Chicken and waffles sound like an odd pairing to some, but it’s a total soul food classic for a reason! If you’re on the fence about this dish, my recipe for Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles should help sway your decision to try it out. Irresistibly crispy and savory Sage Fried Chicken Thighs are nestled on top of ultra-fluffy Brown Butter Waffles, then the whole dish is smothered in Hot Maple Syrup for the perfect spicy-sweet finish. If you’ve never given this classic combo a try, consider this your sign to make it for your next lazy weekend brunch!
Ingredients & Recipe Components
There are three main components to this recipe: Sage Fried Chicken, Brown Butter Waffles, and Hot Maple Syrup. All three of which come together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. This is truly a brunch classic that you should try sooner rather than later!
Sage Fried Chicken
The first half of this portion of the recipe starts with applying a spice rub to chicken thighs. Unlike most traditional fried chicken recipes, this doesn’t require any soaking or brining, which helps save time. Using a simple dry rub on the chicken before breading and frying adds all of the flavor you need. And you can’t have sage-fried chicken without a healthy dose of rubbed sage, which this has plenty of!
I also opted to use chicken thighs for this recipe, but you can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you wish. Just be sure to cut them in half and pound them a little to make everything more manageable.
The second part of the fried chicken is the breading. This is what gives us that irresistibly crispy, crunchy crust we’re after. One of the most important parts of this process is to drizzle a little bit of the wet batter into the dry ingredients and mix it in. This adds a ton of texture to the chicken and helps to give it the best crispy, crunchy crust possible.
Brown Butter Waffles
I use my recipe for Brown Butter Waffles for this recipe. They’re already delicious and fluffy, so there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel here! I like them because the additional step of browning the butter before adding it to the batter lends a subtle, nutty, and toasty flavor that really takes them over the top. It’s super easy to make these a day ahead of time as well. They freeze fantastically, and heating them up is as simple as warming them through in a toaster or the oven. Get the complete details in the recipe posted below!
Hot Maple Syrup
Everything comes together with this hot maple syrup. A lot of recipes use hot honey, but I chose to go the more “traditional” breakfast route with spicing up some maple syrup! It’s the perfect spicy-sweet topping that really takes this dish to the next level. The heat comes from thinly sliced serrano peppers, and a savory hint of garlic and thyme helps to round things out.
This is as simple as combining the following and letting them sit in the fridge overnight:
- High Quality Pure Maple Syrup
- Thinly Sliced Garlic Cloves
- Thinly Sliced Serrano Peppers (with seeds)
- Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
How to Make Fried Chicken and Waffles (With Hot Maple Syrup)
The hardest part of this recipe is frying the chicken; however, it’s a very simple process when you break it down into a couple of steps, which are outlined below.
To begin making this recipe, I always start a day ahead of time and prepare the waffles and the hot maple syrup. You can make the waffles the same day, but this really helps speed up the whole process by not having to make waffles while you’re also trying to get chicken into the fryer. Plus, waffles freeze and reheat pretty phenomenally, so you’re not skimping on any quality or flavor! The Hot Maple Syrup needs to sit for a little bit in order to maximize flavor as well, so it’s easy to stick it in the fridge until you need it.
How to Make Hot Maple Syrup
The hot maple syrup is as easy as combining the maple syrup, serrano peppers, garlic, and thyme and letting it sit in the refrigerator (at least) overnight. Before serving, I like to strain out all of the solids and use them as a garnish on top of the chicken.
How to Make Brown Butter Waffles
The complete directions on how to make the actual waffles them selves are outlined in my recipe post about Brown Butter Waffles (go check it out here!). For this recipe, I like to make them a day ahead of time and then store them in the freezer overnight. This saves a ton of time on the day that you plan to make theses. Just heat them through using a conventional oven, toaster oven, or a toaster and keep warm in 200°F oven until ready to serve.
By all means, feel free to use any good quality store-bought waffle as well. You can find all sorts of great options these days. I do prefer to use homemade whenever possible, but this is another great way to save some time!
Fried Chicken Breading Process
The process of breading the chicken is very simple:
- Begin by placing the combined wet and dry ingredients into separate containers. I typically use 9-inch cake pans, but anything large and flat will work.
- Drizzle ⅓ cup of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients 1 tablespoon at a time. (This helps to add more texture and crunch to each piece of chicken.)
- Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture by firmly pressing it down into the flour mixture to ensure that both sides are evenly coated. Shake off any excess flour.
- Transfer the chicken into the wet ingredients, flipping a few times to ensure it is evenly coated.
- Add the chicken back into the dry ingredients, and scoop some flour over the top of the chicken. Press down firmly on the chicken to ensure that it is completely coated, then shake off any excess flour.
- Transfer the chicken to a wire rack, and repeat the whole process with the remaining chicken pieces.
- Let the chicken rest for about 20 to 30 minutes to allow the dry ingredients to completely absorb the wet ingredients.
How to Fry Chicken Thighs
To fry the chicken, simply add the breaded chicken in batches to 350 – 375°F frying oil of your choosing in a large pot or Dutch oven and fry for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Be sure to flip the chicken several times while it’s frying to ensure everything browns evenly.
Remove the chicken from the fryer and place on a wire rack. Immediately sprinkle with some kosher salt, and a little more rubbed sage while it’s still hot, then allow to cool for several minutes.
Fried Chicken and Waffles Assembly
Once you have all of your components prepared, it’s time to assemble your dish ascend into brunch nirvana!
This is as easy as placing a piece of the fried chicken onto one of the warm Brown Butter Waffles, and then drizzling with a generous portion of the spicy-sweet Hot Maple Syrup. Garnish with a little bit of minced sage leaves and several slices of the hot peppers reserved from the Hot Maple Syrup, then dig right on in!
Storing and Reheating Tips
The best way to store the leftovers of this dish is to keep the ingredients separate. Plating this up and putting it in the fridge will just result in a soggy mess. The waffles do great in the freezer, so I recommend storing them there for up to 3 months. While the other ingredients will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or so.
Reheating is as easy as warming up the waffles and heating the chicken through in an oven set to 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes, then plating as usual.
Pro Tip: You can also air fry the chicken for 5 to 7 minutes set to 425°F for a great way to really bring the breading back to life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did you make this recipe for Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles?
Let me know how yours turned out in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles (With Hot Maple Syrup)
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Wire Rack
- 2 9-Inch Cake Pans Or other shallow containers/dishes for breading the chicken
- Instant Read Digital Thermometer or Frying Thermometer Optional, but recommended
- Large Pot or Dutch Oven For Frying
Ingredients
Hot Maple Syrup (Make At Least One Day Ahead)
- 1 Cup Maple Syrup
- 2 Cloves Garlic Thinly Sliced
- 3 Serrano Peppers Thinly Sliced (Do not remove the seeds)
- 3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
Brown Butter Waffles (Make Ahead)
- 1 Batch Brown Butter Waffles Recipe linked above in blog post – Or 6 to 8 high quality, store-bought frozen waffles
Sage Rubbed Fried Chicken
- 2 lbs. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs About 6-8 Thighs
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 tablespoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Rubbed Sage
- 2 Granulated Garlic
- ½ teaspoon White Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne
- 24 oz Peanut Oil For Frying
Fried Chicken Breading
- 2 Cups Buttermilk
- ½ Cup Hot Sauce Texas Pete is Preferred
- Juice from 1 Lemon
- 2 Eggs Beaten
- 2 teaspoon Kosher Salt Divided
- 2 Cups All–Purpose Flour
- 2 tablespoon Cornstarch
Instructions
Hot Maple Syrup
- The day before making this dish, combine maple syrup, thinly sliced garlic, thinly sliced serrano peppers, and thyme. Cover and rest overnight in the refrigerator.
- Before serving, strain out the solids, reserving them later for a garnish. Warm the syrup in a small saucepan over low heat on the stove until ready to serve.
Brown Butter Waffles
- Make one batch of Brown Butter Waffles according to the recipe linked in the blog post above. (I prefer to make these a day ahead of time and heat them from frozen.) If using frozen waffles (homemade or store-bought), heat them through with your preferred method and keep warm in a 200°F oven while the chicken is frying.
Sage Fried Chicken
- Thoroughly rinse and dry the chicken thighs. Season the chicken on all sides with all of the rub ingredients.
- To prepare your breading station, mix 2 cups buttermilk, ½ cup hot sauce, lemon juice, 2 beaten eggs, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl. Transfer to a 9-inch cake pan or other shallow dish. In a separate 9-inch cake pan or other shallow dish, combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Working 1 tablespoon at a time, drizzle in ⅓ cup of the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix thoroughly.
- Working one chicken thigh at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, pressing down firmly on both sides to ensure that the chicken is completely coated. Shake off any excess flour. Transfer the chicken to the wet ingredients and turn it over several times to evenly coat. Transfer the chicken back to the dry ingredients and scoop some flour over the top. Firmly press down on the chicken to evenly coat the chicken. Shake the excess flour off and place the chicken on a wire-rack-lined baking sheet. Repeat the breading process with the remaining chicken pieces, and allow them to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
- While the chicken is resting, add the peanut oil (or frying oil of your choice) to a large pot or Dutch oven and heat to 350 to 375°F. Working in batches, fry the chicken for 12 to 15 minutes, flipping occasionally, until golden brown and crispy and the chicken registers at least 165°F internally on an instant read thermometer.
- Transfer the chicken to a wire rack-lined baking sheet and immediately season with kosher salt and a small pinch of rubbed sage. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. (Optionally, place in the first batch of chicken in the low oven that you are keeping the waffles in while you make the second batch.) Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
Assembly
- Plate a waffle, then top it with a piece of fried chicken. Drizzle with a generous helping of the warm Hot Maple Syrup, and garnish with minced fresh sage leaves and several of the serrano pepper slices reserved from the Hot Maple Syrup and enjoy!
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