Fried chicken and cornmeal waffles

As strange as it may sound, fried chicken, cornmeal waffles and maple syrup has to be one of the most incredible Man Food combos ever created from the American soul food tradition. Oh, and did I mention that you can actually have this dish for breakfast?

INGREDIENTS

2 skinless chicken breast fillets, halved crossways

225g plain flour

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

oil, for frying

oil spray

maple syrup, to serve

MARINADE

250ml buttermilk

2 garlic cloves, minced with 1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon dried tarragon

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

CORNMEAL WAFFLE BATTER

1 teaspoon instant dry yeast

250ml milk

2 eggs

225g plain flour

150g cornmeal

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

80g butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

METHOD

Prepare the chicken a day ahead. To make the marinade, mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces, rub marinade into the chicken and coat well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To make the cornmeal waffle batter, stir the yeast and 60 ml lukewarm water together in a small jug and let it stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the milk and eggs together then add the yeast mixture and stir well. Add the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt and whisk until smooth. Add the butter, and whisk until combined. It should be a thick batter, if it is too thin, add a little more flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Mix the flour, black pepper, salt and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl. One piece at a time, remove the chicken from the marinade, shake off the excess liquid then dredge the chicken in flour until evenly coated. Pat the chicken to remove the excess flour. Then lightly dip the chicken in the marinade on both sides again and dredge in the flour mixture one more time. Place the chicken on a tray and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

Use a deep-fryer, or fill a large saucepan with about 10 cm of oil and bring the temperature up to 175°C over a medium–high heat. In batches, fry the chicken pieces in the hot oil without crowding the pan. Cook for 5–7 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through. Place the fried chicken on a wire rack over a tray to catch the excess oil and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Meanwhile, to cook the waffles, whisk the bicarbonate of soda into the waffle batter. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Preheat a waffle maker and spray it with some oil. Pour about 170 ml of the batter mix into the hot waffle maker, cook for 3–5 minutes, or until golden brown. The amount may vary, depending on the size of your waffle maker. Remove, place on a baking tray and keep warm in the oven.

Place the waffle wheels on serving plates then top each with two pieces of golden fried chicken. Serve with maple syrup.

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