Hot Chicken and Waffle Sandwich

Start by marinating the chicken: place the chicken thighs in a medium-sized container and pour buttermilk and hot sauce over them. Mix everything together to coat the chicken evenly, then cover it up and put it in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

Next, get your waffles ready: combine the waffle mix, water, egg, and oil in a medium-sized bowl; whisk everything together until it's well combined.

Heat up the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and preheat a mini waffle maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Spray the waffle maker with cooking spray and cook the waffles one at a time until they're golden brown. Place the cooked waffles on a baking sheet and put them in the oven to keep warm.

Now, it's time to prepare the chicken again: heat 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a deep cast iron skillet or Dutch oven.

While the oil is heating up, mix together the flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. This will be used to coat the chicken.

Remove the chicken thighs from the buttermilk mixture one at a time and let any excess liquid drip off. Then, coat each chicken thigh lightly in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Repeat this process once more by dipping the chicken back in the buttermilk mixture and then coating it again with the flour mixture. Finally, place each chicken thigh on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and repeat the process to coat the remaining chicken.

Fry 2 chicken thighs at a time in the hot oil until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 170 degrees F (77 degrees C), turning them 2 to 3 times, about 8 minutes per batch. Drain the chicken on a clean wire rack set inside a paper towel-lined baking sheet.

Combine the remaining paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper with cayenne pepper and brown sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Carefully whisk in 1 cup of the hot frying oil. Brush each fried chicken thigh with this spicy oil mixture.

Stir maple syrup into the remaining spice mixture.

Place 1 piece of chicken on a waffle and top with 1/4 cup coleslaw. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of the spicy maple mixture and place a second waffle on top. Repeat this process with the remaining ingredients and serve immediately.