The Best Chicken & Waffles with Rum Butter Syrup

Life hasn’t been the same since the pandemic hit in 2020. Saturday morning brunches at our favorite restaurant quickly turned into quarantine brunch at home. We’ve always enjoyed making our favorite foods at home but for some of us quarantine made the saying “We Got Food At Home” into a lifestyle. We hand-cut the chicken strips, used a technique making the crispiest chicken you will ever have, and seasoned with a blend of cajun seasoning, ginger powder, smoked paprika, and salt. The waffles were crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and flavored with hints of cinnamon throughout. We wanted a boozy brunch so we made a rum butter syrup to drizzle on the waffles and the chicken but you can use any toppings of your choice. Enjoy!

Chicken Strips & Waffles with Rum Butter Syrup

Crispy chicken strips, fluffy waffles, with a boozy rum butter syrup

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Ingredients

Chicken Strips:

• 3 chicken breasts butterflied then sliced into strips (don’t use tenders)
• 2 egg whites whisked
• 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp Ginger Powder
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 tbsp of Kosher Salt
• drizzle of Olive Oil for chicken
• 1 cup of canola oil or preferred oil for frying
• **Note** We shallow fried the “Fryday” chicken strips in a cast iron skillet but they can also be deep fried.

Dry Batter:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of cornstarch
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Wet Batter:

• Egg whites
• Sparkling water
• Serengeti Waffles
• 2 cups of flour
• 4 tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2 large eggs separated (room temperature)
• 1 stick or 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
• 2 cups whole milk or plant based milk room temperature
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 tsp PanAfrica! Serengeti Spice Blend or cinnamon

Rum Butter Syrup:

• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup of maple syrup
• 2 tbsp of rum or to taste
• 1 tsp Cinnamon

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Instructions

Chicken Strips:

• Butterfly chicken breasts and slice into strips. Use the back of your knife to lightly pound the chicken strips to “break up the texture” a bit.
• Season chicken with seasonings listed above with the suggested measurements or to your liking.
• Heat oil for frying. ***see note***
• Make your wet batter by separating egg whites from yolks (save yolks for waffles) and whisk egg whites in a bowl until frothy about 1 minute.
• Add sparkling water to whisked egg whites and whisk again to combine. (mixture should look white and foamy)
• Add egg white mixture to the bowl with the chicken and mix well.
• To another bowl, make your dry batter by adding flour, cornstarch and seasoning listed to a bowl and light whisk to combine.
• Take your chicken and add to the dry batter flipping the chicken and pressing the dry batter into the chicken to ensure it is completely coated. After repeating tis 5-6 times, shake off excess batter and add to hot oil.
• Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side (depending on thickness) or until crispy and golden brown.
• Rest chicken on a wire rack to drain oil and keep in over on warm setting until waffles are ready. These strips can later be reheated in the oven and will maintain crispiness.

Waffles:

• Turn on Waffle maker to preferred setting (we use 5)
• In a large bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Add sugar, salt, and mix.
• In a 2nd bowl, separate eggs from whites. Use a hand mixer or balloon whisk to beat egg whites into stiff peaks that should stand straight up.
• In 3rd bowl, add milk, egg yolks, melted butter, vanilla. Whisk to combine.
• Add the butter/milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix until just combined
• Gently fold the egg whites into the mixture (do not stir) until full incorporated
• Spray your waffle maker with oil and test with a drop of water to ensure it is hot. *when water sizzles and evaporates its hot enough*
• Pour 1/3 cup into your waffle maker and cook according to waffle maker instructions
• Remove from waffle maker and add to wire rack. You can put these in the oven on the warm setting to crisp a bit more but don’t leave in the oven longer than 5 minutes.

Rum Butter Syrup:

• Add maple syrup, butter, rum, and PanAfrica! Serengeti to a pot on medium heat.
• When butter is melted, whisk to combine.
• Bring to a rapid bowl and whisk occasionally about 3-4 minutes until reduced and then lower heat.
• When syrup is thickened, remove from heat.
• Serve warm on top of chicken and waffles and Enjoy!

Notes

We shallow fried the “Fryday” chicken strips in a cast iron skillet but they can also be deep fried.

Serengeti Spice was a limited release custom spice blend with cinnamon, nutmeg, and other warm spices. Cinnamon can be used as a substitute.

Cuisine: soul food

Keyword: breakfast, brunch, chicken, crispy, soul food, waffles