Recipe Redux: Fried Chicken and Waffles

My first experience with fried chicken and waffles left me smitten.  In the interim, a beer-fueled Packers Sunday at a friend’s house has me on the home deep-frying train.  I decided to tweak my technique slightly this time and make a beer batter for the fried chicken thighs instead of breading them.  Batter-frying always seemed like something that necessitated a deep-fryer but it really is as simple as a saucepan and some hot oil.  And beer batter is as simple as a cup of flour, a 12oz beer and an egg (salt and pepper don’t hurt) whisked together.  I made my batter with Summit Brewing’s Unchained Series Batch 02 Scotch Ale with Heather which gave the batter a nice deep tan color.

I battered each thigh and fried on each side for a minute or two in vegetable oil over medium heat before I removed them, re-battered and finished for another 3-4 minutes on each side.  The waffle recipe was largely the same as before, this time with a little egg nog and French four spice (white pepper, ginger, clove and nutmeg).  I topped it all with a syrup of apricot preserves, orange juice and brown sugar.  The light crispness of the beer batter was a much better match for the waffles than the previous breading method.  We have another winner here, folks.