Food truck owner doesn’t waffle when it comes to key ingredient

With a name like The Drunken Waffle one would think the owner of the Dayton-area food truck specializing in waffle sandwiches was a lifelong lover of waffles.

Not so much.

“I actually was not even a waffle fan,” admits Beth Sparks, owner of The Drunken Waffle. “I rarely ate waffles.”

Sparks tried a chicken and waffle dish for the first time while attending the Bunbury music festival in Cincinnati a few years ago. “I was like, oh my god this is so good,” she says. Her next thought—“I bet I can do it better”—changed Dayton’s food truck scene.

But it took a while. First there was a lot of searching the internet for waffle recipes. Finally Sparks saw a recipe called the PBR waffle—yep, as in Pabst Blue Ribbon beer—and the veritable light bulb above her head lit up. “I tried it and it kind of just evolved.”

What really boosted the evolution of Spark’s waffle recipe was switching the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer in the recipe with beer from Dayton’s own Toxic Brew Co. Not only do the flavors of Toxic Brew Co.’s beer enhance her waffles but the collaboration with a local brewer is also important, she says.

“I really want to keep all my stuff really local,” says Sparks. “It’s so hard to keep everything local. So I try to do as much as I can.”

Sparks says using beer instead of milk in all of her waffle batters is the magic ingredient. The beer makes the waffles a little lighter and airier, she says. “They’re fluffy inside and they get a little crispy on the outside,” says Sparks.

Most of her waffles use Toxic Brew Co.’s Practice Yoga, a session IPA, says Sparks. But her most popular item, the War Pig, uses Toxic Brew Co.’s Porn or Pawn, a pepper pale ale.

The poblano and habanero peppers used in the Porn or Pawn beer’s brewing process compliment the three-pepper waffle surrounding the War Pig sandwich, which includes ham, bacon, jack cheese and herb mayonnaise, says Sparks.

“We do savory more than sweet so it definitely kicks the flavor up a notch,” she says. “And the texture is really good, too.”

All of The Drunken Waffle’s choices have become so popular that it takes a lot of beer to satisfy customer demand. Sparks says she uses about six barrels of Toxic Brew Co.’s beer every two weeks. “We definitely go through it,” she says.

Savory herb and IPA waffle

Recipe courtesy of Drunken Waffle owner Beth Sparks.
Note: Sparks likes to use Toxic Brew Co.’s Practice Yoga IPA for these waffles.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon of your favorite herbs
1 pinch salt
16 ounces of your favorite beer
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, herbs and salt.
• In separate bowl whisk eggs, butter and beer.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir (Careful not to over stir!)
• Let batter set for 5-10 minutes in fridge. If batter gets too stiff don’t be afraid to add a touch of extra beer to loosen it up. (The longer it sits the more beer flavor comes through.)
• Pour batter into hot waffle maker and cook according to instructions.

Yields 6 Waffles

Enjoy with butter and maple syrup, or switch things up and use as a bun for your favorite sandwich or burger Drunken Waffle style!