chicken and waffles sandwich;

I hope that a lot of things on my blog look tasty.  But if you’re feeling ambitious, THIS IS THE RECIPE FOR YOU.  Note that with all the different components, it’s not really what I would consider an “easy” recipe.  It’s definitely less stressful if tackled with a kitchen partner, or having made some of the ingredients in advance.  A bunch of components can be made for other recipes earlier in the week, so this can be an awesome clean out the fridge recipe.  Make the juicy lucy burger earlier in the week and save up the bacon jam.  Make a tasty salami sandwich for lunch and make some extra maple mustard sauce. Make waffles for breakfast on a lazy Sunday and freeze a few, then toast them up on day-of-sandwich.  Oh lookie, I just did your meal planning for you!

Or, if you’re planning to tackle this recipe wholesale, at least make use of that 30 minute buttermilk spa treatment the chicken gets.  Let me tell you, our kitchen was a little bit of a crazy place because I ignored it, and T had a very large number of dishes to clean up (sorry T!).  But he and I both agreed that it was worth it 100%.  If you’re planning to make all components of this sandwich at one time, then I suggest to finish the following while the chicken in resting in it’s buttermilk bath:

• Start the bacon jam first, since it needs some time to render down and get jammy.  (Or use leftover jam from making my juicy lucy burger earlier in the week!)  Make sure this is done and set aside before starting on the chicken.
• Fry up the bacon crisp, and set aside to allow it to drain on a paper-towel lined plate.
• Whisk up the maple mustard sauce and set aside.
• Mix together the flour and spice mix for the chicken.
• Mix together the waffle batter and let sit until it’s waffletime. (I used the very awesome, not-from-scratch Bisquick recipe.)

Once you have all the pieces set (mise en place, people!  It really works wonders in my very-messy-very-hectic-kitchen), then begin working with the chicken.  I unfortunately came upon these tips the hard way–I ran to the store to get bacon while the chicken rested, and therefore was a bit of a flustered crazy person in the kitchen for this meal trying to do everything at once.  None of the pieces themselves are particularly hard, but they need to be made separately and involve a lot of separate ingredients.

I will also note that I decided that I love this maple mustard sauce.  It’s light, and sweet, and tangy, and brings a huge depth of flavor for three ingredients.  I slathered it on my waffle, but T is more of a ketchup person than mustard, so he went light on that option.  You can always add more or swap out sandwich fixings based on your own preferences–add some sharp cheddar, some lettuce, some slices of tomato instead of bacon jam, etc.  But I wouldn’t skimp on the mustard sauce (if you like mustard)!  I actually really want to try using it as a glaze substitute like my miso glazed chicken wings, which maybe I’ll get to make later this week. If I do, you can be sure I’ll let you know how it goes!

(UPDATE 9/12/16: It took me a little longer than a week, but I did try the maple mustard out on wings–and it’s awesome!  Check out the post: maple mustard wings).

Related posts:

butter chicken curry and naan; maple mustard wings; the everyday thanksgiving sandwich; avocado chicken salad; buffalo chicken wrap;