Waffling Apple Fritters & Jelly Donuts ... with Foie Gras

Normally, I just post update reviews to the original reviews themselves, rather than starting a fresh review.

But, this one is too awesome to be an addendum.  Because it involves a number of my favorite things: foie gras. Donuts. And my obsession with waffling things (if you don't know what I'm talking about regarding that last point, go ahead and check out that master post, then return here).

So yes, this was just another day, with another batch of leftover donuts to waffle.  Nothing new for me.  This time, I had a huge apple fritter, and a small jelly donut.  I did several trials, culminating in one of my best creations yet.  Spoiler: it involves foie gras.

Version 1: Fritter a la Mode

I started simple, and normal, waffling my fritter, and of course, going a la mode.

Leftover Apple Fritter-Waffle!

How had I never waffled a fritter before?  It works wonderfully.  Particularly when served a la mode.

Success, for sure, basically, just like any glazed raised donut.

Original: HUGE apple fritter.

The fritters I get are massive.  I know many fritters are large, but these are dramatically large.  Easily 4 satisfying servings.  I usually only have half, in two servings throughout the day (breakfast and afternoon snack), and share the other half with someone.

The original form is excellent, fluffy interior, loaded with chunks of moist apple and tons of cinnamon, crispy exterior (particularly the bottom), well glazed.  Really, just an excellent fritter.

Leftover Chunk of Fritter.

When I do have some leftover for a second day, I usually just wrap it in foil and heat it up in the toaster oven, and it is wonderful.  No need to do more.  Warm, yummy, fried dough.  Yes.

Leftover Fritter: Into the waffle iron.

But finally I decided to deviate from my traditional re-heating method, as I *am* the one always evangelizing waffling after all!

Into the waffle iron it went, 350 degrees.

Leftover Fritter: Waffled.

It waffled easily as expected, although, like many glazed items, the glazed did melt off and fill up the grill plates.

Note to self: try panini'ing next time, per my lessons learned from panini trials with other donuts.

Leftover Fritter: a la mode!

I wanted this as a dessert, not breakfast, so I added a scoop of ice cream (Three Twin's Land of Milk and Honey), and it was perfect.

Crispy exterior "waffle", cinnamon and apple flavors from the fritter, sweet creamy complimentary ice cream.  Highly recommended, and I'll do this again (although panini it?)

Version 2: Jelly Donut a la Foie Gras.

I've raved before about the success of waffling a leftover jelly donut.  But this time ... I kicked things up many notches. Many, many notches.

Waffled Jelly Donut a la Foie Gras Torchon.

Yes, that's right.

I topped it with foie gras torchon instead of ice cream.  Because foie gras > ice cream?

It was more amazing than I even imagined.

The Original: Leftover Jelly Donut.

The original was a leftover jelly donut, from Bob's Donuts (my favorite jelly donut!).  It was great when I had it fresh (so fluffy! such great jam!) but it was actually my second donut of the day, so I saved a chunk for the next morning.  As always, it was a bit stale the next morning, so I had other plans for it.

Waffled Leftover Jelly Donut.

I've waffled jelly donuts many times now, so this wasn't new.  Waffle iron, 350 degrees, yadda yadda.  Out pops a lovely crispy waffle with hot jam inside.

Waffled Jelly Donut + Foie Gras Torchon?!

Normally, I top this with whipped cream.  Or ice cream.  Or just eat it as is.

But this time, I had a very different idea in mind.  The night before, I had been reading about foie gras funnel cake (that is, huge fried dough, topped with strawberry compote and fresh berries, and, well, foie gras).  It sounded amazing to me, and I wanted to quasi-recreate it at home.  

And I just happened to have foie gras torchon on hand.  Like ya do.

Waffled Jelly Donut a la Foie Gras Torchon.

I got a bit lazy and decided not to add more fruity elements, and just topped it with slices of foie gras torchon and a sprinkle of sea salt.

The donut-waffle was exactly as expected - crispy exterior, sweet molten jam inside.  The jam was exactly what the creation needed, the sweet element to compliment the foie.  It could have perhaps used a bit more, but this was more than enough.

Waffled Jelly Donut a la Foie Gras Torchon, melty.

Since the waffle was warm, the foie gras melted slightly.  It may not look that appetizing like this, but, I actually really liked the smooth, warm texture.

This was fantastic.  Crispy waffle, sweetness from the jam and glaze, savory creamy rich foie gras, sea salt to amp it all up.  The jam, glaze, and salt were key in tying it all together.

Absolute victory, better than I imagined it would be, and I highly recommend ... for when you happen to have leftover jelly donuts and foie gras?

Version #3: Apple Fritter Stuffed with Foie Gras & Mom's Strawberry Jam

What do you get when you combine all my experiments?  Perhaps you can see where this is headed.

Panini'ed Apple Fritter Sandwich with Foie Gras Torchon and Homemade Jam.

Yes, that's right.

Instead of using the waffle iron for the apple fritter, I used the panini press.  Instead of open-faced, I did it as a sandwich, and slathered my mom's homemade jam inside (since it wasn't a jelly donut, and I wanted the fruit component).

It was better than I ever imagined it could be.

Trial Run: Mini Foie Gras Torchon and Strawberry Jam Waffled Apple Fritter.

I did a quick trial run first.  By which I mean, I was impatient, and the waffle plates were still in.

Waffled fritter chunks, slathered with jam, stuffed with foie gras, sprinkled with sea salt.   Just as good as the jelly donut version, but this time, with higher quality jam.

I could tell this was going to be awesome.

The Original: Final Chunk of Apple Fritter.

For my final creation, I used my last chunk of apple fritter, still a decently sized piece.

Butterflied, and onto the grill.

I changed out to the panini plates, so that I wouldn't lose all my glaze.

Since I liked having the hot jam inside the jelly donut version, I decided to butterfly the chunk of fritter, so I could stuff it.

Panini'ed, Butterflied, Apple Fritter.

It grilled up perfectly, without losing much glaze.  And since I increased the surface area, it meant I had even more crispy, caramelized bits.

Oh yes.

Some Assembly Required.

Putting this together took a touch more work than most of my creations, but it was worth it.

I slathered each half with a bit of my mom's homemade strawberry jam (I'm sure she *never* imagined it would be used this way!), stuffed the foie gras torchon slices in the middle, sprinkled on sea salt, and stuck on the top.

Foie Gras Torchon & Strawberry Jam Apple Fritter Painini.

It took all my restraint to take a photo before I devoured it all.

Oh wow, it was good.  I suspected this would work well, but, even I was shocked at just how delicious it was.

Crispy, sweet, caramelized exterior.  Sweet jam that made me nostalgic for home.  Creamy, decadent, savory, rich, foie gras torchon.

OMG.  That is just about all I have to say about that.

It was incredible, and quite fun to eat as finger food, since I made it into a sandwich.  I might have slightly preferred it left open faced, or, perhaps, just stuffed with more foie gras, since the donut was the prevalent ingredient this way, but still, wow, it was just so good.