Chicken and waffles is the dish that refuses to stay in one lane. It’s breakfast, it’s dinner, it’s brunch, it’s a 2 a.m. jazz-club plate — depending on which piece of American food history you’re tracing. What follows is the version I make when I want the whole thing to earn its keep: a buttermilk-and-hot-sauce brine, a seasoned double-dredge, thighs (never breasts), and a buttermilk waffle crisp enough to hold a puddle of hot honey butter without going soggy.
- Brine bone-in thighs in buttermilk + hot sauce 4 hours minimum, overnight if you can.
- Double-dredge (dry → wet → dry) is what makes the crust craggy instead of smooth.
- Fry at 350 °F (175 °C). Any hotter burns the coating; any lower and you get grease-logged chicken.
- Skip pancake mix — a proper buttermilk waffle batter with melted butter is the whole point.
- Finish with hot honey butter (butter + honey + hot sauce, warm). Maple syrup is fine but hot honey is better.
Where does chicken and waffles come from?
The deeper roots run through Pennsylvania Dutch tradition (waffles + stewed chicken, no frying) and Southern soul-food kitchens (fried chicken has always been Sunday dinner). Harlem fused the two. The Wells version wasn’t ironic and it wasn’t dessert — it was a hungry musician’s meal that happened to be brilliant. Smithsonian Magazine’s history is the standard reference if you want the full story.
What cut of chicken should I use?
Wings and drumsticks work too, and are what many soul-food kitchens actually serve (they’re cheaper and eat well with your fingers). Boneless tenders are the shortcut most modern recipes push — Divas Can Cook uses them for weeknight speed — but you sacrifice about 30 % of the juiciness. Save tenders for the second half of the family who complains about bones.
How many pieces per person?
Two thighs or one thigh + one drumstick per adult, plus one waffle. Kids eat one thigh and a half waffle. A 4-serving recipe wants 8 thighs and 4 waffles.
Why does the buttermilk brine matter?
Full-fat matters. Low-fat buttermilk lacks the emulsified fat that carries the seasoning into the meat. If your grocery only has low-fat, whisk in 2 tbsp of melted butter or plain yogurt to fake the difference. Powdered buttermilk (Saco brand) rehydrated with whole milk is a genuine acceptable shortcut.
The recipe (serves 4)
Fried chicken
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 cups full-fat buttermilk
- 3 tbsp Louisiana-style hot sauce (Crystal, Frank’s, or Louisiana)
- 1 tbsp kosher salt (in the brine)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch (this is the crisp trick)
- 2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp kosher salt (dredge)
- Neutral oil for frying (peanut, canola, or refined coconut) — enough for 2 inches in a Dutch oven
Buttermilk waffles (4 large)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar · 2 tsp baking powder · ½ tsp baking soda · ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups buttermilk · 2 large eggs · 6 tbsp melted butter · 1 tsp vanilla
Hot honey butter
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter · ⅓ cup honey · 2 tsp hot sauce · pinch of flaky salt
- Brine. Whisk buttermilk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Submerge chicken. Refrigerate 4–24 hours.
- Dredge. Whisk flour, cornstarch, and dredge spices in a wide bowl. Lift each thigh from the brine, let excess drip off, roll in the seasoned flour, dip back into the buttermilk brine for 2 seconds, then dredge in flour a second time. Press to encourage craggy bits. Rest on a rack for 15 minutes — this sets the crust so it doesn’t slide off in the oil.
- Fry. Heat 2 inches of oil to 350 °F (175 °C). Test with a wooden chopstick — steady bubbles around the wood means ready. Fry 4 thighs at a time, 12–14 minutes, turning halfway. Internal temp should hit 165 °F (74 °C) at the bone. Drain on a wire rack over a sheet pan (never paper towels — they steam the bottom soggy).
- Waffles. Preheat the iron. Whisk dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another. Combine with a few strokes — lumpy is fine, overmixed is bad. Cook per your iron’s instructions, usually 4–5 minutes. Keep warm in a 200 °F oven directly on the rack (paper towels or sheet pans steam them).
- Hot honey butter. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Off heat, whisk in honey and hot sauce. Pour into a warm ramekin.
- Plate. Waffle first. Two pieces of chicken on top or off to the side. Drizzle hot honey butter over everything. Extra hot honey in a ramekin on the table.
How do I serve it?
Traditional sides: collard greens if it’s dinner, grits if it’s breakfast, sweet potato fries if it’s neither. Beverages: sweet tea, chicory coffee, or a Bloody Mary. Modern brunch spots serve it with a sunny egg on top — genuinely delicious, though not soul-food canon.
Watch it happen in real time
MrMakeItHappen (Matthew Groves) is one of the more careful soul-food cooks on YouTube. His chicken-and-waffles walkthrough shows the double-dredge, the 350 °F check, and a homemade waffle you can actually replicate:
Hot honey vs maple syrup — which is right?
My argument for hot honey: fried chicken is fat + salt + crunch. Maple syrup is just sweet. Hot honey adds an acidic-spicy note that resets your palate between bites, and it clings to the crust in a way syrup never quite manages. Sweet Tea + Thyme makes the same case with a slightly hotter ratio (1 tbsp sauce to 3 tbsp honey).
Common questions
Can I bake or air-fry the chicken?
Air-fry works — 400 °F for 22 minutes, flipping halfway, after the double-dredge. The crust won’t be as craggy but the interior stays juicy. Oven-baked at 425 °F on a wire rack works too but takes 35 minutes and the coating browns unevenly. Deep-fry stays the gold standard for a reason.
How do I keep the chicken hot while I cook the waffles?
200 °F (95 °C) oven, chicken on a wire rack over a sheet pan, uncovered. Holds up to 30 minutes without going soggy. Same rack strategy for the waffles — direct on the oven rack, never on paper towels. Both stay crisp because the air circulates underneath.
What kind of hot sauce is authentic?
Louisiana-style vinegar hot sauces: Crystal, Louisiana, Frank’s RedHot, or Texas Pete. They’re mild-to-medium heat with a vinegar tang that carries seasoning into the meat. Skip anything fermented (sriracha), fruit-based (mango habanero), or extract-based (Da Bomb) — they clash with the buttermilk.
Can I make the waffles ahead?
Yes — cool them completely on a rack, freeze in a single layer, then bag. Toast straight from frozen for 4 minutes at high heat. They’re better than a same-day waffle that sat around. The chicken cannot be made ahead in any meaningful way — reheat kills the crust.
Is it a breakfast or dinner dish?
Both, historically. Wells Supper Club served it at midnight, Roscoe’s serves it all day, and most modern Southern kitchens run it as brunch. Serve it whenever you want — nobody in Harlem or LA has ever cared what time it is.
What can I do with leftover fried chicken?
Chicken sandwich with pickles the next day, chopped into a salad with hot honey vinaigrette, or shredded for tacos. It won’t be as crisp reheated, so eat it cold or turn it into something new — never microwave it.
My one-line summary
Buttermilk brine, double-dredge, 350 °F oil, real waffle batter, hot honey butter. That’s the whole dish — every other version is a shortcut of one of those five steps.
Related on Meat Recipes Box: all chicken recipes · Southern soul-food mains · the standalone fried chicken recipe
Did You Try Our Recipe ?
Scrumptious
My husband (who is extremely picky) loved the liver & onions so much!! I didn’t have any beef broth or Sherry so I used about a tbl of Worcestershire and 1/4 c of white wine …..it was scrumptious
Response from MeatRecipesBox
Oh wow, I’m so happy to hear that!! 😍 I love that you made it work with what you had on hand — Worcestershire and white wine sound like a delicious twist. So glad your husband enjoyed it, especially being picky! Thank you for sharing your version, it makes me smile knowing it turned out scrumptious!
This was amazing
This recipe turned out really amazing! It’s juicy and spiced deliciously. I definitely would use less of the spicy pepper next time, but it really was delicious and I don’t think I’ll make chicken legs any other way from now on.!
Response from MeatRecipesBox
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful review. I’m really glad to hear the recipe turned out juicy and full of flavor for you. That’s exactly what I was hoping for when putting it together. Good call on the spicy pepper as well. Adjusting the heat level to your own taste is always the best approach, and using a little less next time should make it just right for you. I really appreciate you trying the recipe and sharing your experience. It’s great to know it worked so well for you.
I Didn’t Expect This Cornbeef Hash Recipe to Taste This Good!!
One skillet. A handful of simple ingredients. Thirty minutes on the clock. And somehow… I ended up with the crispiest, most comforting cornbeef hash recipe I’ve made in years.
I wasn’t expecting much—just a quick, no-fuss meal. But that first bite? Crispy edges, tender potatoes, smoky corned beef, a little kick of pepper. It tasted like something straight off a cozy diner griddle.
Honestly, it caught me off guard—in the best way. Here’s why this simple skillet completely won me over.
Emma Delacourt
Recipe Developer & Founder, MeatRecipesBox
Emma has been developing and testing meat recipes since 2019. She focuses on temperature precision, food science, and making restaurant-quality results accessible for home cooks. Every recipe on this site is tested multiple times before publishing.
