Perfect Popovers and The National Parks Cookbook

The National Parks Cookbook: The Best Recipes from (and Inspired by) America’s National Parks, written by Linda Ly, pairs over 70 recipes with beautiful photography and highlights from national parks across the USA. A few highlights include Hiker’s Stew, Huckleberry Cobbler, Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf, Date Shake, and Minnesota Wild Rice Soup. I will also be sharing her recipe for Perfect Popovers following the review.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book from Harvard Common Press in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Linda Ly

Linda Ly is the writer behind the gardening, cooking, and adventuring blog, Garden Betty. She has visited over two dozen national parks “along with many national monuments, seashores, parkways, and other National Park System units.”

She is also the author of several farm-to-table and outdoor cookbooks such as The New Camp Cookbook and The Backyard Fire Cookbook. Linda is currently based in Bend, Oregon with her family.

The National Parks Cookbook

Linda begins The National Parks Cookbook with a short introduction, a history, and how she fell in love with America’s National Parks.

I especially appreciate how the book came into development. Linda states, “Ultimately, I wrote this book to share the sights, smells, and flavors of the national parks with people who can’t get away (or get away as often as they’d like).”

The recipes have been developed with a focus on the back stories, meals within the lodges, and chefs behind the parks. Linda also discusses basic tools, ingredients, and even trail snack and lunch box ideas for during your travels.

Chapters are divided according to the following: The Top Ten National Parks, National Parks of the West, National Parks of the Midwest and East, and National Parks of Alaska. Each chapter begins with a list of the parks and included recipes with page number for easy reference.

The photography is provided by Will Taylor. Most of the recipes are paired with a half to full-page photo of the finished dish. There are also a few landscape shots from within the parks.

Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in English. Each recipe has a headnote with background information, inspiration, yield, helpful tips, and notes.

Perfect Popovers

I have been wanting to make popovers for a while now and finally tried (and got a popover pan) after seeing the recipe for Perfect Popovers in The National Parks Cookbook!

I was so excited with the results. They were indeed flawless. These Perfect Popovers were inspired by Jordan Pond House at Acadia National Park. First served in 1895, the restaurant now bakes around six thousand popovers per day.

Linda recommends a standard 6 cup (1.4 liter) popover pan to create the Perfect Popovers. She states a muffin pan can be used in a pinch, but they won’t develop that iconic shape.

This recipe has also been developed with high altitude baking in mind. If baking at high altitude (elevation over 3,500 feet, or 1 kilometer), use a high-protein flour (bread flour or high-altitude Hungarian flour). It should be 4 grams of protein to get that notable rise.

Other Dishes

I also made Grand Canyon Mule, Tomato and Lamb Ragout, Butterscotch Martini with Boozy Whipped Cream, and Sugar Cream Pie.

Linda has put together a collection of three Grand Canyon Mule recipes. I made the basic Grand Canyon Mule! It comes together easily with a combination of ginger beer, vodka, and lime with mint and a lime wheel for garnish.

The Tomato and Lamb Ragout is inspired by Yellowstone National Park. The dish has appeared on a few menus throughout the park. Ground lamb is simmered with onion, wine, tomatoes, plenty of herbs, and seasonings until thickened. It was especially delicious paired with pasta.

The Butterscotch Martini with Boozy Whipped Cream was inspired by the butterscotch smell that comes from Ponderosa pines in Bryce Canyon. Butterscotch schnapps, vanilla vodka, and Irish cream are shaken together, then served in a chilled martini glass with an Irish cream whipped cream.

The Sugar Cream Pie is paired with Indiana Dunes National Park. Using a pre-made pie shell, this dessert comes together easily using only a handful of ingredients and has quite the delicious silky, custard-like texture. Serve chilled or at room temperature with a dusting of powdered sugar.

The Nationals Park Cookbook is a great pick for those interested in trying recipes inspired by America’s national parks. There is a wonderful variety, from drinks and appetizers to meat/seafood/vegetable options and desserts. They have been created with the home cook in mind and serving sizes range from one to eight.

Many of the ingredients are readily available in larger American grocery stores. A few items that may require further searching include fresh lavender, ground elk, cachaça, red currants, bison short ribs, huckleberries, saguaro fruit, and thimbleberries.

Perfect Popovers Recipe

Excerpt from The National Parks Cookbook

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5 from 1 vote

Perfect Popovers

A recipe for Perfect Popovers from The National Parks Cookbook! These easy popovers come together with simply eggs, milk, oil, and flour.

Course Bread

Cuisine N/A

Keyword bread, egg, milk, popovers

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 33 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 13 minutes minutes

Servings 6 Popovers

Ingredients

• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups (300 milliliters) warm milk
• 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (120 grams) all purpose flour or bread flour if at high altitude
• Nonstick cooking spray

Instructions

• In a medium-size bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, oil, and salt until thoroughly combined.
• Add the flour all at once and whisk until frothy but not overly smooth. The batter should be runny with a few small lumps of flour remaining.
• Let the batter rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven (a conventional oven, not a convection oven) to 400°F (200°C or gas mark 6). Position a rack in the lower-third of the oven to keep the popovers from overbrowning. (Tip: You can also position another rack at the very top of the oven and place a large sheet pan on it to shield the popovers from direct heat.)
• Lightly coat a popover pan with cooking spray.
• Whisk the batter for a few seconds to get it frothy again, then fill each cup about two-thirds full of batter. 
• Bake for 33 minutes until the popovers are deep golden brown—do not open the oven door during this time.
• Turn the popovers out of the pan onto a cooling rack. Serve immediately with jam or butter.