Crispy Chicken with Scallion Waffles

What you need:

For the spicy maple butter:

• 1 stick butter
• 3 tbsp. maple syrup
• 3 tsp. hot sauce
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

For the chicken:

• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 lbs. chicken tenders*
• Vegetable oil
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper
• 3 cups panko bread crumbs
• 3 tbsp. ancho chili powder
• 3 large eggs

For the waffles:

• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup seltzer
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup chopped scallions
• Cooking spray

For serving:

• 2 tomatillos, cleaned and sliced

Directions:

For the spicy maple butter:

1. Mix all butter ingredients together and keep chilled in fridge.

For the chicken:

1. Mix together buttermilk, hot sauce, salt, garlic, and onion. Place mixture and chicken tenders into a large ziploc bag. Marinade for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 200* and put some wire racks onto 2 baking sheets. You will use these for keeping your chicken strips warm while you make them in batches.
3. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a large skillet to around 350*
4. Mix together flour, paprika, and salt and pepper in a shallow dish. In another, mix together panko, chili powder, and salt and pepper. In a bowl, beat the eggs together.
5. Dredge chicken through flour, then eggs, then panko. Don't overcrowd your skillet. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with all tenders.

For the waffles:

1. Preheat waffle iron and spray with cooking spray.
2. Mix together oil, vanilla, and eggs. Then add buttermilk and seltzer.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
4. Add dry to wet and mix in scallions.
5. Pour batter into waffle iron and cook until golden brown. Repeat with all batter.

For serving:

1. Spread maple butter on waffle, top with tomatillo slices, a few chicken strips, and another waffle.

Recipe from Jeff Mauro

*2 lbs made enough chicken tenders for us to freeze and have for a lunch with fries one day. So you could easily just use 1 lb. It's up to you. I would say 1 lb would feed 4 people, 2 lbs would feed 6-8 people.