I don’t think you are supposed to celebrate the end of a diet with a feast of fried chicken and waffles but then again a diet shouldn’t really have an end date and I don’t think fried chicken or waffles are ever on the “supposed to eat” list. But when you are forced to follow said diet (for 3 months!) because you happen to live with the dieter who is only doing it because of a bet and tends to get a liiiiittle grumpy when hungry – well then I think you deserve all the chicken and waffles you want. Just sayin.
The Spicy Cheddar Waffles are the real star here, the fried chicken was obviously delicious but i’m never sure its worth the effort – the last minute frenzy that frying anything requires not to mention the cleanup from all the oil splatter. So if you are not into the whole frying thing feel free to go rogue – personally I think the waffle topped with some avocado and a fried or poached egg would be magical.
After throwing him under the bus just now, I have to give Chris credit for the genius technique pictured below – using the broiler to char the skin which makes it blister and bubble so it comes off almost in one piece. Brilliant!
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I made the waffles way ahead of time, left them out on this rack and then warmed them up in the oven just before eating. If you don’t need all the batter I would recommend still making them all and keeping the extra in a ziploc on the counter to be toasted and eaten within a few days – i bet they would even do well in the freezer!
Spicy Cheddar Waffles
Yield: 10-12 waffles
Ingredients
3 poblano peppers, stem and seeds removed
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups yellow cornmeal
2 tbl baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp kosher salt
8oz unsalted butter, melted
3 ½ cups buttermilk
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
8oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
Cut the poblanos in half lengthwise and place them on a sheet pan with the skin side up. Move your oven rack to the top and broil the poblanos until their skin has blackened and blistered (about 5 minutes). Remove the skin before dicing the peppers, set them aside.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk and eggs just enough to break up the eggs. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined but still a bit lumpy.
Fold in the poblanos and grated cheddar. Let the batter rest 20-30 minutes.
Heat up your waffle iron and cook the waffles according to the machine's instructions.
Notes
Make these a few hours ahead and warm them up in the oven just before serving.
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Fried Chicken
Ingredients
chicken: i like bone-in skin-on and an assortment of pieces
buttermilk (coconut milk works great here too!)
flour
cornmeal
salt
vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
Soak the chicken in buttermilk a few hours or overnight.
Combine the flour, cornmeal and some salt and dredge the chicken pieces, making sure to coat them fully.
Preheat your oven to 350˚F and heat oil in a large, wide-rimmed pot to 350˚F. Have a baking sheet with inset wire rack ready for the finished pieces.
Fry the chicken in batches until the outside is golden brown. Remove them from the oil, sprinkle with salt and place them on the baking sheet. Put in the oven to keep warm while you fry the remaining chicken.
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