Pickle Brined Fried Chicken Waffle Sandwiches

October 04, 2021

Homemade fried chicken and waffles is food for the soul. Transform this crave-able brunch dish into a sandwich, and you have the perfect comfort food for any meal, any time of the day.

In this recipe, juicy, crispy pickle brined fried chicken sits between two fluffy, made-from-scratch waffles. Maple syrup is substituted with sweet and spicy hot honey pickle spread that bumps up the flavor to another level. Dress it all up and cool it off with crunchy Greek yogurt slaw to finish the masterpiece. If you're ready to lick your screen reading this, you aren't alone.

Ingredients:

Pickle Brined Fried Chicken

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup The Real Dill Jalapeño Honey Dills pickle brine
• 16 oz. buttermilk
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Vegetable oil

Hot Honey Pickle Spread

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup The Real Dill Jalapeño Honey Dills
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp cayenne-based hot sauce such as Frank's Red Hot

Greek Yogurt Slaw

• 1 12 oz. bag of shredded coleslaw mix
• 1 cup plain 2% fat Greek yogurt
• Fresh lemon juice from one lemon
• 1 tbsp coarse dijon mustard
• 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Fluffy Waffles

• 2 Large eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup safflower oil
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup oat milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar

Directions:

Pickle Brined Fried Chicken

1. Place the boneless skinless chicken thighs in a baking dish, container, or plastic bag. Add 1 cup Jalapeño Honey Dills pickle brine, making sure that the chicken thighs are fully submerged. Cover the chicken thighs and refrigerate for 12 hours overnight.
2. When you're ready to cook your chicken, remove it from the fridge and set aside.
3. Pour buttermilk into a bowl and set aside.
4. In another bowl, add all purpose flour, brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
5. Next, prepare your chicken for frying. Remove each piece of chicken from the pickle brine marinade and pat dry. Taking one piece at a time, dunk the chicken in the buttermilk and shake off any excess. Next, coat every nook and cranny with the flour mixture. Place the coated piece of chicken on a plate. Repeat the process until all of the chicken pieces are coated.
6. When your chicken is coated, fill a pot about 1/4-1/2 of the way (depending on the size of your pot) with vegetable oil. Heat the pot over medium heat.
7. Prepare a baking sheet with several layers of paper towels or brown bags and set aside.
8. Add 2-3 pieces of chicken at a time to the hot pot of oil. Fry over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Make sure that the coating doesn't burn. When the chicken is done, carefully remove it from the hot oil and place on the baking sheet so the oil drains. Note: if you notice the flour soaking into the chicken before you fry it, place it back into the flour mixture one more time to coat it before adding it to the oil.
9. When the chicken is done cooking, cut a piece open to check that the middle is cooked. If it needs to cook longer, place it in a 375 degree F oven on a baking sheet for a few minutes.

Hot Honey Pickle Spread

1. Finely chop the Jalapeño Honey Dills and set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, chopped pickles, honey, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce.
3. Whisk all of the ingredients until they're combined and place in the fridge to chill.

Greek Yogurt Slaw

1. Combine coleslaw mix, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, coarse dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, and black pepper in a bowl.
2. Mix well until all of the ingredients are combined and place in the fridge to chill.

Fluffy Waffles

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and coconut sugar. Whisk the dry ingredients together until they're combined.
2. Take the eggs and separate the egg yolks from the egg whites in different bowls and set aside.
3. In another mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, milk, vanilla extract and safflower oil. Whisk until well combined.
4. Combine your wet ingredients with the dry ingredients in one bowl.
5. Take the bowl with the egg whites and using a hand mixer, beat until fluffy and frothy.
6. Pour the egg whites into the batter and use your hand mixer on low speed to combine everything together.
7. Heat a waffle maker and spray with nonstick spray. When the waffle maker is hot, pour a half of a cup of waffle batter into the maker. Using a spatula, spread the batter out evenly and close the lid. Cook according to the waffle maker instructions. When the waffle is cooked through, remove it from the waffle maker and let it cool.
8. Once cooled, cut the waffle into quarters along the middle lines of the waffle. Set each piece aside until you're ready to assemble your sandwich. 

The Sandwich

1. Take one of your cut waffle pieces to use as the bottom of your sandwich.
2. Spread a good amount of the hot honey pickle spread on the waffle piece.
3. Top the waffle with pickle brined fried chicken.
4. Top the chicken with Greek yogurt slaw.
5. Finally, top it off with another piece of cut waffle to finish it off.
6. Secure the top with a toothpick and serve with a side of maple syrup.

Recipe made in collaboration with Michelle Burda, Founder and Creator of Pretty Plate LLC., @prettyplatebymichelle

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