Pulled Pork & Waffles with Homemade Maple Pearl Sugar "Liege-Style" Waffles, Pulled Pork, Jack Daniels Syrup, & Cinnamon Butter

Pulled Pork & Waffles with Homemade Maple Pearl Sugar "Liege-Style" Waffles,
Pulled Pork, Jack Daniels Syrup, & Cinnamon Butter

My Mountain Man always jokes with me about how I am the only girl he knows that would rather buy a fancy waffle maker than clothes or jewelry or just girly stuff. Well, he's not laughing anymore because he just reaps the benefits of all the yummy waffles we make at this house. For a while now, I have been dying to make "Liege-Style" Belgian Waffles. A lot of people have never heard of them, but they should be known every where because they are hot-damn-delicious. The waffles are typically made with a yeasted batter that is significantly thicker than regular recipes. But instead of adding sugar to the batter, you have to fold in "pearl sugar", which are like specialty sugar pieces that are a little smaller and rounder than plain ole' sugar cubes. I haven't been able to find authentic pearl sugar anywhere, but I know it is easy to order online... I just felt like I could do it at home. To make it a lil' bit southern, I decided to make homemade maple pearl sugar. When you cook these waffles up, the maple pearl sugar heats through, leaving pockets of melted maple-sugary goodness and the outside of the waffles crisp up and almost caramelize like the top of creme brulee. It's that good people. Well, to go along with these amazing waffles, we couldn't help but use some of the leftover pulled pork from the previous night. It might be weird to eat pulled pork & waffles together, but hey, chicken & waffles are fabulous, and so were these. To bring this dish over the top, just shmear on some Homemade Cinnamon Butter and a heavy drizzle of Jack Daniels Syrup. I mean, we practically drowned ours with syrup, even though they didn't need it. It all was just so good and it is definitely in my top list of favorite recipes this year. There's no doubt about it... who knew that a fusion of Belgian + Southern comfort food would be so fabulous? I didn't!! Enjoy y'all :)

"Liege-Style" Waffle Batter with Homemade Maple Pearl Sugar...
Can you see how thick the batter is and all of the little maple pearls?

Before the Drizzle of Jack Daniels Syrup

Oh baby, it's all good n' soaked now :)

For the Cinnamon Butter:

1 Stick of Butter, Softened

3T Brown Sugar

½t Vanilla

1T Cinnamon

For the Homemade Maple Pearl Sugar:

1C Sugar

4t High Quality Maple Syrup

For the “Liege-Style” Waffles:

1 Package of Active Dry Yeast

1/3C Lukewarm Water

1T Sugar

¼t Salt

2C AP Flour (or bread flour could be used as well)

3 Eggs

1C Melted Butter

1t Vanilla

Pinch of Cinnamon

1C Homemade Maple Pearl Sugar 

For the Jack Daniels Syrup:

1C Pure Maple Syrup (good quality & high grade)

½C Jack Daniels Whiskey

1t Vanilla

1-2T Brown Sugar

¼t Chili Powder

Pinch of Salt or To Taste

4T Unsalted Butter, Cut into Tabs

For the Pulled Pork & Waffles:

Prepared Cinnamon Butter, Softened

Homemade Maple Pearl Sugar

Waffle Batter

Pulled Pork, Warmed

Prepared Jack Daniels Syrup, Warmed

Directions:

1. For the Cinnamon Butter: Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth, then slowly add in the cinnamon and beat until combined. Chill until ready to serve.   

2. For the Homemade Maple Pearl Sugar: Mix the sugar with the maple syrup in a bowl until well combined and it resembles damp sand. Line a baking sheet with a silpat and dump the sugar out onto the pan. Firmly press the sugar into a compact rectangle and let it dry completely over night or until the sugar is extremely hard and lacks any moisture. Roughly chop the maple sugar into pearl-sized shapes. Measure out 1C of the pearls and set aside.   

3. For the “Liege Style” Waffles: Mix the yeast, water, sugar and salt in a bowl and let it develop or sit for 15 minutes. Place the flour in a separate large mixing bowl (we use the bowl of our kitchen aid stand mixer) and make a well in the center of the flour. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and mix until blended on medium speed (we use the paddle in our kitchen aid mixer). Add the eggs (one at a time), melted butter a bit at a time, and the vanilla and cinnamon. Be sure to mix well after each addition to the batter. Keep in mind the batter will be thick and VERY sticky (this is normal). Remove the bowl from the mixer and let the dough rest until it doubles in volume inside the bowl. (About 1 hour) Gently fold in the pearl sugar and let the dough rest for 15 more minutes. While the dough is resting, heat the waffle iron. Spoon about a 2″ ball of dough into the center of the waffle iron (this should yield a waffle that is about 4″ in diameter). I know that sounds small, but these rich waffles pack quite a punch. Waffles will take about 5 minutes to cook (we set our waffle maker to level 4, but you might have to play around with it to get it to your liking).

4. For the Jack Daniels Syrup: Heat the maple syrup over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add in the Jack Daniels, vanilla, brown sugar, chili powder, and salt, and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the whiskey infuses the syrup and it thickens slightly. Whisk in 4T of Butter or until thoroughly combined. Keep warm until ready to pour over the waffles.

5. Assembling the Pulled Pork & Waffles: Place one of the “Liege Style” Waffles in the center of the plate and spread with some of the softened cinnamon butter. Stack some warmed pulled pork on top and repeat with more waffles, butter, and pulled pork. Finish the waffles off with a heavy drizzle of the warmed Jack Daniels Syrup.

source: liege waffles.