Chicken-IN-Waffles

These certainly aren't the way Ms. Butterworth's or Bisquick or (insert any other brand of pancake mix) intended. Nor are they anywhere near what you typically come across in your standard brunch joint. I'd argue they're better because these Chicken-IN-Waffles can re-heat easily by popping them in the toaster!

1. Your choice of Off-The-Shelf (OTS) pancake and waffle mix
2. Butter (salted/unsalted - your personal preference)
3. Maple Syrup (Nothing beats the real thing)
4. Eggs
5. Milk
6. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1. The first step to proper chicken for this recipe is to clean-up the number of boneless chicken breasts you want to use.
2. Remove any unnecessary hunks of misc. fat, connective tissue and blood patches found on the chicken breast. A cleaner product will have a tastier result.

1. Start by slicing your clean chicken breasts into approximately 1/2 inch strips.
2. Follow this up by chunking the chicken strips into approximately 1 inch pieces.
3. Take a few pieces and using your meat hammer to flatten them. You're going for pieces of flattened chicken that are between 1 1/2 - 2 inches by 1 1/2 - 2 inches.

Do this for as much chicken as you want to turn into Chicken-IN-Waffles.

1. Take your flattened pieces of chicken breast and pour a generous amount of maple syrup on them.
2. Ensure they are well coated.

These can sit for a few minutes soaking up the maple goodness, will help seal in a little moisture of the chicken and provides a pop of flavor in the finished product.

1. Take your standard off-the-shelf pancake mix and ALMOST follow the directions.
2. Adding a nice helping of butter which will help the batter naturally release from the waffle maker.
3. In the case of this OTS I do make sure to add egg and replace water with milk. By using milk instead of water, the waffles puff up better.
4. An immersion blender guarantees a well blended batter and in the case of protein pancake mix that the oats are minced. More milk will be needed than the normal recipe calls for.
5. You want it more the consistency a thick creamy shake.
   • If you accidentally make it too runny, add a little more pancake mix but make sure to re-blend (I'm not a fan of burnt pieces of oat).

1. Drop a few pieces of chicken in the batter.
2. Take a couple pieces of battered chicken and throw them in your Dash Waffle Maker (or other viable waffle maker option - Adjust chicken quantity accordingly or to your liking).
3. Fill in any apparent gaps on your waffle iron with some batter.
4. In the case of the Dash Waffle Maker, leave it closed for at least 7 minutes (a normal non-chicken waffle should take about 5 minutes). Remember you are cooking chicken in addition to making a normal waffle.
5. I flattened my chicken thinly enough and always cut open the first couple to ensure even the chicken is cooked to its necessary white coloring.
6. Your resulting waffle should be the standard golden brown and pop out of the waffle maker due to the butter added at the batter stage.

You will not lose the maple flavor just because you let pieces sit for a couple minutes in the batter.

Note: This was only done in a Dash Waffle Maker. If you are using another type of waffle maker add time to your normal waffle cooking respective to the brand you are using. Make sure you check your first couple chicken-in-waffles and adjust the cooking time as necessary!! The author of this instructable is not responsible for ensuring that you have properly cooked your chicken.

Hooray! If you're at this step, you've made your first batch of Chicken-In-Waffles! Dress them up how you want and enjoy!