Chicken 'n Waffles...Skillman Style

I'll be honest: I've never understood the whole thing about fried chicken served on a waffle. I mean, really! I get the concept of a lovely square of leavened fluffiness as a repository for fallen juices or sauce, but this? The waffle seems to be there to sop up the grease? Ew.

Still, I've been intrigued....wondering how I could be immune to such a classic pairing. So much so, that I could almost say I was haunted.

So it's safe to say the notion of waffles is rarely far from my mind when I crave fried chicken. Ah, but even during Passover, you say? YES!, I say: Passover fried chicken is wonderful. Under a crunchy coating of seasoned matzah meal lies juicy, flavorful chicken! And since it was Passover, I dip one and a half times, not my usual two.

But Pesachdik waffles? Truly, I'm not one to try to fit year-round food into this holiday's mold, so no Passover Pasta or Pastries or Pain Perdu 'round here. That can wait the eight days. I prefer to put the holiday into the food and this year, the muses gifted me with uncanny inspiration: Waffles made from the batter I use to make potato gnocchi (NO flour!) for the Seder. A silky mix of mashed potatoes, eggs and herbs...yum!

Now, I get Chicken 'n Waffles! They were light; they had flavor; they added something to the meal. A light drizzle of pure maple syrup and I was entering the Promised Land!

Details?
Here goes:

Matzah Meal Fried Chicken 

-Heat about an inch of canola oil in a large cast iron skillet to 350.
-Place 3 or so cups matzah meal, seasoned liberally with salt, freshly ground pepper, granulated garlic and smoked paprika in a dish suitable for dredging.
-In another, similar, dish mix 6 to 8 egg whites with about a half cup of hot sauce.
-Dip the chicken in the wet mixture then the dry and repeat the process with just the tops. Place on a wire rack over a baking pan to dry and set the crust. 
-Fry to a crispy golden brown - about 10 mins per piece - or until the internal temp reaches 170 and drain on another wire rack over another baking pan.
(These proportions should coat the parts of a whole chicken.)

Potato Waffles

-Boil 3 large baking potatoes that have been peeled and cubed in salted water until fork tender.

-Rice them (or mash 'em if you don't have a ricer) into a large bowl.

-Mix in 4 T butter, salt and ground black pepper, about a third cup minced fresh parsley, 2 finely chopped scallions, and 5 beaten eggs. The mixture should be rather 'gloppy.'

-Heat your waffle iron, and using those directions and a lot of spray oil, ladle in your mixture and crisp to perfection.

I have seen the light...and it is good! Enjoy this variation - at Pesach or any time of year!

It had to be done...

...or as my friend so aptly put it: A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

So I did.

I needed fried chicken tonight, but being Passover...Oy vey, there's only so much unleavening a gal can take!...I couldn't use flour....Ah, but I do have matzah meal and matzah cake flour (just a finer ground version)...Would it work? Of course it would, I saw it in a magazine! Oooo, and they used egg whites as the wet stuff...interesting...I'll give it a go.

Of course, that's all I took from the recipe...matzah meal and egg whites...the rest belongs to that chef.

John and his soux chef (Jere) created a mashed potato dish Friday night when I was socializing that he replicated with sweet potatoes - essentially mashed w/carmelized onions - and put on some green beans while I lugged out the Behemoth and did the chicken strips.

Details?
Here goes:

-Heat about an inch of canola oil in a large cast iron skilled to 350.
-My chicken needed to be stripped, so I cut each of the 4 breasts into long thirds.
(A bit of a warning here: I had too much dip and dredge, so these amounts reflect that...)
-Mix 1 part matzah cake flour with 2 parts matzah meal, season liberally with salt, freshly ground pepper and granulated garlic in a suitable dish for dredging.
-In another, similar, dish mix 4 egg whites with a half t each aleppo pepper flakes and smoked paprika. I usually use hot sauce here, but my GPS failed me this week and I'm out. (It's on the shopping list for next week as is port...can't have that happen again!)
-Dip the chicken in the wet mixture then the dry and fry to crispy golden brown.

Not only did this work, but it worked great! Don't think it'll replace my Famous Fried Chicken, but it's a terrific alternative for Passover or any other time...

Oh, and even though it's still Passover, I only dipped once.

The result?