Chicken and Waffles

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Servings: 4 Prep: 90 min Cook: 120 min Dairy Free Gluten Free Kids New Recipes Oven Waffle Iron Added about 1 month ago Updated about 1 month ago

Ingredients

For the marinade: 2 cups unsweetened almond milk 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon paprika 2 eggs 1 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste 1 ½ pounds chicken tenders, or boneless chicken thighs For the chicken: 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon garlic salt 1 tablespoon paprika 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 ½ teaspoons ground mustard 2 teaspoons celery salt 2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 teaspoons baking powder For the waffles: ½ cup refined coconut oil, or avocado oil 2 ¼ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon sea salt 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon cane sugar 2 eggs 2 ¼ cups unsweetened almond milk 1 teaspoon cooking spray, as needed For frying: 2 cups refined coconut oil, or avocado oil - more as needed For spicy maple syrup: 1 cup pure maple syrup 1 tablespoon hot sauce, or to taste ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste For serving: ½ cup vegan butter, optional

Instructions

1. For the marinade: In a large bowl, combine almond milk and apple cider vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Add garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika and stir

3. Beat in eggs and hot sauce. Add chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.

4. For the chicken: Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet.

5. Mix flour, all spices, cornstarch, and baking powder into a shallow-rimmed bowl or pie plate.

6. Remove chicken from fridge. Don’t discard "buttermilk" brine.

7. Drizzle approximately 1/4 cup of the brine (per 4 servings) over flour mixture and toss with a fork. You will end up with lots of lumpy bits of flour. This is the trick to getting that beautiful, craggy fried chicken you see in restaurants.

8. Take a piece of chicken out of brine; dip in flour. Really press flour into the chicken. It will have lots of textured nooks and crannies.

9. Place chicken on wire rack.

10. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding a little more "buttermilk" mixture to the flour when needed, to create craggy bits.

11. Place coated chicken in fridge while you prepare the waffles.

12. For the waffles: Preheat oven to 170F or lowest setting.

13. Preheat waffle iron and melt oil in microwave or small sauce pan.

14. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

15. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with oil and milk, until thoroughly combined.

16. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk until just combined.

17. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray.

18. Pour 1/2 to 2/3 cup batter on waffle iron, enough to almost reach the edges.

19. Cook waffles according to your waffle maker's instructions.

20. Place cooked waffles on a cookie sheet and keep warm in the oven, until chicken is cooked.

21. For frying: Heat oil in a stainless steel skillet, over medium-high heat.

22. Have a sheet pan with a wire rack sitting next to the stove.

23. Remove chicken from fridge. Once oil is hot, place chicken in pan to fry.

24. Make sure not to crowd the pan. You may need to cook chicken in batches.

25. Fry chicken for 3-4 minutes on one side; flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Chicken should register an internal temperature of 165F.

26. If needed, you can add more oil to fry subsequent batches.

27. Remove chicken to wire rack on sheet pan, and put in oven to keep warm until ready to serve.

28. While chicken cooks, make spicy maple syrup.

29. For the maple syrup: In a small saucepan, heat syrup, hot sauce, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 5 minutes over medium-low to allow to thicken a bit.

30. Take off heat and cover to keep warm.

31. For serving: To serve, place a waffle on a plate and spread with butter, if desired. Top with a piece of chicken and drizzle with spicy maple syrup. Enjoy!