Spicy Fried Chicken & Sweet Potato Waffles

Oddly enough, chicken and waffles has become a classic culinary combination over the past few years. Whether you see Nashville Hot Chicken or regular ol’ golden- n’ crispy-fried, the combination of crispy and savory chicken somehow just works with a sweet and fluffy waffle. In our version we add just enough Pat's Hot Dust to the chicken breading to bring some heat and flavor. We also make a downright tasty waffle batter using a prepared mix and canned sweet potatoes but feel free to make yours from scratch or even use leftover cooked sweet potato instead of canned.

Ingredients

For The Chicken:
1 whole chicken, cut into quarters
1 quart buttermilk
5 Tbs. Martin’s Pat's Hot Dust, divided
8 cups vegetable oil
3 cups flour
½ cup cornmeal
1 tsp. Salt

For The Waffles:
1 15oz can cut yams, drained and mashed (or 1 cup sweet potato, peeled, cooked and mashed)
2 ½ cups all-purpose pancake & waffle mix
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 cup water
¼ tsp. cinnamon
Maple syrup

Method

Begin by preparing the chicken. In a large bowl, mix together buttermilk and 4 Tbs. Pat's Hot Dust, and submerge chicken parts. Let brine for at least 30 minutes. Note: if making more or less chicken and want to modify the brine, the ratio should be 1 tablespoon Devil’s Dust per 1 cup of buttermilk.

In a medium sized bowl, prepare the breading by mixing together flour, cornmeal, salt, and remaining Devil’s Dust. Using either a fryer or a heavy-bottomed dutch oven, heat oil to 325 F.

Remove chicken from buttermilk brine and dredge in flour mixture, making sure the chicken is coated. Add to fryer or dutch oven and fry for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy and cooked to 165 degrees internal temperature. Dark meat will typically take a little longer than white meat. Place the cooked chicken on a rack to rest before serving.

Mix together the waffle batter in a large bowl. Start by adding the mashed sweet potatoes and add in waffle mix, vegetable oil, water and cinnamon and using a whisk to combine. If too thick, add 1 tablespoon at a time of water until desired consistency is reached.

Cook the waffles in a preheated waffle iron and serve by placing fried chicken atop the cooked waffle. Serve with maple syrup and and an extra sprinkle of Devil’s Dust if desired.