Cheesy Beef Pizza Poppers

Chicken and Waffles with Giardiniera Butter

Chicken and waffles is an iconic dish for a reason: It's hard not to be overwhelmed by the force of the flavors and textures that come together in one delicious mouthful. Our take on this classic dish involves bringing some additional spice with a heaping spoonful of giardiniera butter atop each serving. Believe us when we say that this combination is a winner! Without further ado, let's get to how this all comes together.

Ingredients:

Waffles: 

  • Prepare using your favorite mix or recipe as directed
  • Maple syrup for drizzling

Giardiniera butter: 

  • 1 stick of softened butter
  • ¼ cup of finely diced giardiniera

Fried Chicken:

  • 4 thinly sliced chicken breasts
  • Canola oil for frying

For marinade:

  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 4 tbsp hot sauce

For dredge:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder

Directions:

1. Start by making your waffles per your preferred mix's directions or with your favorite recipe. As each batch is done, set them aside and keep them warm until they're needed later on.
2. Fill a container with your buttermilk and hot sauce, then add the chicken breasts and give them a chance to marinate, covered in the fridge. Ideally, let the chicken marinate overnight, but if you're short on time 2-4 hours will be sufficient. 
3. When the chicken is done marinating, it's time to dredge. Add your flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to a shallow dish. Thoroughly dredge each chicken breast, covering every nook and cranny with your seasoned flour mixture.
 
4. Heat canola oil in a pan over medium-high heat and fry the chicken until each piece is golden brown on both sides, before transferring to a baking sheet with a wire rack to rest.
 
5. Before serving the chicken, put it in your 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes to ensure it's fully cooked through.
6. Prepare your giardiniera butter by, you guessed it, combining your butter with the diced giardiniera. We used hot giardiniera this time around, but for less heat the mild giardiniera will work just as well.
7. Time to plate everything up and dig in! Start with a couple of waffles, upon which you'll add a fried chicken breast, and finally finish it off with a dollop of giardiniera butter and some drizzled maple syrup.
Bonus: While you've got some fresh fried chicken and giardiniera on hand, a tasty way to switch things up is by assembling a fried chicken sandwich with a spicy mayo spread. For the spread, simply combine some mayo with finely diced giardiniera. We added some bacon and a cheese spread to this sandwich, topped with a brioche bun, and it was fantastic!