Chicken Strips & Waffles with Rum Butter Syrup
Crispy chicken strips, fluffy waffles, with a boozy rum butter syrup
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
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.