How To Hack Your Own Chicken And 'Waffles' At McDonald's

Americans have a massive hunger for anything with chicken these days, which is probably best illustrated in the so-called chicken sandwich wars, according to Restaurant Business, and a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association reports that chicken sandwiches are only going to grow in popularity. But before there were 100 different crispy chicken handhelds, the country fell in love with chicken and waffles, a southern-influenced dish that is just like it sounds: fried chicken (sometimes spicy) served with waffles and syrup. If you can't get enough crispy chicken, you don't have to choose between a grab-and-go sandwich or a sit-down brunch, however. There's a super easy hack you can order from McDonald's that will give you the chicken and waffle flavor you're craving, that also has the convenience of a fast food sandwich.

If you're on the road, or just a Micky D's fan wishing there was a waffle chicken sandwich, all you need to do to get a crispy, maple-y fix is to order a Chicken McGriddle and a couple of extra sauces. Set your alarm to get down to your local McDonald's if you want to try it, however, because the catch is that you have to order it while they're still serving breakfast. Just think of it as McBrunch.

It's sort of an open secret that fast food places have what fans call "secret menus." Sometimes restaurants have agreed-upon secret menu items that aren't listed on the menu that staff are trained to make, but most of the time a secret menu is just a list of fan-favorite items that are created out of existing menu items. For example, most McDonald's staff know what to make when someone asks for a Mc 10:35 Burger, which is a mashup of a McDouble and an Egg McMuffin that can only be ordered in the narrow window of time when the restaurant is serving both breakfast and lunch, hence the name.

If you're hankering for a chicken and waffle sandwich, while you can't actually order waffles at McDonald's (although they tested a version in 2017), you can get the same flavor experience by doctoring up a McGriddle. A Chicken McGriddle, according to McDonald's website, is made up of, "a savory, crispy, chicken patty, served on soft, warm McGriddles griddle cakes." The griddle cakes are a pretty close approximation to waffles, they just don't have the holes. So since the sandwich already has the chicken and the "waffles," all you need is to ask for some maple syrup and some of their Spicy Buffalo Sauce (an option for McNuggets) for the signature dish's flavor.

When you get your chicken and waffle sandwich components, you can either pour a bit of each sauce on top of your chicken, or you can dip your sandwich bite by bite. You can even mix the two sauces together and slather it on both sides of the chicken — whatever gets you the best chicken and waffle experience.

The most important thing to remember, however, is that McDonald's only serves McGriddles during breakfast, which at most stores runs from 5:00 to 10:30 a.m. Some stores extend their breakfast hour to 11:00 a.m., but there's no guarantee that your local outlet will be serving up McGriddles past 10:30 a.m. unless you call ahead or check your app for hours.

If you're up in time, however, and you're feeling like a chicken and waffle fix instead of the same old bowl of cereal, there's no need to get all dressed up for a fancy brunch. Just head to McDonald's, or order up a delivery, and you've got breakfast in the bag, no reservation (or cooking) required.