A few years ago we featured several recipes you could make using Michigan-made maple syrup.

Maple syrup as a natural sugar can be used for breakfast toppings, candies, grilling, and salad dressing. It’s incredibly versatile and flavorful. Now that March has come around again, we can look forward to getting our hands on some of this year’s syrup harvest. So, naturally, we have some more recipes to share.

Oatmeal Raisin Camp Pancakes and Maple Syrup – Backroad Ramblers

The best way to enjoy maple syrup, for many, is to pour it over hotcakes as-is. There’s something about eating fresh maple syrup outside after cooking over an open fire or grill. Premix the pancake ingredients at home and add the wet ingredients on-site. If you’re feeling ambitious, warm up the maple syrup, too.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups basic camping pancake mix (store-bought or a combination of flour, sugar, baking powder, salt)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 or 2 eggs (it’ll be a richer batter if you use two)
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Put your basic camping pancake mix in a bowl and add the cinnamon.
  2. In another bowl, soak the raisins in 2 cups of water.
  3. Add optional eggs and beat with a mix or fork.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry.
  5. Fry pancakes in a sizzling hot, oiled pan or iron skillet, and serve with maple syrup.

 

Smoky Chipotle Baked Beans – My Recipes

Once again, something you can whip up relatively quickly in the home kitchen and bring along to the campsite. This recipe definitely beats off-the-shelf cans of baked beans!

Ingredients

  • 4 center-cut bacon slices, chopped
  • 1 cup finely chopping onion
  • 2 Tablespoons soybean paste (white miso)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ cup unsalted chicken stock
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 Tablespoon canned chipotle chiles, chopped
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 3 (15-ounce) cans unsalted navy beans or Great Northern beans
  • 1 (8-ounce) can unsalted tomato sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cook bacon in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or other ovenproof skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon, reserving drippings.
  3. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add miso and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in stock and remaining ingredients; bring to a simmer. Place pan in oven; bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until sauce is thick. Remove pan from oven; sprinkle beans with bacon.

 

Cider & Maple Roasted Pork Belly – Food Network

You can just as easily cook this delicious pork belly in a Dutch oven, as long as you have all the spices and other ingredients pre-mixed and pre-cut for use at the campsite. This is a far cry from a “typical” camping meal, and although those are great at times, you’ll feel like you’re eating at one of the best restaurants in town.

Lynn Crawford’s Spice Blend

  • 1 Tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 Tbsp fennel seeds
  • 2 tsp pink peppercorns
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp brown mustard seeds
  • 1 whole clove
  • 2 Tbsp salt
  • ½ Tbsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Pork Belly

  • 2 lbs. pork belly
  • 3 sprigs thyme, roughly chopped
  • 3 sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped
  • 1 large honey crisp apple, cored and cut into 1″ slices
  • 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1″ slices
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup unfiltered apple cider
  • ½ cup maple syrup, grade B

 

Instructions

Lynn Crawford’s Spice Blend

Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). In a sauté pan over medium heat, toast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, brown mustard seeds and clove for a few minutes, until fragrant. Grind the spices together and place in a small bowl. Stir in the salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice.

 

Pork Belly

  1. Score the skin of the pork belly with a sharp knife. Rub the belly all over with spice blend, thyme, and rosemary, getting the seasonings into the cracks.
  2. Layer the apples and onions in a roasting pan, then place the pork belly skin side up on top. Pour the chicken stock, apple cider, and maple syrup into the pan. Cover tightly with foil and roast for 1 hour. Turn the oven down to 350°F (180°C), remove the foil, and cook for another hour, or until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife.
  3. Remove the pork belly from the pan and remove the crackling from the pork before carving. Add the apples, onions, and cooking liquid into a blender and purée until smooth. Pass through a strainer into a serving bowl. Carve the pork belly and serve with applesauce.