Chicken and Waffles with Honey Butter

Andre came to Atlanta. He showed up Thursday evening with a duffel bag, a guitar he doesn't know how to play (he says he's "learning" and has been "learning" since 2012), and the energy of a man who has been alone in a Los Angeles apartment writing jokes and needs to be around people who love him unconditionally.

The kids went feral with joy. Marcus worships Andre — the cool uncle from LA who tells jokes and stays up late and treats bedtime like a suggestion. Jasmine sat on Andre's lap and told him about every book she's read this summer in excruciating detail, and Andre listened to every word like she was presenting at a TED conference. That's Andre's gift — he makes you feel like the most interesting person in the room, even when you're nine and summarizing a book about island girls.

Friday night was the comedy show in Midtown. I got a sitter for the kids (Vanessa's mother, Miss Paulette, who charges in hugs and Tupperware and is worth her weight in gold). Andre's set was twenty minutes. He did a bit about growing up in Atlanta with a mother who seasoned everything like she was going to war — "My mama didn't cook with spices, she cooked with WEAPONS. Cayenne pepper like she was defending the kitchen from intruders." The audience loved it. I sat in the back and laughed until I couldn't breathe and then cried because the mama he was talking about is fighting cancer and the cayenne is still in the Folgers can and nothing about any of this is actually funny but Andre makes it funny because that's how he processes the same grief I process by cooking.

Saturday we all went to Cascade Heights. The whole crew — me, Andre, Marcus, Jasmine. Mama was up. She was DRESSED. She had her wig on, the good one, and her earrings, and she'd put on lipstick. For Andre. Because Andre is the baby and Brenda Jackson will get dressed for her baby even when getting dressed costs her everything she has. Andre walked in and said, "Mama, you look like you're going to the BET Awards," and she swatted him and said, "Boy, sit down," and the house felt like 1996 for a minute. Like Darnell was about to come down the stairs and Daddy was about to yell about something and Mama was about to start cooking and nobody was sick and nobody was gone and everything was just loud and warm and ours.

I made chicken and waffles for brunch. It's not Mama's recipe — Mama considers chicken and waffles a "hipster food" and refuses to acknowledge its legitimacy — but it's mine. I use her fried chicken recipe with homemade buttermilk waffles and a honey butter that I invented one Saturday when I had nothing else to put on the waffles. The honey butter has become the thing. Marcus puts it on everything. Andre ate four waffles and said, "Tamika, you cook better than Mama," and the room went silent like he'd committed a federal crime. Mama looked at him. Andre looked at me. I looked at the floor. Mama said, "He's joking." Andre said, "I'm joking." Nobody was joking but nobody was going to die on that hill.

Andre leaves Tuesday. The house will be quieter. I'll miss the noise. I always miss the noise when it stops.

That Sunday felt like the kind of morning worth marking — everybody home, the house full of that particular noise I’m always chasing when it’s gone — and chicken and waffles felt like the only thing loud enough to match it. It’s the meal I make when I want people to stay at the table a little longer, and that morning I needed them to stay. Here’s how I pulled it off.

Prep Time: 30 min (plus 4–8 hrs marinating) | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min active | Servings: 6

Ingredients

Fried Chicken

3 lbs bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks (about 6–8 pieces)
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Vegetable or peanut oil, for frying (about 4 cups)

Buttermilk Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Honey Butter

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, but don’t skip it)

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce. Add the chicken pieces, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. The longer it sits, the better the tenderness.
Make the honey butter. Beat the softened butter with a fork or hand mixer until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the honey, flaky salt, and cinnamon if using. Mix until fully combined and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside at room temperature. It will keep covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks — bring it back to room temperature before serving.
Set up the dredging station. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, onion powder, black pepper, and thyme. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk marinade one piece at a time, letting the excess drip off, and press firmly into the seasoned flour on all sides. Set the coated pieces on a wire rack and let them rest 10 minutes — this helps the crust adhere.
Fry the chicken. Pour oil into a large, deep cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven to a depth of about 2 inches. Heat over medium-high until it reaches 350°F. Working in batches to avoid crowding, fry the chicken 14–16 minutes for thighs and 12–14 minutes for drumsticks, turning once halfway through, until deep golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Transfer to a clean wire rack set over a baking sheet. Hold in a 200°F oven while you make the waffles.
Make the waffle batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg yolks, melted butter, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined — a few lumps are fine. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites gently into the batter in two additions. This is what makes them light.
Cook the waffles. Heat a waffle iron and lightly grease with nonstick spray or a thin brush of melted butter. Pour in enough batter to fill the iron (about 3/4 cup, depending on your iron). Cook until the waffle is deep golden and releases easily, about 4–5 minutes. Keep finished waffles warm on the wire rack in the oven alongside the chicken.
Assemble and serve. Place one waffle on each plate and set a piece of fried chicken on top. Add a generous spoonful of honey butter directly on the hot chicken so it melts down into the waffle. Serve immediately with extra honey butter on the side. Put it in the middle of the table. Watch what happens.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken and Waffles with Honey Butter — The Brunch That Made Andre Say I Cook Better Than Mama