Fried Chicken and Waffles


Chicken and waffles is a known soul food served as breakfast in specialty restaurants (or home cooked) all over the United States. The waffles are typically covered with butter and/or syrup. I usually stick to History or TLC or Lifestyle Network when it comes to finding out about a specific meal’s history but since I haven’t caught an episode dedicated to chicken and waffles yet I decided to go online. Here’s what I found.
History
The exact origins of the dish are unknown; there are several versions of its origins.
One version:
“As unusual as it might seem, the marriage of chicken and waffles actually has deep roots. Thomas Jefferson brought a waffle iron back from France in the 1790s and the combination began appearing in cookbooks shortly thereafter. The pairing was enthusiastically embraced by African Americans in the South. For a people whose cuisine was based almost entirely on the scraps left behind by landowners and plantation families, poultry was a rare delicacy; in a flapjack culture, waffles were similarly exotic. Chicken and waffles for decades has been a special-occasion meal in African American families, often supplying a hearty Sunday morning meal”.[2]
Another version:
Some historians believe the dish goes back to the late 19th century, when Southern African-Americans, recently freed from slavery, began migrating to the Northern United States. According to author John T. Edge: “My guess is that it comes from the days when someone would go out in the morning and wring a chicken’s neck and fry it for breakfast. Preparing a breakfast bread with whatever meat you have on the hoof, so to speak, comes out of the rural tradition”.[1]
Benny’s Home Cooked.com notes:
“It is interesting to note that this combination and/or recipe does not appear in Abby Fisher’s 1881 cookbook What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking. Mrs. Fisher was a former slave and her book is generally considered the first cookbook written by an African-American. These foods appear (but not together) in Mrs. Porter’s 1871cookbook Mrs. Porter’s Southern Cookery Book.[3]
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_and_waffles
I’ve mentioned before that I love pancakes AND waffles, as for fried protein I stick to fried chicken. Here’s my favourite fried chicken recipe followed by the classic Belgian waffles recipe.
It tastes really, really good, perhaps that’s why it is a soul food, it did touch my soul. A feeling I don’t mind having over and over again.
Fried Chicken:
Chicken wings 1 ¼ kilos (about 13 wings and 4 breasts)
Salt 1 tsp
Pepper ½ tsp, freshly ground
Mixed spice 2 tsp each (cumin, thyme, rosemary)
Garlic 1 tbsp, grated
Flour 1 ½ cups
Panko cup (grind twice)
How to:
1. Wash chicken then pat dry with a paper towel.
2. In a plastic bag (like Ziploc bags) and add salt, pepper, spices and garlic. Shake to mix spices (I used McCormick). Add chicken pieces then knead spice rub into chicken.
3. Refrigerate for about 2 hours. Massage the chicken meat every 30 minutes. Before cooking, open the bag and dump flour/panko mix and shake again to make sure very chicken piece is coated properly. You should see each piece coated with white powder (flour and panko). Shake off the excess just before frying.
4. Heat oil in medium high. Fry chicken pieces for about 5 minutes each side. The oil should be hot enough to prevent the coating from sliding off the chicken. Frying for at least 5 minutes will ensure the meat inside is well cooked (without any reddish tint).
5. Serve with condiments like ketchup or gravy.
Since the japanese bread crumb (panko) is usually a bit grainy I had it grind twice in a food processor. The original recipe required cornmeal and since I don’t have that I substituted with ground panko. Just a tip, make sure that the oil temperature is kept at the same heat throughout the cooking process to make it easier to time the frying. Dry the fried pieces in paper towels.
Classic Belgian Waffles:
2 c cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk( I used buttermilk)
1. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until creamy and pale in color. Set aside.
3. Fold in vanilla and buttermilk to egg yolk mixture.
4. Add buttermilk and egg mixture to flour mixture. Blend well.
5. In another bowl, beat egg whites until fluffy then fold into the rest of the ingredients. Let rest for about 25 minutes.
Cook according to waffle iron instructions.
As you can see in the photo there is powdered sugar or syrup involved. It’s entirely my fault. It was a hot day and I knew it would be a disaster if I took pictures with the sugar and/or syrup, I did add a dollop of whipped cream and powdered sugar, melts in your mouth!
Have a good weekend!