Sunday Fried Chicken & Waffles

Lazy Sundays are for sleeping in and hitting that snooze button. Its also for mouth watering juicy fried chicken and waffles for the most PERFECT and EASY brunch ever...

To be honest, I made this fried chicken almost a month ago and fried it up today.. We had so much left over after the beach I didn't want it to go to waste. SO after breading it I tightly sealed it in a ziplock bag and put it in the freezer. It can last up to 3 months in there, as long as you pack it tightly! So there I was looking through my fridge and freezer to see what I was going to make for brunch this morning and there it was! A few handful ingredients for the waffle batter and the fried chicken was already to go!

CHICKEN:

I love to use dark meat. It is juicer and more tender. Specifically the drumstick, wing or thigh. My secret for a tender chicken is to brine it. Brine; is used to make pickles, olives, sauerkraut etc.

It preserves, tenderizes and adds acidity to any vegetable or even meat. I used left over pickle juice to brine my chickens over night. This will add a delicious flavour and acidity to my meat, and make it super tender by adding moisture inside the meat. AFTER brining it, I will add buttermilk with some fresh thyme, rosemary and garlic. Leave that over night! After a total of two nights you will have the most perfect chicken. If that process is too long you can always just do the buttermilk for two hours and start breading. BUT trust me when I say this process is WORTH IT.

BREADING:

Straight out of the buttermilk drench it in flour ( season flour with salt, pepper and paprika) then egg, then panko bread crumbs. Regular bread crumbs will work too, I prefer panko because it is crispier. And you are ready to fry!! If you find the breading is not sticking to the chicken feel free to freeze it for two hours then deep fry. I found it turned out better after it was frozen. But it works fresh too!

I prefer to deep fry in 320 F, nothing higher because it will burn the crust before the inside of the chicken is even cooked. So stay in the 310F- 320 F zone.

WAFFLESSSSS!

- 2 cups unbleached flour

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/4 cup sugar

- 2 tbsp baking powder

- 2 eggs (separate egg yolk and white)

- 1/2 cup of vegetable oil or melted non salted butter

- 2 cups of almond milk ( regular milk works too)

- 1 tbsp of vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl together. Then add egg yolks, oil, almond milk and vanilla to that mixture and mix. In a separate milk whip egg yolks until it becomes a stiff peaks (when you tilt the bowl it shouldn't move or slide down). Slowly start folding in some of the stiff peaks (fold in, do NOT whisk)

Get your waffle pan ready and your batter is good to go!!

Grab your love ones and friends and enjoy a gourmet, comforting brunch at home!! :)