Southern chicken and waffles brings crisp, savory fried chicken together with a tender golden waffle and a sweet-spicy hot honey finish. The contrast is the whole point: crunchy chicken, soft waffle, buttery richness, and just enough heat in the syrup.
For the chicken, keep the oil temperature steady and build a craggy coating. For the waffles, mix gently and cook until the steam from the iron slows so the exterior has time to crisp.
What You’ll Need Before You Start
- Heavy skillet or Dutch oven for frying
- Deep-fry thermometer
- Wire rack and sheet pan
- Belgian waffle iron
- Mixing bowls
- Tongs
- Instant-read thermometer
ShiMuv Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds chicken tenderloins
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Neutral frying oil, as needed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour for waffles
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1¾ cups milk
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup honey
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
How to Make It
- Marinate the chicken. Combine buttermilk, optional hot sauce, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add chicken tenders and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
- Prepare the coating. Mix 1½ cups flour, cornstarch, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, ½ teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a shallow bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk marinade into the flour and toss with a fork to create small craggy clumps.
- Heat the frying oil. Pour about 1½ inches of neutral oil into a heavy pot and heat to 350°F. Set a wire rack over a sheet pan nearby so the chicken can drain without becoming soggy.
- Bread and fry the chicken. Let excess marinade drip from each tender, then press firmly into the seasoned flour. Fry in batches 4–6 minutes, turning as needed, until deeply golden and the center reaches 165°F. Keep oil between about 325–350°F while frying.
- Mix the waffle batter. Whisk 2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. In another bowl whisk eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Fold wet into dry just until combined; a few lumps are fine.
- Cook the waffles. Preheat and lightly grease the waffle iron. Cook batter according to your iron, usually 4–6 minutes, until golden and crisp and the steam slows. Hold finished waffles on a wire rack in a 200°F oven.
- Make the hot honey. Warm honey and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan over low heat for 2–3 minutes. Do not boil. Taste carefully and add more pepper flakes if you want extra heat.
- Assemble and serve. Place crispy chicken over warm waffles, add butter if desired, and drizzle with hot honey just before serving so the coating stays crisp.
Recipe tip: Fry in small batches. Adding too much chicken at once drops the oil temperature and can make the coating greasy instead of crisp.
Food safety: Cook chicken to 165°F in the thickest part. Keep raw chicken, marinade, and breading tools away from cooked chicken and ready-to-eat foods. Use caution around hot frying oil.
From Recipe to Content
Turn the Recipe Into a Simple Food Story
- Open on hot honey dripping over crisp chicken and waffles.
- Show the craggy flour coating pressed onto the chicken.
- Capture bubbling oil around the chicken crust.
- Film the waffle iron opening to reveal golden pockets.
- End with a juicy chicken center and syrup-filled waffle.
TRY THIS IN SHIMUV
Create this recipe as a short food video
Open the editable prompt and finished example image in ShiMuv, then review or customize everything before generation.
Create a short food video showing how to make Southern chicken and waffles with hot honey. Open on crispy fried chicken stacked over a golden waffle with honey drizzling down. Show chicken soaking in seasoned buttermilk, flour and cornstarch coating pressed into craggy ridges, chicken frying until deep golden, waffles cooking in a hot iron, honey warming with red pepper flakes, and the final stack assembled with butter and hot honey. End with one crispy chicken piece cut open beside the waffle.Opens with this prompt and finished example image ready to review. Nothing generates or spends credits until you confirm.
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