UpNorthica

For a little while now, I’ve been searching for a flapjack recipe that would be uniquely Northwoodsy. Something that would draw influences from native flavors and taste just a little wilder than standard buttermilk flapjacks. One that would somehow taste as if it were foraged from the very wilderness—handcrafted by gnomes or something real granola like that, I dunno. But at the same time, it’d still make eyes widen with anticipation at the very mention of it. And of course it’d have to be somewhat practical on the trail.

I ended up up making one, and am pretty happy with it. The juniper berry-infused syrup puts just a touch of woodsy, wintry spice to the flapjacks, which have a pleasant (but not overwhelming) texture from the grains of wild rice.

Wild Rice Flapjacks w/ Blueberries and Juniper-Maple Syrup
Although you can buy straight wild rice flour out there, I do use a store-bought wild rice pancake mix as the base, simplifying the recipe for on-trail cooking. I like to use wild rice grains left over from a previous dinner. And do note, the syrup is best when allowed to infuse several days in advance. Enjoy.

Ingredients
1.5 cups Northern Lites Wild Rice Pancake Mix
1/4 cup wild rice, cooked (leftover?)
2 tbsp sugar
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1.5 tbsp melted butter
1-12oz bottle 100% pure Grade-A maple syrup
12 dried juniper berries
Fresh blueberries, to taste

Syrup
Combine syrup and juniper berries in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-high, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Reserve or bottle up. The longer you let the flavors infuse the better, but note that the berries do float. Remove berries before serving.

Flapjacks
Mix together the pancake mix and sugar thoroughly. Add the milk, eggs and 1 tbsp of the melted butter; stir until incorporated but leave a little lumpy. Gently fold in wild rice. Heat your griddle to medium heat (or towards the edge of the campfire grill) and add the remaining .5 tbsp of butter. Ladle flapjack mixture into griddle in 1/3 cup measurements. Flip when bubbles have formed over the surface. Heat for another 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Add berries, juniper-maple syrup, and of course, copious amounts of butter.
Serves 3-4

UPDATE: Even better than blueberries, are lingonberries. Their tartness complements the syrup perfectly. and yeah, the whole Scandinavian-Ojibwe fusion thing appeals to me too. Foodies, yeesh.