TIP OF THE DAY: A Look At “Gourmet” Chicken & Waffles
Chicken & Waffles, originally a hearty breakfast, can be had any time of the day in modern times. With counterpoints of crisp and soft, salty and sweet, it became a special occasion dish of Southern soul food cuisine. It’s still a special-occasion dish: one that many people enjoy on Father’s Day. You can make a traditional waffle, topped with butter, a piece of fried chicken and a pour of maple syrup. Or you can get inspiration from chefs whose re-interpretations are shown in the photos in this article—including Steak & Waffles (recipe below). Who created the first Chicken & Waffles? The exact origins are lost to history, but here’s what we know: |
![]() Top: Fried chicken with mini waffles at Chicago’s Honey Buttered Fried Chicken. Center: A gourmet approach at the Lazy Bear in San Francisco: Gaufres de Chasse, a Liege-style waffle cut into fingers, with fried game hen, Sauce Chasseur, maple syrup, nameko mushrooms and fines herbes. Bottom: Chicken & Waffles with a fried egg at Hearthstone Kitchen. |
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RELATED FOOD HOLIDAYS We found scant information on an International Chicken & Waffles Day: the first Friday following the first Thursday in October. It seems to have been established for fun in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and not exactly an official holiday. And, it may have been abandoned: Founded in 2003, the website, ICAWD.org, has been abandoned; and the Facebook page, established in 2011, hasn’t been updated since 2014. If you have any news about International Chicken & Waffles Day, let us know! You can plan your Chicken & Waffles celebrations around: Ingredients This recipe, from The Beef Checkoff, makes enough for a big party (24 servings). The waffles are stuffed with blue cheese. It’s a home run! Plus |
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For The Demi-Glace 1. COMBINE all batter ingredients. Mix together and refrigerate, covered. 2. PREPARE the demi-glace: In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the shallots and sauté until translucent. Add the vinegar and simmer for 4 minutes. Add the demi-glace and bring to a boil. Whisk in the mustard, reduce the heat and simmer 3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. 3. COOK the steaks: Season with salt and pepper. You can then sauté or grill them. To sauté, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a sauté pan until hot. Add the steak; sear on both sides until well browned. Place in a 500°F oven and cook to medium rare or desired doneness. Carve across the grain into thick slices. 4. MAKE the waffles: Using a waffle iron outfitted with the mini waffle plate (4 waffles per plate), ladle ¼ cup waffle batter into 2 sections of the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer’s directions. Remove the waffles and immediately push in the center of each waffle with a spoon, to create a small well. Fill with 1 ounce of blue cheese and sandwich the waffles together, making sure the waffle depressions line up so it fits back into the iron. Place the waffle sandwich in the waffle iron and cook 1 minute or until cheese is melted. Editor’s note: We took a much easier route with Step 4, making a waffle sandwich from two regular-size waffles. We filled the sandwich with our favorite blue cheese salad dressing*, topped with crumbled blue cheese. We cut the sandwich in half diagonally, set one half on the plate and propped the other perpendicular to the first. 5. PLACE 1 cup of Swiss chard in the center of a plate; fan the sliced steak on top. Place a stuffed waffle on top of the steak; ladle the demi-glace on and around it. |