Chicken & Waffle Breakfast Sandwich

By Justin SullivanPublished: Mar 1, 2021

Approved by the Delish Test Kitchen

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Erik bernstein

Yields:

4 - 6

Prep Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs 30 mins

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Chicken and waffles = an American masterpiece and the perfect encapsulation of the unbeatable combination of salty and sweet. Though we truly are obsessed, we also feel that sitting down with an entire plate of waffles and a few pieces of fried chicken can sometimes be a little daunting. Perhaps something handheld might be a good solution?

When thinking through how we could perfectly transform chicken and waffles into a perfect sandwich, we knew that just sticking a piece of chicken between two waffles might be a little dry. So we added the perfect one ingredient "sauce": runny egg yolk. It comes in the form of a perfectly fried egg that when added to the sandwich and smooshed between the waffles, coats everything in that rich creamy yolk.

The last slight tweak we added: hot habanero honey. Obviously drizzling some maple syrup would totally do (and believe us we did). But something about adding a bit of heat really took this sandwich to the next level. And it comes together really easily and keeps for weeks in the fridge.

This recipe would obviously be fantastic with homemade waffles but toaster waffles work almost as well. We promise after your first bite, you might forget about every other breakfast sandwich you've ever had. And if have tried it, let us know how it came out in the comments below!

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Ingredients

For The Hot Honey

1 cup
honey
3 Tbsp.
habaneros, deseeded and roughly chopped

For The Spice Mix

2 Tbsp.
paprika
1 Tbsp.
freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp.
garlic powder
1 Tbsp.
onion powder
1/2 tsp.
oregano
1/2 tsp.
celery salt
1/2 tsp.
cayenne

For The Chicken

1 1/2 cups
buttermilk
6
boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 lb.)
Vegetable or peanut oil, for frying
1 cup
all-purpose flour
1/3 cup
cornstarch
Kosher Salt

For The Sandwiches

1/2 Tbsp.
vegetable or peanut oil
6
large eggs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
12
cooked waffles

Directions

For The Hot Honey
1. Step 1In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine honey and habaneros. bring to a low simmer, then reduce heat to low and let cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Strain honey in an airtight container. (Honey can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 month and reheated in the microwave to soften.)
For The Spice Mix
1. Step 1In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients.
For The Chicken
1. Step 1In a large bowl whisk together buttermilk and 2 1/2 tablespoons spice mix. Add chicken to bowl and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 24: the longer the better.
2. Step 2Fill a large cast-iron skillet with 3/4" oil and hear to 350ºF. In a shallow bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch and 2 tablespoons spice mix.
3. Step 3Right before you're ready to fry, add 2 to 3 large spoonfuls of marinade to the flour mixture and mix it in with your hands. (This will create some crumbly spots in the flour that will lead to crispy-crackly bits of batter on the chicken.) Working in batches, coat thighs thoroughly in seasoned flour, then carefully add to hot oil.
4. Step 4 Fry until chicken is golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165ºF, 4 to 5 minutes. Move cooked chicken to a wire rack0lined baking sheet and season each thigh with salt an da pinch of the spice mix.
For The Sandwiches
1. Step 1In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Working batches, crack eggs into skillet ands season each with salt and pepper. Cook until the white is just set and the yolk is still runny, about 2 minutes.
2. Step 2Place one thigh on top of waffle, then top with an egg and another waffle. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Slice each in half, then drizzle with hot honey.