Chicken and waffles for 8: buttermilk-soaked chicken cutlets and green tomato slices in a cornflake and panko crust, stacked on Belgian waffles with bacon, under warm maple syrup with a kick of sriracha. It's an early-kickoff tailgate plan. Do the frying at home, then crisp everything on the grill and build the stacks at the lot.
Feeds: 8 · Hands-on: about 30 min · Total: about 2 hours, mostly chilling in the fridge
Home gear: a Dutch oven and a frying thermometer
Pack for the lot
- Chicken, sealed, in the cooler
- Tomatoes, in their own container
- Bacon
- Frozen waffles
- Jar of sriracha maple syrup
- Foil pan
- Small saucepan
- Tongs
- Instant-read thermometer
- Charcoal and a chimney starter
- Fire extinguisher (required on the Quad)
- Toothpicks, if you're doing sliders
Lot notes
- Why fry at home: a pot of hot oil is the riskiest thing you can bring to a tailgate, and plenty of lots don't allow it. On the Quad at Alabama, grills must be charcoal with an extinguisher close by, and generators are banned, so a propane fryer is out. A charcoal kettle handles every step at the lot.
- Hot instead of cold: if you're eating within 2 hours of frying, pack the chicken hot in a foil pan, wrap it in towels and set it in an empty cooler. Eat it by the 2-hour mark, or the 1-hour mark when it's over 90°F.
- Keep the crunch: pack the tomatoes and chicken in separate containers. Steam trapped in a sealed container softens the crust, so leave the lids cracked on the hot pack.
- Peanut oil: check whether anyone in your crew has a peanut allergy. Canola works the same at 350°F.
- Cleanup: let the oil cool completely at home, strain it, and keep it for next week's fry or throw it out sealed. Never pour it on the grass.
Can you make chicken and waffles ahead for a tailgate?
Yes. Fry the chicken and tomatoes up to a day ahead, refrigerate them, and reheat on the grill to 165°F. The waffles go straight from frozen to the grate.
How do you keep fried chicken crisp at a tailgate?
Pack it apart from the tomatoes, with the lids cracked if it's going in hot, then give each piece a minute a side right on the grate before serving. Direct heat dries the crust back out.
How much do you need for 20 people?
Multiply everything by 2½: 20 cutlets, 10 green tomatoes, 20 slices of bacon, 20 waffles, 5 cups of syrup and 5 tbsp of sriracha. The oil stays the same. You just fry more batches.
Can you make chicken and waffle sliders?
Yes. For a crowd that grazes, cut each waffle into quarters and each cutlet into 4 pieces, then stack them on a toothpick with a piece of tomato and a drizzle of syrup. It's the same recipe and makes about 32 bites.
Can you fry at Bryant-Denny Stadium?
Not with a propane fryer on the Quad. Grills there must be charcoal and generators are banned, which is why this recipe does its frying at home.