Blooper Reel #002: Maple Mishap

So.  I often have crazy ideas.  Sometimes these crazy ideas positively smell of genius.  It turns out that genius can smell an awful lot like fail.

I mentioned in a previous blog post that I had found a new brand of maple bacon to try out in an attempt to recreate my Sweet Tooth Mexican Fried Rice dish.  While the new brand showed better results than Oscar Meyer, it still wasn't up to the task.  So, I decided to try something new.  Something radical.

Adding maple syrup directly to bacon. . .

I'm beginning to see a problem. . .

The thing is, syrupy products like, well, syrup or honey, are hard to cook with.  Or, at least, I've found them to pose several unique challenges.  Namely: they're sticky and easy to burn.  Just. . . just take a look at how that bacon turned out.

Looks like a cross between a xenomorph attack and a burn victim. . .

There are certain instances in which this unique challenge results in delicious.  When I was living in New Orleans I would sometimes add a little honey to the surface of hamburger patties.  This produces a burger that is a crispy well done on the outside while still being a pleasant medium rare on the inside.  For our purposes today. . . the technique is not well suited.
 

Perhaps the biggest challenge of this method is the oncoming clean up. . . *sighs*

Crumbled blackened bacon with the white rice.

After the salsa and egg have been added.

And, the finished product. . .

The end result is not inedible.  It is also a far cry from what I intended.  Rather than a maple sweet contrasting with the salsa spicy, the entire dish took on the burnt sweetness of barbeque.  It's okay, but not what I wanted.

My ideas and advice to myself for future experiments in this area:
-Add the maple syrup much later in the dish.  Perhaps after the rice but before the salsa.  Maybe even after the bacon is done fully cooking.
-Use a god damn measuring spoon for the maple syrup and start small (1/4 teaspoon).  You are not a cowboy shooting from the hip.  You do not eyeball it.
-Consider using real maple syrup instead of store brand maple substitute.