Sooooooooooooooul Food

Growing up in the south I'm no stranger the delicious, warm, often spicy, and usually quite fatty comfort food known as soul food. This can range from fried catfish to collard greens with bacon and onion mixed in. So mouth watering. I'm a huge fan of things that mix sweet and salty flavors. Because of this chicken and waffles is one of my favorite classics that I've added my own twist to.

Usually you serve chicken and waffles with a  piece of greasy fried chicken. I serve mine with oven "fried" chicken. The addition of Panko bread crumbs makes it extra crispy and you don't even miss the fried part. The recipe for the Faux Fried Chicken below makes a lot for one reason; this recipe is amazing cold the next day.
I'm not including the recipe for waffles though, since for this particular meal we just used Hungry Jack brand pancake mix and followed the directions for making waffles in the waffle iron. Either way, the crispy, sweet waffles and maple syrup paired with the extra crispy, salty and spicy chicken was so comforting and so worth a try for all of you chicken and waffle skeptics out there.

This dish is great served with waffles or with mashed potatoes and homemade coleslaw or collard greens. 

                          Faux Fried Chicken                         Makes about 14 pieces

• 14 pieces of chicken, thawed and skinned
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce 
• 1 tbs Sriracha Sauce
• 4 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

In a large bowl combine the chicken pieces, buttermilk, Frank's Red Hot and Sriracha.
Toss all of the ingredients together so that the buttermilk becomes a pink color and the chicken is fully submerged.
Cover the bowl and marinate for at least 1 hour. I usually marinate it overnight.
The next day preheat the oven to 450 °F.
Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. 
Grab one piece at a time and toss it in the bread crumb mixture until it is pretty much fully coated. Dip it back into the buttermilk and then into the crumbs again.
Place all coated pieces on a lightly greased or nonstick baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until  golden brown, crispy and the internal temperature reads 165 °F.

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