrup

In a saucepan melt the butter, then stir in the flour.  Continue stirring until it’s completely mixed and starts to turn a little golden.  Slowly add the chicken stock, be sure to stir while doing this.  Let the gravy thicken, about 4-5 minutes.  Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper to your liking then add the cayenne pepper.  Reduce the heat to low and add the syrup.  Cook for a minute or two.
Now you are ready to plate up.  Place a waffle on a plate, next top with a piece of chicken, and drizzle with the syrup.
Enjoy!!