Chicken Waffle Slider Skewers

I am straight up obsessed with chicken waffles. No matter how they are served. I love chicken and waffles so much that I skewered it and served it up at a block party last summer.

And I’ve been dreaming about it ever since.

When it comes to chicken and waffles, most people are taken aback at the suggestion as most American sees waffles as a breakfast item. Well I am here to tell you we have been doing it WRONG for years. Waffles can absolutely be served for dinner AND topped with a spicy fried chicken to boot.

Okay, so WHERE did chicken and waffles come from?

Surprisingly, chicken and waffles has a very mixed origin story. The dish was possibly first combined by Pennsylvania Dutch sometime in the 1600s – but was usually as a pulled chicken topped with gravy (which to be honest, sounds equally delicious). This dish continued on to be a breakfast dish in the 1800s, where it was also known as a “Virginia Breakfast.” The recipe is documented but it was very likely the dish was around much earlier.

Prior to that, fried chicken and pancakes were more common with Southern African Americans (which again, that still sounds pretty dang good to me). But chicken and waffles supposedly came to fame in 1930s Harlem, where it was served in jazz restaurants and quickly became a staple menu item in the Black community and beyond.

Keepin’ It Simple

This recipe is meant to come together quickly and be served a la carte as an appetizer or snack at a tailgate or cookout.

• popcorn chicken – precooked frozen popcorn chicken already comes in the perfect bite size pieces!
• American waffles – I made the waffles from scratch (check out the ingredients below)
• sweet maple sriracha sauce – toss the chicken in this DIY sticky sweet sauce

Concerning WAFFLES

Did you know that not all waffle makers are created equal? This recipe calls for AMERICAN waffles so if you have a BELGIAN waffle maker, you probably won’t have as much success. However, Belgian waffles can certainly be used in a pinch – the flavor and texture from the American waffles suits the skewered version of this dish much better, in my opinion.

The major difference between American and Belgian waffle makers is the number of ‘holes’ on each appliance. Typically, Belgian waffles have larger and fewer holes, the waffles are a bit thicker and usually even a bit crispy.

American waffle irons on the other hand have smaller holes and are thinner and fluffier. If you’ve ever been to a Waffle House, those are American waffles. And that is the consistency of waffle we are looking for when it comes to skewering our waffles!