Brother John's Mountain Man Waffle Sandwich with Smoky Bacon, Cream Cheese, Fried Egg and Pure Maple Syrup

Arkansas Vs. Tulsa

It's another breakfast game this week, so here comes an amazing twist on the traditional morning fare.

This meal is ridiculously  shut-your-pie-hole good. I created it from whole cloth and I am sharing it with you as my gift to the universe .If I die young, you may remember me as the father of three beautiful children and the husband of a talented beauty. Or, you can simply think of me as the guy who kicked waffles in the ass.

There is sound research behind this dish. For the last four years I have devoted dozens of Saturday mornings to develop the world's best hearty mutligrain waffle, and to cooking it perfectly. I started with various mixes, blended them, tried recipies, etc. Finally, I perfected the waffle recipe two years ago as a dish without dairy. The vegan waffle, which I call the Tree Hugger Waffle, is 95 percent as good as the recipe I am suggesting here. So I'm going to give you both recipes in one, and release an important piece of my soul to the world.

It was a quest for a waffle with deep caramel color and character that can be cooked crisp on the outside with a hearty texture and a warm, softer center. I wanted it to stand up to syrup and whatever else I threw at it without getting soft or mushy. And I wanted it to be fabulouosly mutligrained so could revel in its healthfulness, leaving room for all the unhealthy things that would accompany it.

The dream that would become Brother John's Mountain Man Waffle Sandwich began at a Kiwanis pancake breakfast decades ago, when I accidentally discovered what happens when savory, smokey, salty bacon meets the sweet, earthy pancake syrup. Some people might not appreciate this penultimate collision of flavors. To these people I offer nothing but scorn.

Step two came at a local restaurant a few years ago when I experienced an egg sandwich that came smeared with cream cheese and honey. Wow. Egg, cream cheese and honey. I would not have thought of that.

But the perfect waffle sandwich begins with the waffle, en ingenious piece of food engineering design to hold weight, cradle sweet liquids and stay strong during trying times.  For starters, it had to be based on whole-wheat flour to give it a hearty base.

I worked in the crunch lab for months, learning that the secret to crunch was a combination of corn meal and the right oil -- I have settled on sunflower.. Some of the best pancakes in the world blend cornmeal into the flour, and the same is true here. The extra something special in the dry mix is flax meal. That blend of flax, whole wheat and corn meal in just the right proportions  made magic in my belly.

Color was another issue. I don't like blond or light-tan waffles; I want them to have deep color and even deeper flavor. So one of the first things I did was settle on molasses in the recipe, rather than sugar and water. I have tried honey, too, and it's great, but it doesn't produce the deeper color.

Finally, a great-tasting waffle can still fall flat if you don't have a good waffle maker. I have had many bad ones that just won't crisp the waffle. They sometimes cook forever without the light coming on. After having a decent waffle at a hotel breakfast nook I decided to purchase a big waffle maker that flips the waffles. Right away I was amazed -- these things actually got hot enough to crisp a big, thick waffle, and cook if fast!







 First and Ten: Brother John's Mountain Man Waffle Sandwich

This is a big recipe that will make 6 or 7 big, thick waffles or 8-10 waffle sandwich wedges.

Sandwich Filling
1/2 package of thick, smoky bacon (I insist on Petit Jean)
4 eggs
Package of cream cheese

Waffle Batter
2 eggs  (or 1 tablespoon egg replacement powder and 4 tablespoons water)
Pure maple syrup
3 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup oil (I like sunflower)
3 cups almond milk (or regular milk, or 3 cups water and 6 tablespoons soy powder)
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup flax meal
1/3 cup corn meal

Start by turning the oven on bake at 250-350 F. Then fry the bacon in a pan and set it aside. Please use a cast-iron skillet so you and I can revel in our rugged superiority. Reserve the bacon grease for something else later (like popcorn). Wipe out the cast-iron skillet with a paper towel for later and keep the pan.

Mix all the dry ingredients for the batter together well, then add the wet ingredients and mix well by hand.

Get the waffle iron hot. With the one I use, set it to 3/4 maximum heat. If you have a wimpy waffle iron, set it all the way high. When it is ready, spray it with canola or vegetable oil. Then follow appliance directions on the amount of batter to add. I cook the waffle until it beeps, then I let it go longer and pull it out with a wooden spoon. I then put the waffle into the oven so it stays crisp and warm.

After you get a waffle or two, put the pan back on heat, put some butter in the pan and let it foam a little, and fry your eggs to your liking. Set them on a plate so they stop cooking.

After you have two waffles, put one down on a large plate and smear it with cream cheese. then lay two of the fried eggs on top. Then a third to half of the bacon you fried. Then swirl some maple syrup over the layers and put the other waffle on top with the waffles grooves aligned.

Cut through the big waffle sandwich to cut it into fourths. Plate each fourth up and smear an extra dollop of cream cheese on top, then swirl more syrup over it and spill some on the plate for dipping.

This is perfect with a banana, orange juice and coffee.