First of all, the recipe first, since no one wants to read all the stuff before they eat it. Besides, I think that eating something first and then hearing about it makes you enjoy it more. There are three kinds of Waffle Sandwiches, Regular (for quickness and Vegans), Egg (for Vegetarians and Lent), and ULTIMATE WAFFLE SANDWICH. Just follow along and when you reached as far as you desired, you are done. Which works since each one builds upon the one before it.
Waffle Sandwich
Two Waffles Toaster
Butter (or fake butter) Knife
Jelly Spoon
Egg Waffle Sandwich
Egg Spatula
Mayonnaise (optional) Bowl
Ketchup (optional) Fork
Cheese (optional) Small-ish Pan (preferably non stick)
Salt (optional) Stove or adequate stove replacement
ULTIMATE WAFFLE SANDWICH
Hamburger (size varies based on your appetite, In N Out uses 1/8th pound patties for example)
When it comes to this, frozen waffles are simpler and faster. You could make your own waffles, but that is only if you really want to be gourmet, which this is not meant to be. Still, if you desire to make your own, feel free, however, if you do so, make sure they are stable enough so they do not fall apart. First you toast waffles to desired setting. Should be crunchy enough so that the outside is somewhat brown. As toasters vary wildly with settings that are meaningless usually, playing it by eye or experience is basically a must. When the waffles are done, put butter or your preferred fake butter on one side of one waffle. On the other waffle, spread your jelly on one side. It should look like so.
There, simple Waffle Sandwich. Place together butter to jelly and eat or continue on for Egg Waffle Sandwich
Get the bowl and the fork. Crack egg open into bowl, if you want only egg white, remove the yolk now. Whisk with the fork. If it is the whole egg, it should be mixed well enough to be an evenly yellow color. When that is achieved it should look like so…
Turn stove on full blast, max heat, or whatever highest setting is. If you do not have a non stick pan, now is the time to throw butter or your preferred fake butter onto the pan. Make sure it is evenly spread. One scorching, pour egg on as thinly as possible on your pan, which is why a smaller pan works better, If you have a larger pan, make it as large as your waffle. Nonetheless, the egg should be thin, light and fluffy. If you are only masking an egg Waffle Sandwich, place cheese on the egg now. If you are going to make the ULTIMATE WAFFLE SANDWICH, you can just have it plain for now. Leave on until the bottom browns, it should be easy to tell when any liquid on the top evaporates or the cheese is melted. It should look like so.
When it is starting to brown, carefully place spatula under it, the point is to keep the egg in an intact circle. If it has resistance, keep it on for longer and try again after a few seconds. Flipping the spatula over and using the backhand can get it loose if it is being a bit stubborn. DO NOT FLIP. Take off and put it on waffle it should look like so…
Add the Salt, mayonnaise, and ketchup to the egg if so desired. While no preference per sey, the condiments facing the jelly make them blend together easy, Combine the two waffles and enjoy, or continue on for ULTIMATE WAFFLE SANDWICH.
Turn down the heat to medium low. It needs to be enough to still be hot but allow you to slow fry the burger but it can’t be as high as earlier or you will risk burning it. When it has cooled a bit, give it a minute or two, grill burger. Burger should be flipped when the side facing you starts to look like it is bleeding if it is frozen. If you did not use a frozen patty, flip when the spatula slides under easily. It should be smooth enough on the bottom to flip without tearing. Once you flip the burger over, place cheese on it. You know you did it right when it looks like so.
It shouldn’t take too long on this side, especially if it wasn’t frozen to begin with. Once the cheese melts, remove from grill and place on top of egg.
Place both halves together and eat.
Breakfast sandwiches have a long history as a way to make an easy, on the go meal in the morning. Mcdonalds’ have the most famous breakfast sandwiches with its breakfast being available 24/7 being met with great cheer, but it has its origins in London during the 1800’s. Bap Sandwiches are a powdery roll filled with sausage that are dippable in sauces, great for a quick bite during industrialization. In America the Denver Sandwich was the first breakfast sandwich in America, being a favorite of those out west as a way to eat on horseback. It took until 1897 for a recipe for a breakfast sandwich to appear in a cookbook. As for the more modern versions that are eaten today, Jack in The Box actually made theirs first but Mcdonalds is where the popularity really exploded. Today, breakfast sandwiches are a staple of American breakfast, and while not as popular as cereal or as varied as a typical full course breakfast that you see on TV, it is a fast and easy finger food that can be ordered in bulk even and be enjoyed on the go.
As for my own waffle sandwich, it has its own origins out of necessity and convenience. We lived with my grandma and aunt, both on my mom’s side. As such, my grandma would make the food for everyone. This allowed for my parents to get jobs far away and take the long commute knowing that me and my brothers would be alright. She made us cream of wheat every day and my aunt would take us to school. It was a nice, warm feeling. However, it did not last. My grandma died when I was ten and that made things more difficult. My aunt could cook, but since she was allergic to so much, the options were limited to say the least. It also didn’t help that she became more and more disabled as she was constantly sick and ridden with disease. She could do what she could but she eventually went on disability and had a hard time in the morning. As the oldest, I learned what I could mostly through exposure. My parents still had hours of commuting each day, so when it comes to breakfast, one has to be quick in order for me to get to school on time and for them to get to work. Toast with butter was common, but it isn’t too nutritious. When you only have a few minutes to get everything ready and leave out the door, you can’t exactly have a TV style breakfast. Sometimes you can put other things but butter on them but it still just toast. It is not a bad life, just one that what limited for food thanks to the timing of everything. Then one day we got Waffuls, a jelly filled waffle that was found at the store. It was an easy and quick meal for the start of the day. It can be toasted and eaten on the go without anything else and while it did not have syrup, it has something which is a flavor improvement over just toast. I loved it. Alas, it was discontinued rather quickly. Then it was back to toast for breakfast again. My dad liked the idea though and thus made his own version. By using butter and jelly and two waffles, one can somewhat recreate that waffle, albeit much thicker. Still, it is still a breakfast meal he likes and just like the PB&J for lunch, it is a cheap substitute for a mela at breakfast as it is fast to make and eat. That is why I don’t make my own waffles for this. It defeats the purpose of making it fast. It is a food that was born out of making something so that you can eat before school, not for a complex meal.
Later on, I wondered about getting more in there. I already made egg sandwiches for Lent to eat something good of Fridays when I was young, putting my own spin on things. As I was young that meant a lot of ketchup. I tend to be unsatisfied and tinker with everything it seems, so one day when it was Friday in lent and we had eggs I added an egg to the waffle sandwich. It was glorious. It was simple enough still and I could make one for everyone in my family fast, all ensuring they had an egg. My aunt got worse over time, limiting her movements and making her allergies worse. I ended up becoming homeschooled in high school to ease things for myself and to take care of her. Since we were the only ones home, I made her food for her, and since she was allergic to corn among many other things, it was a challenge. She ended up dying, which left me as the most competent and patient chef in the house as my mom did not cook at all, my dad has a bland taste and would just eat turkey sandwiches all day, and my brothers were satisfied if someone else made the food or else they would eat macaroni and cheese. As such I had to basically make separate meals for everyone constantly since no one really was home at the same time, except for me, yay homeschooled.
But I am never satisfied. And neither was my mom. Since she can’t cook, she shows her love by buying things, including food, which, while delicious, is not good for my health. Especially since it was mostly fast food as she works late. Since I was homeschooled and then in college, I ended up being her bodyguard and basically assistant since she is a professor at a college and needed my help getting things. And as I said, she woks late which meant fast food places are really the only ones open. My mind wanders and when eating a Mcgriddle from Mcdonalds I wondered what would happen if I put an actual burger in the waffle sandwich? My mom said it was crazy mostly from the jelly I think. Which makes sense from her point of view since she didn’t care for the waffle sandwich anyway. Being a Mexican American growing up on her mom’s cooking, yeah she had a spicy taste. Still, I made the burger a part of the sandwich anyway just to see what it was like. The result is a very hefty meal that is a full breakfast in one sandwich. It is an odd way of being made, after all, but it works. This is why all three were included, adaptation and consideration has been a fact of life with my family and food, and as the frycook and basic chef for my family, even breakfast has to adapt to their needs. My dad does not eat mammals, my mom likes things spicy, one of my brothers is more into fish than anything, at least my other one would eat anything.That is what I had to deal with and these waffle sandwiches made for an easy meal for most of my family. My mom though, well, maybe if I put some salsa on it? I hope you get to enjoy it to whatever level you like. Feel free to innovate as well according to your tastes. It is an easily adaptable food with endless possibilities when you think about it. Maybe chicken can work well, after all, waffles and chicken have a history together…
References
History of breakfast sandwiches
The long and Surprising history of breakfast sandwich.
Love it.