Amish Chicken and Waffles Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is chicken and waffles a black thing? ›

A traditional story about the origin of the dish in soul food states that because African Americans in the South rarely had the opportunity to eat chicken and were more familiar with flapjacks or pancakes than with waffles, they considered the dish a delicacy.

The earliest American chicken and waffle combination appears in Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1600's, when home cooks made waffles and topped them with pulled chicken and gravy.

Southerners will say that they created the chicken and waffle dish but it actually originated in Pennsylvania thanks to the Pennsylvania Dutch. In the 1600s, the Pennsylvania Dutch served a dish that had a waffle with pulled chicken and gravy on top, thus creating the chicken and waffle dish.

Chicken and waffles has everything you could want in a dish: it's crunchy, salty, sweet, and savory. Chicken and waffles are like bacon and eggs, not so much an individual dish as an imaginative fusion of two different things indelibly joined in a celebrated coupling.

However, the one undisputed fact about chicken and waffles is their link to African American cuisine. Whether the recipe was invented in jazz clubs in New York, or in the 1700s when the waffle iron became an American staple, what can be said is that they are delicious when made right.

I know the Dutch basically created waffles but African American tradition says Black jazz clubs in the 1920s started serving chicken with waffles and it became very popular. It is the mixture of spice and sweetness that makes it so good.

Belgian waffles taste more soft and crispy, while waffles in the Netherlands are made from a heavier batter with a chewy and sticky texture. Another prominent difference lies in the shapes used by Belgian and Dutch styles. The former is in the shape of rectangle and the latter is round.

Belgian waffles are typically made with a yeast-based batter, which gives them a slightly tangy flavor and a light, airy texture. Dutch waffles, on the other hand, are typically made with a batter that is more similar to pancakes, which gives them a denser texture and a sweeter flavor.

A Stroopwafel is a delicious Dutch cookie that looks like a small waffle. Each is filled with a spiced buttery caramel syrup. The Dutch word for this is stroop.

Earlier in 2011, the company caused controversy by serving fried chicken and waffles at the University of California on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Watermelon became a racist trope associated with Black people when slaves were emancipated after the American Civil War.

Is waffles older than pancakes? ›

Pancakes are way older than waffles; they've been around in some form since at least the 1430s, based on the first written record of the word “pancake,” but probably existed long before then in some form. The first waffle iron was only patented in 1869, so relatively speaking, it's still the new kid on the block.

The Origins of Waffles

Our sweet research shows they were first known as “obleios,” flat cakes cooked between two metal plates. These ancient waffles were quite different from the fluffy ones we enjoy today; they were often savory and used as a vessel for holding meats and other toppings.

Try putting the chicken on top of the waffles and cutting off pieces of both at the same time. You can also shred the chicken, if you prefer. If you're not sure whether you're going to like the chicken and waffles together, taste a little bit of each by itself first.

So, what do you do with your dish? Well most people prefer to pour syrup on top (yes, even on the chicken) before they dive in and start enjoying. Just make sure you get a bite of both chicken and waffle with every fork full, as the seamless blend of flavors is what makes this dish so great to begin with.

Once electric waffle irons replaced those inconvenient metal plates, waffles officially became an American favorite. The earliest American chicken and waffle combination appears in Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1600's, when home cooks made waffles and topped them with pulled chicken and gravy.

Since their bones have not calcified completely, pigment from the bone marrow can seep through the porous bones. When the chicken is cooked, the pigment turns dark. Freezing can also contribute to this seepage. It's perfectly safe to eat chicken meat that turns dark near the bone during cooking.

Their beaks, tongues, combs and wattles appear black, and even their meat, bones, and organs are black or gray. Their blood is normally colored. The birds' black color occurs as a result of excess pigmentation of the tissues, caused by a genetic condition known as fibromelanosis.

Many Americans and some other nationalities are adverse to eating the dark meat of chicken. There is naturally more blood circulating in the legs of these animals where oxygenation of the working muscles is necessary. That is why the meat is darker (but it actually has more flavor than the white meat muscles).

Research suggests that the dark meat of black chicken breeds like the Kadaknath provides a rich source of carnosine. Carnosine is a protein-building compound that has antioxidant properties, so eating black chicken meat may be a healthier choice than white meat.