KACIE'S chicken & waffles

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Fried Chicken Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, cut up in strips (or 8 pieces of your favorite cuts of chicken)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 Tablespoons Kacie's Louisiana Style Hot Sauce
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• peanut oil (for frying)
• flaked salt (for serving, optional)

Fluffy Waffle Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs divided
• 1 ⅔ cups milk
• ⅓ cup melted butter or oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Kacie's Hot Honey

• Place 4 chicken breasts, cut up in a large bowl. Sprinkle on top of the chicken: 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons garlic powder and 2 teaspoons onion powder then toss to coat the chicken in the spices.
• Add 2 cups buttermilk and 2 Tablespoons Kacie's Louisiana Style Hot Sauce, stir until everything is combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but it’s best if you can let it sit overnight.
• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup cornstarch, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons paprika and 2 teaspoons black pepper. Set aside.
• Fill up a deep fryer (deep cast iron skillet or dutch oven) with peanut oil (or neutral frying oil of your choice) and preheat to 350°F.
• Taking  the chicken pieces one at a time, let the excess buttermilk drip off.  Coat in the flour mixture, make sure the chicken is well coated. Shake  off any excess. Set the chicken aside and let it sit for a few minutes  until the coating starts to look a little pasty.
• Carefully  add the piece of chicken to the deep fryer and continue with the next  piece. Don't add more than three or four pieces at at time. You will  need to fry in batches so you do not overcrowd the fryer. Fry until  golden brown, turning every few minutes.
• Chicken  is done when golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.  Depending on the size of the chicken, dark meat can take about 12-14  minutes and white meat takes 8-10 minutes (these are estimates – use a  meat thermometer for accurate doneness)
• When  the chicken is done frying, place it on a paper towel lined sheet tray  and immediately sprinkle a little flaked salt on top. Continue with the  rest of the chicken pieces.

• Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's directions (or to 400°F if your waffle maker has a temperature gauge).
• Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
• In a small bowl, mix egg yolks, milk, butter, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
• In a separate medium bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. *see note
• Add the egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Gently fold in the egg whites.
• Drop  by large spoonfuls onto greased waffle iron until most of the wells are  covered. Close the lid and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until golden  brown.

We use unsalted butter. If your butter is salted, skip the salt in this recipe. 

Egg Whites:  

Beating the  egg whites and folding them in makes the fluffiest waffles. This recipe  can be made without beating the egg whites as well. If you do not beat  the egg whites, reduce milk to 1 1/2 cups, and add whole eggs to the  butter mixture. 

To Keep Warm if Making Batches:  

Preheat  the oven to 225°F and place a baking pan in the oven. As the waffles  are finished cooking, place them on the baking pan to stay warm while  you make the remaining waffles. 

Buttermilk Waffles: 

To  make buttermilk waffles, reduce baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons and add  1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Replace milk with buttermilk. 

Tips for the Best Waffles 

• Don’t overmix the batter, it should be lumpy.
• Preheat the waffle maker and lightly oil with vegetable oil. Do not use cooking spray.
• Put enough batter in the iron so the waffle is almost full, it will run out to the edges a little bit.

Lastly, serve the chicken on top of the waffles, then drizzle generously with our Kacie's Hot Honey and enjoy!