Nashville Hot Chicken and Waffle Bites
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The following recipe and photography was provided by recipe developer and food photographer, Ashley Durand of Plate & Pen.
It’s football season and you know what that means… it’s time for game day bites! Tailgate food is a true passion for most sports enthusiasts, and these Nashville Hot Chicken and Waffle Bites are about to take your game up a notch!
For convenience, Heinen’s offers ready-to-heat maple waffles in the Frozen Department that are individually wrapped, making for easy prep and portion planning. Served with a piece of Gerber’s Amish Chicken breaded and dunked in a simple Nashville hot sauce, game day has never tasted so good!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- They’re sweet, savory and spicy! You’ll have full control over how much cayenne pepper goes into the Nashville hot sauce, so you can adjust the heat to your liking.
- They’re versatile to serve. Enjoy these bites as an open-face waffle sandwich, a regular two-waffle-style sandwich, or skewer them. They may not be the cleanest food to eat, but they’re undeniably delicious.
- They use Gerber’s CARE Certified chicken breasts. Gerber’s CARE Certified chicken breasts are raised on Amish farms in Ohio to the highest quality standards. I tend to cut these in half or even thirds before I season and batter them, which makes assembly easier.
Nashville Hot Chicken and Waffle Bites
Cook time: 45min Prep time: 20min Total time: 65min
Servings: 8-10
Ingredients
For the Nashville Hot Sauce
- 8 Tbsp. Heinen's butter (1 stick)
- 2 tsp. Heinen's onion powder
- 2 tsp. Heinen's garlic powder
- 2 tsp. Heinen's smoked paprika
- 2 tsp. Heinen's cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. salt
- 4 Tbsp. Heinen's light brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp. Heinen's honey
- 1 tsp. white vinegar
For the Chicken Batter
- 1 package Snackin' Buttery Maple Waffles
- 4-6 Gerber's CARE Certified chicken breasts (pound them if too thick, and cut into halves or thirds if too large)
- Canola oil, for frying (about 2 inches deep in pot)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp. Heinen's ground mustard
- 1 tsp. Two Brothers sweet and smokey seasoning
- 1/4 tsp. Heinen's cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 cup seltzer water
Additional Toppings
- Heinen's bread and butter pickle chips
- Heinen's pure organic maple syrup (optional)
Instructions
- Set the Snackin’ Buttery Maple Waffles aside so they’re ready to bake in the oven later (the box offers different ways to heat them).
- Prepare the Nashville Hot Sauce. Put the butter in a medium-size saucepan. Set the heat to low. Once melted, add in the rest of the sauce ingredients.
- Whisk until fully combined. Turn off the heat.
- In a medium-size pot, heat the canola oil to fry the chicken. While the oil is heating, mix the dry batter ingredients in a dredging bowl.
- Add the seltzer and stir until fully combined with no bubbles. The batter should be relatively thick.
- Set the batter near the frying oil for easy transfer. Place a wire rack on top of a baking tray. You will set the fried chicken on the wire rack when it comes out of the frying oil.
- Cut the chicken into small, bite-size pieces. Season the chicken with salt and pepper to your liking and coat it in the batter. When the oil is ready, drop each piece into the hot oil. Fry no more than three pieces at a time.
- Fry each piece for 3-4 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 165°F is reached. Do this for all of the pieces. Once fully cooked, remove the chicken from the hot oil and place on the wire rack to drain the excess oil.
- When all of the chicken is fried, bake the Snackin’ Waffles in the oven.
- Bring the hot sauce back to a simmer and whisk vigorously to recombine. It should become thinner. Transfer the hot sauce to a clean mixing bowl and dip each piece of chicken thoroughly. Return the chicken to the wire rack.
- When finished, assemble the mini sandwiches. Add a bread and butter pickle chip on top and enjoy!
