Chicken and waffles

Name: Chicken and waffles
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 320 min
Yield: 4 plates
Cuisine: Southern US
Ingredients: 1.2 kg Chicken, bone-in, skin-on thighs and drumsticks, about 8 pieces; 500 ml Buttermilk; 2 tbsp Hot sauce; 2 tsp Salt; 250 g Wheat flour; 30 g Cornstarch; 2 tsp Paprika; 1 tsp Garlic powder; 1 tsp Cayenne pepper; 1 tsp Black pepper; 1 tsp Baking powder; 1.5 tsp Salt; 1.5 l Neutral oil, for frying; 250 g Wheat flour; 2 tbsp Sugar; 2 tsp Baking powder; 0.5 tsp Baking soda; 0.5 tsp Salt; 2 piece Egg; 450 ml Buttermilk; 85 g Butter, melted, plus a little for the iron; 1 tsp Vanilla; 40 g Butter, soft; 120 ml Maple syrup, warmed; 2 tbsp Hot sauce

Buttermilk-brined fried chicken on crisp buttermilk waffles, with butter, maple syrup and hot sauce on the side.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 50 min
Rest: 4 hr
Total: 5 hr 20 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Mild
Cost: A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Image coming soon

About

Chicken and waffles is two dishes on one plate: Southern fried chicken, marinated in buttermilk and hot sauce, dredged in seasoned flour and fried until the crust is craggy and deep gold, set on a crisp, lightly sweet waffle. Butter and maple syrup go over everything and hot sauce goes on the table. The sweet against the salty and spicy is the point. Bone-in thighs and drumsticks stay juiciest, but they need patient frying at a moderate heat so the inside cooks before the crust burns. Fry the chicken first and keep it warm on a rack in a low oven while you make the waffles.

What you'll need

25 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 25 ready

4 servings

Chicken
Coating
Waffles
To serve

Ingredients

Servings

Chicken

Chicken, bone-in, skin-on thighs and drumsticks, about 8 pieces1.2 kg
Buttermilk500 ml
Hot sauce30 ml
Salt9.9 ml

Coating

Wheat flour250 g
Cornstarch30 g
Paprika9.9 ml
Garlic powder4.9 ml
Cayenne pepper4.9 ml
Black pepper4.9 ml
Baking powder4.9 ml
Salt7.4 ml
Neutral oil, for frying1½ l

Waffles

Wheat flour250 g
Sugar30 ml
Baking powder9.9 ml
Baking soda2½ ml
Salt2½ ml
Egg2
Buttermilk450 ml
Butter, melted, plus a little for the iron85 g
Vanilla (optional)4.9 ml

To serve

Butter, soft40 g
Maple syrup, warmed120 ml
Hot sauce (optional)30 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Whisk the buttermilk, hot sauce and salt in a bowl, add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours, or overnight.
240 min
Step 2
Whisk the coating ingredients, except the oil, in a wide bowl. Drizzle in three tablespoons of the marinade and rub it through with your fingers to make small clumps; those become the craggy bits. Lift each piece of chicken out, let the excess drip off, and press it firmly into the coating. Rest the pieces on a rack for 15 minutes so the coating sets.
20 min
Step 3
Heat the oil in a heavy pot, no more than half full, to 175°C, and heat the oven to 100°C. Fry the chicken in two batches for 14 to 16 minutes, turning every few minutes and keeping the oil around 160°C, until deep golden and the thighs read 80°C near the bone. Drain on a rack over a tray and keep warm in the oven.
32 min160°C
Watch: Hot oil. Lower the chicken in away from you, and never fill the pot more than half full.
Step 4
Heat the waffle iron. Whisk the waffle flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in one bowl and the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla in another, then stir them together until just combined; a few lumps are fine. Cook in the greased iron for four to five minutes each, until crisp and well browned, and keep them warm on a rack in the oven without stacking.
20 min
Step 5
Put a waffle on each plate with chicken on top, add a pat of butter, pour over the warm maple syrup and put the hot sauce on the table.
3 min

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 3284 kcal
Protein: 112.1 g
Carbs: 138.7 g
Fat: 254.3 g
Saturated fat: 146.7 g
Fibre: 4.3 g
Sugar: 31.9 g
Sodium: 2335 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Wheat
Milk
Eggs

Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.

Substitutions

Buttermilk → Milk soured with lemon juice, 1 tbsp per 250 ml
Leave it ten minutes before using. Thinner, but it works for both marinade and batter.
Maple syrup → Hot honey
The common modern swap. Sweeter and sharper, and no need for hot sauce on the side.

Tips

Boneless thighs fry in seven to eight minutes and are easier to eat with a knife and fork on top of a waffle.
Whisk a spoonful of hot sauce into the warm syrup, or into warm honey, for a quick spicy syrup.
Leftover chicken reheats crisp on a rack at 200°C for 15 minutes. The microwave makes it soggy.

History & culture

In Harlem it is late-night food, and on both coasts it is a fixture of soul food restaurants, with Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles the best known since 1975. Everywhere else it has become weekend brunch. People argue over syrup or hot sauce, then use both.

Pennsylvania Dutch cooks were serving waffles with stewed chicken and gravy in the 19th century, a different and older dish. The fried chicken version is usually traced to Harlem's Wells Supper Club, which opened in 1938. The story goes that jazz musicians finishing work in the small hours wanted something between dinner and breakfast, and the kitchen gave them both. Roscoe's, opened by Harlem-born Herb Hudson, took it west.

Traditional — The Harlem and Los Angeles versions put Southern fried chicken on a plain or lightly sweet waffle. Cornmeal waffles and boneless chicken are common variations. The Pennsylvania Dutch dish of waffles under stewed chicken and gravy is a separate tradition.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Chicken and waffles take?

5 hr 20 min all in — 30 min prep, 50 min cook, 4 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

Mild.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Nut-free.

9 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Mixing bowl, Dutch oven, Tongs, Baking tray, Oven, Waffle iron.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 2 tsp.

How much sugar?

2 tbsp of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Buttermilk → Milk soured with lemon juice, 1 tbsp per 250 ml. Leave it ten minutes before using. Thinner, but it works for both marinade and batter. Maple syrup → Hot honey. The common modern swap. Sweeter and sharper, and no need for hot sauce on the side.

What should I watch for?

Hot oil. Lower the chicken in away from you, and never fill the pot more than half full.

Any tips from this recipe?

Boneless thighs fry in seven to eight minutes and are easier to eat with a knife and fork on top of a waffle. Whisk a spoonful of hot sauce into the warm syrup, or into warm honey, for a quick spicy syrup. Leftover chicken reheats crisp on a rack at 200°C for 15 minutes. The microwave makes it soggy.

Can I prepare this ahead?

Leftover chicken reheats crisp on a rack at 200°C for 15 minutes. The microwave makes it soggy. Whisk the buttermilk, hot sauce and salt in a bowl, add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours, or overnight.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.