Bacon Popover with Maple Syrup

Bacon Popovers with Maple Syrup

Make up to a day in advance. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2 large eggs

1cup milk

2 tablespoons butter (melted)

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

pepper to taste

4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Whisk together the eggs, milk, and melted butter. Add flour, salt, and pepper and whisk till smooth. Add bacon and whisk till well distributed. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Generously butter a mini-muffin tin. Fill cups up to top with cold batter. Bake for 16 - 18 minutes. Makes approx 24 mini popovers. Serve with warm maple syrup. Enjoy!

Bigleaf Maple Tapping Tutorial

The Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) is the most common maple in the Pacific Northwest and you probably have one or more in your neighborhood or even your own backyard. The sweetest sap runs in January and February although you can harvest from November through early March, but only once the leaves are off the tree and before the buds open.  Sugar content of the sap averages only 2% which means you'll need 6 gallons to make 1 pint of syrup. Don't despair, you can also use the "maple water" (sap) to boil rice, in soups, breads, teas or how about boiling it down just enough to concentrate the sweet flavor and serve it as shaved ice? The sap is nutritious containing amino acids, vitamins and many trace minerals.

So what size of tree produce the best? A trunk diameter should be between 4” and 18” and the bark should be somewhat smooth. The trees I tapped were much larger than this so I was able to put two taps in each. Reportedly the best run comes from the suckers or shoots of trees that have been cut down. These work well for tapping as they have a large established root system and you can use a big bucket to collect from several stems using plastic spiles and tubing. 

Drill 2 – 2 1⁄2′′ deep hole at a slight upward angle. If you drill too deep you may hit heartwood. Don't fret, you are not hurting the tree. It will heal the wound. You may find that your holes will dry up. You can drill a new hole nearby with no ill effect. After the spile is removed it will take about a year for the hole to scar over. Drive the spile in place gently with a hammer to prevent leakage. Then hang your bucket over the spile. Be sure to use a lid as baby slugs and other insects will crawl inside.

Store sap in a cool place or freeze it boiling down every few days depending on harvest amounts. Strain the hot finished syrup through an unbleached cotton towel to remove the “sugar sand.” The sap can then be poured into hot sterile jars and sealed or frozen. Low sugar content can make the syrup spoil but syrup that grows mold can be filtered and re- boiled with no damage to the flavor.

Boiling Down

Finally, what I thought was the maple water started to run! I collected a full gallon from four taps and promptly brought it in to boil down. I was surprised that it didn’t taste in the least bit sweet and disappointed that it smelled like wet moss. Could the heavy rain have run down the trunk and into the small opening to the jug? I was anxious to get a flame under it and see what might happen. Meanwhile, I went outside to help prepare the ground for our first-ever chicken coop (that’s another story to come). About 15 minutes later I came in to check on the process. Is that the scent of maple syrup in the air or is it just wishful smelling? Grabbing a spoon and with careful assessment, I brought the brown liquid to my lips.  I felt as though my taste buds where playing tricks on me, but yes, it was , it really was maple syrup! (more like water still at this point but I wasn't about to complain) You see it wasn’t yet distilled enough to become syrupy. It takes 6 gallons of maple water to produce a pint of maple syrup. So, we will freeze this cup of liquid and add to it as we collect more from the trees.

Tapping My Backyard Maples

The rain came fast and hard the night after tapping the trees. I’ve not seen anything that looks like “cloudy water” seeping out of my spiles! The following morning the rain was coming down even harder and I was reluctant to venture outside so I stealthfully busted out binoculars to see if there was any progress...not a drop. Guess I’ll try again in a few weeks after reading up on possible delays of sap running.  Hope none of the neighbors saw me with the binoculars...