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.
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