Simply sweet batter – country fried chicken waffles

Ingredients you will need for the fried chicken waffles

Preparing the waffles

To begin, you’ll need a few ingredients to start preparing the waffles. Using our What’s Cooking waffle batter, you can easily make the most delicious sweet treat as a base for your entire meal.

What you’ll need:

• What’s Cooking Simply Sweet Batter
• 250 ml milk
• 125 ml water
• 2 eggs
• Waffle maker

Preparing the fried chicken

There truly is nothing better than a handful of moist, fried chicken with an added touch of spice to heat up the recipe. We decided to include our favourite hot crispy breading blend instead of the traditional paprika and cayenne pepper.

What you’ll need:

• ½ cup cornmeal
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• Chicken thighs, breasts or drumsticks
• 2 tbsp salt
• Vegetable oil
• What’s Cooking Hot Crispy Breading
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• Deep fryer
• 1 large zip lock bag

If you won’t be adding syrup and butter, gravy is definitely the way to go. Not only does it complement fried chicken really well, but it also contributes to the savoury taste characteristics of the entire meal. Using our white sauce blend, enjoy a gravy styled topping with undertones of butter. And feel free to add a few extra herbs and cheese to flavour it up!

What you’ll need:

• What’s Cooking White Sauce Blend
• Chopped spring onion
• Chopped chives
• Grated cheddar cheese

Cooking directions

Top tip: make sure to marinate your chicken the day before you cook your meal! (See fried chicken step 1)

Cooking directions for waffles

1. Combine 500 g of the White’s Cooking Simply Sweet Batter with the milk, water and two eggs. Stir the mixture until it is well combined and let it settle until bubbles begin to form.
2. Once your waffle pan is ready, line it with cooking spray or butter.
3. Add enough mixture to the waffle iron so that it lines the bottom, but not too much that it spills out. Close the lid to cook both sides.
4. You will know the waffle is ready when it turns a golden colour with a crispy texture. You could also use a toothpick or a fork to test if the mixture is cooked on the inside.
5. Repeat this process until your batter is finished. This recipe generally makes about 8 to 10 waffles.
6. Keep the waffles in the oven on a low heat to maintain their warmth while you prepare the chicken.

Cooking directions for fried chicken

1. To brine your chicken, lightly season each piece with salt and pepper and add it to the zip lock bag with one cup of buttermilk. Leave it in the fridge for a minimum of two hours, or overnight for the best results.
2. Remove the chicken from the fridge around 30 minutes prior to cooking so that it doesn’t cool the oil whilst frying. This way, you ensure that the chicken cooks in the oil instead of absorbing it.
3. Heat enough vegetable oil in a deep fryer. Set up two bowls to coat your chicken.
4. Prepare the flour, cornmeal, hot crispy breading, salt, and pepper in one bowl. Mix until properly combined. Prepare the eggs and remaining buttermilk in another bowl.
5. Begin by laying each piece of chicken in the buttermilk mixture, and then transfer it to the flour mixture. Lay it back in the milk and again in the flour. This ensures you have a solid coating around every piece of chicken. Pat off any excess flour.
6. Once the chicken has been prepared, submerge them into the vegetable oil for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until they become brown and crispy. Make sure you don’t crowd the fryer. Instead, cook only three or four pieces of chicken at a time.
7. Remove the pieces and lay them on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.

Cooking directions for white sauce gravy

1. Bring two cups of water to a boil and add one cup of the What’s Cooking White Sauce. Mix well and make sure to stir slowly and continuously.
2. Add in the grated cheese and continue to stir to prevent the cheese from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
3. Finish off the mixture by adding the finely chopped spring onions and chives.
4. Once the What’s Cooking White Sauce has reached a thick consistency, remove it from the boil and begin to assemble your meal.

Once you’ve created your very first chicken waffle, we guarantee you’ll want to make it again and again. Follow our recipe carefully, and you’ll be right on your way to producing comfort food you didn’t even know could taste that good. If you’re a fan of sweet and savoury meals, this is right up your alley. So go ahead, try it out.

For more Freddy Hirsch recipes, take a look at our recipe section.