An Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch specialty, this curious compilation is seen more frequently in the towns east of Pittsburgh, where it pops up on local restaurant and buffet menus from State College to Lancaster to Reading. “Whenever I’ve tried to discuss our style of chicken and waffles with people, they seem confused until I explain that the waffles are just a nice alternative to dumplings or mashed potatoes with a roast chicken dinner (or, at my grandma’s house, an addition to mashed potatoes!),” said food writer and northeastern Pennsylvania native Michele Laudig. “It’s the starch that soaks up all the delicious gravy.”
Unlike Michele’s experiences, this wasn’t a meal served at home for my family. Chicken and waffles were a special-occasion food, a delicacy available when we gussied ourselves up to go to the Oakhurst Tea Room in Somerset, which has been serving the dish since 1933. It’s still part of their smorgasbord buffet and available on the lunch menu, where they’ll let you choose stuffing or french fries in place of the mashed potatoes if you so desire, but warn that there’s “No half portion on Waffle unless two people are splitting it.”
It was also often the closest I came to religion. The dish has always been a staple of Pennsylvania church and community fairs, served in the cool linoleum-floored basement meeting halls as a fundraising tool and counterpoint to the fresh-squeezed lemonade and Slushies from the outdoor booths. Despite not being Catholic, I ate my fair share of chicken and waffles from St. Benedict’s church on Bedford Ave., tagging along with friends during our summer vacations.
Once we moved closer to Pittsburgh and further away from the more traditionally rural Pennsylvania Dutch communities, chicken and waffles fell off my culinary radar. I got my driver’s license and spent weekends eating Denny’s caesar salad and seasoned fries (with a side of caesar dressing for dipping!), Boston Market side item samplers, and Eat n’ Park clam chowder with friends, forgetting my food roots as so many teenagers do in favor of the communal booths of chain restaurants. Now that I’m older and look at my upbringing through a nostalgic lens, I think it’s time to bring chicken and waffles back to prominence.
Though the Amish chicken and waffle combo has been spotted as far south as Baltimore, it sadly hasn’t made the leap to nationwide fame. While I understand the appealing mash-up of fried, salty, and sweet that’s brought Southern chicken and waffles to icon status, the “epic comfort food” (as Michele calls it) deserves a bigger place at the table.
Why don’t more Pennsylvania-bred chefs tweak it for their menus and give it an upscale spin? Meat and Potatoes, the downtown Pittsburgh gastropub, does a Southern version with fried chicken, bourbon and bacon-infused syrup, and a savory cheddar jalapeño waffle for brunch, but ignores the PA heritage version entirely. (They also do a fancy bologna sandwich for lunch, but that’s another story.) Supper in Philadelphia serves chicken over a biscuit with truffle mustard cream sauce, which is at least a step closer to my goal of a chicken and waffle on every plate, but it’s still a nearly fruitless search.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to make it at home with the remnants of my roasted chicken, a quick batch of waffles, and a pan of poultry gravy—it’s gotta be creamy, and it’s gotta have that golden hue. If you’re from Pennsylvania and have memories of chicken and waffles, leave your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear your variations and if you’ve seen it elsewhere in the country.
Amish Chicken and Waffles
Prep time: 30 minutes for waffles and gravy
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes if roasting a chicken, 30 minutes if using a rotisserie chicken
Total time: 2 hours if roasting a chicken, 1 hour if using a rotisserie chicken
Makes 4 servings
Chicken
- 1 3- to 4-pound chicken, roasted at 400˚ for 45 minutes to an hour until a meat thermometer registers 165˚ in the thickest part of the thigh,
or a good rotisserie chicken. No shame in that game.
Waffles
adapted from Brunch
- 1 large egg
- 4 tablespoons (2 oz.) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup milk (can be whole, low-fat, skim, whatever)
- 1 cup (4 1/4 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Preheat a 4-square waffle maker.
Separate the egg yolk and white, and reserve the egg white in a small bowl.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan and remove from heat to cool slightly.
Whisk the egg yolk and milk together in a large bowl, then add the melted butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk together until just barely combined; some lumps may remain.
Beat the egg white by hand or with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg white into the batter with a spatula.
Grease the waffle maker, if necessary, and pour the batter evenly into the waffle iron; depending on the depth and size of your waffle maker, you may have a bit of leftover batter. Cook according to your waffle maker’s specifications.
Gravy
- 4 tablespoons (2 oz.) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1/4 cup half and half or whole milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or deep skillet over medium-low heat. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the melted butter and whisk to incorporate into a roux.
Cook, whisking frequently, until the roux turns toasty golden. It will remain pale for a few minutes, then toast quickly, so keep an eye on it.
Drizzle in the chicken stock, whisking constantly as it’s added. The flour will clump, but continue to whisk and the gravy will smooth itself out. Add the half and half and cook, stirring frequently, until the gravy thickens and comes to a simmer.
Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble:
Place a waffle on a plate, top with shredded roast chicken, and drizzle with gravy. Add mashed potatoes if you’re into it. That’s all you need.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh man. Wait til I show James this post!
Ah, Somerset, the gateway to Hollsopple.
So RandeB, did you wash your chicken and waffles down with some ice-cream from Friedens? What is the name of that place?
Dunno, dessert was always Granny’s pies.
Oh wow! I’m a huge southern style chicken and waffles fan, never heard of this version but I’d totally go for fries or mashed potatoes on it!
I ,too, was lucky enough to grow up with the hearty influences of Amish cooking.
We are these chicken and waffles, corn meal mush for breakfast, wilted dandelions with hot bacon dressing, and shoe fly pie.
I loved that time of innocence when there couldn’t be too many carbs on a plate!
Can’t wait to try this version!
That looks crazy good!!
I grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch Country (York County!) and among the things I miss are Chicken Pot Pie, which is not a pie at all. I had totally forgotten about this version of Chicken & Waffles – thanks for reminding me. We might have to have this soon.
A) I love this so much. B) I need a waffle iron. I feel like people don’t look as fondly on putting gravy on pancakes…
Proud to be from the same state as something this wonderful.
I grew up with chicken and waffles too! They were a Wednesday treat at a local diner in Northumberland County and my mother made the best recipe ever! She poached chicken breasts for hers. The so called Southern version was actually invented in NYC when a local restaurant owner in Harlem invented it for the musicians getting off work in the wee hours of the morning. They couldn’t decide if they wanted breakfast or dinner, so he combined them together so they could have both. Clever, but not the original PA Dutch version. Thanks for your version–by the way, this stuff doesn’t need a snotty upscale version-otherwise it wouldn’t be chicken and waffles anymore! Laura’s experience sounds a lot like mine too!