Blackened Cajun Chicken & Waffles

Fried chicken and waffles gets a bold upgrade with Schwartz Blackened Cajun Seasoning - layered into every step for deep, punchy flavour. This American soul food classic balances sweet, spicy, and savoury with a hit of heat, finished with a spicy maple syrup that keeps customers coming back for more. Click here to discover the range of recipes Sam & Shauna AKA @samandshaunaofficial and @hangfirebbq have created using Schwartz’s Blackened Cajun Seasoning.

Ingredients

For the Fried Chicken: | Serves 4
1 1/2 kg chicken quarters, or portion a medium chicken into 8 pieces
90 g Schwartz Blackened Cajun Seasoning, split into 3 x 30gms
150 g self-raising flour
100 g cornflour
100 g rice flour
6 eggs, beaten
300 ml buttermilk, split into 2 x 150ml
2 litres of neutral oil for deep frying, such as sunflower, rapeseed or vegetable
50 g salted butter, melted
50 g French’s Mustard
For the Waffles | Serves 4
1 egg, lightly beaten
225 g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
250 ml whole milk
50 g butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
30 g Schwartz Blackened Cajun Seasoning
1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
Additional equipment: waffle iron, or a waffle maker
For the Cajun Maple Syrup: | Serves 4
100 Canadian Maple Syrup
2 tbsp Schwartz Blackened Cajun Seasoning

Procedure

Start by making the marinade for the chicken. Add 150ml of buttermilk to a bowl with 30g of Schwartz Blackened Cajun Seasoning along with the French’s Mustard. Mix well. Put your chicken pieces in a ziplock bag then pour the marinade to the bag. Seal the bag, making sure the marinade is massaged into the chicken. Allow at least 3hrs, or ideally overnight for the chicken to fully tenderise and marinade.
Next make the waffle batter. Add the egg into a large bowl, then the flour and the salt. Add the sugar then gradually whisk in the milk followed by the melted butter until smooth, finally add the vanilla and 30g Schwartz Blackened Cajun Seasoning. Alternatively, make the batter by blitzing all the ingredients together using a blender or hand blender. Can be made 1-2 hrs ahead and chilled.
Now to make your ‘breading station’. You’ll need three large bowls and a wire rack, ideally sat on a baking sheet. Mix all the flours plus 60gm of Schwartz Blackened Cajun Seasoning together and split between two bowls.
In a third bowl, add the eggs and buttermilk, whisk together
In a large, deep pan, add the oil and heat to 175°c.
Add half of your chicken pieces to the first bowl of seasoned flour, toss each piece lightly in the flour, flip them at least five or six times each (the more the better!). Give them a shake to remove excess flour and then dunk them in the egg mix and finally into the last flour dredge. Toss them again in the seasoned flour for the same time, then lay each piece to rest on a wire rack while you finish dredging all the chicken.
Finally cook the chicken pieces in the hot oil. Try not to overcrowd the pan as they cook. The chicken is ready when it reaches 75°c internal temperature measured by an instant read thermometer
To make the spicy maple syrup, simply heat up the maple syrup in a pan, add in the seasoning and transfer to a jug or a jar when cooled. Pour over as much as you’d like. We follow this with the melted butter to add an extra luxurious finish.