Pancakes!?!

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Jeni78

Senior Cook
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
322
Location
Minnesota
Hi everyone,

Tomorrow I am making pancakes for my Dad for Father's Day.

I have made them enough times but I've used different recipes and don't do it very often. So, every time I make them the first couple don't turn out that great.

It seems like every time I make pancakes, it's a learning curve. Are there tips to making them? Most recipes call for medium high heat but I find that creates burned pancakes that are still uncooked in the middle.

I would love to get the cripsy edges, I know that requires using a little fat or oil... tips on that?

I am using a recipe I got from my mother, for buttermilk pancakes.

Thanks ahead and Happy Father's Day to all the Dads!
 
The first ones never turn out great. Just give those to the dog and give the next batch to dad :)
 
I love buttermilk pancakes. And yes, do use some oil for frying. Also do not add any sugar to the recipe then you have better chance of them not to burn.
 
This recipe calls for a little bit of sugar. (I don't have the recipe here so I can't post it.)

It is only a little bit of sugar, at the most a Tbs and I doubt even that much.

What do I lose if I don't add the sugar? It does make sense to leave the sugar out to help with burning. Just curious what my opportunity COST is... :)

In a nutshell, ingredients are flour, buttermilk, salt, baking powder, baking soda, an egg, sugar and oil.

Not in that order and I can't recall any specific measurements.

Thank you
 
Oh, I should mention too...

I am making bacon (pancakes and bacon being his favorite breakfast) - my plan is to oven bake the bacon and use the drippings as the oil for the pancakes.

I am not a skilled user of pan drippings (bacon, chicken, sausage, etc). So, any tips on this are welcome as well.

The goal is to use enough bacon drippings to create a little bit of crisp on the pancakes. This is NOT in my mothers recipe so I will be "trying" this out...:shock:

You know, my Dad will "love" whatever I make. He will say it's the "best" he's ever had of ANYTHING I make. I am so so so lucky to have him for a Dad...I would love for him to REALLY love his breakfast - I will of course never know "for sure" but I'd like it to be good!
 
Stick with the sugar. That small amount won't make a difference in sticking.

As for the bacon grease, just have the griddle moistened over-all. Kind of like a Teflon skillet would be. Brush it on and pour the pancake batter on. Add more bacon grease as you make your pancakes. Yum!!! Enjoy.

It's natural for the first few to be a bit "unnatural" as the griddle heats up and you get acclimated to cooking them. Give those to the dog.:rolleyes:
 
Stick with the sugar. That small amount won't make a difference in sticking.

As for the bacon grease, just have the griddle moistened over-all. Kind of like a Teflon skillet would be. Brush it on and pour the pancake batter on. Add more bacon grease as you make your pancakes. Yum!!! Enjoy.

It's natural for the first few to be a bit "unnatural" as the griddle heats up and you get acclimated to cooking them. Give those to the dog.:rolleyes:
i don't have a dog they go to the hub!! :LOL: along with any broken "dipping" (over easy) egg yolks.
 
Here's the recipe I use, Buttermilk Pancakes. I cook them on an un-greased non-stick griddle, and I've never believed in the "throw the first one out" business.
 
Success!

Thanks for the tips!

Here is the recipe I used (really pretty basic).

1 C buttermilk
1 egg
1 C flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 T oil
1 T sugar

I mixed the dry and wet ingredients separately and added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. I refrigerated the batter while the oven was preheating and I was making the bacon. I used the bacon grease for the skillet (cast iron) and re-greased inbetween each pancake.

My mom showed me a trick to spread them out a bit so they aren't so thick and that is to tip the pan to spread them out.

Thanks for your tips!
 

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So, looks llike they came out good. I would definitely not use any sugar with bacon pancaces a pinch of salt is all they needed. And a table spoon of sugar for a cup of butermilk is quite a lot, actually.
 
So, looks llike they came out good. I would definitely not use any sugar with bacon pancaces a pinch of salt is all they needed. And a table spoon of sugar for a cup of butermilk is quite a lot, actually.
check out my recipe for corncakes i have been making them for 25 years with sugar and bacon and i have no problems they are TNT.
 
This is the best recipe I've ever found. You do need a bit of oil in the pan to get the crisp edges.

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

1 egg
¾ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter (cooled)
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup flour
½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries (optional)

1. Beat egg in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended.

2. Add buttermilk and mix well

3. Add melted butter and mix well.

4. Add sugar and salt and mix well.

5. Add baking soda and mix until just blended in.

6. Add flour and mix until just blended in; batter will be lumpy.

7. If batter seems rather thick, add a little buttermilk to thin it.

8. Add blueberries, if using.

9. Heat griddle or large frying pan over moderate heat, and grease lightly.
Use about ¼ cup of batter for each pancake, turning once only.

Serve with warm maple syrup.

Makes about 8 pancakes.
 
The corncakes look divine, I will try them.

What is TNT?

Scotch, I thought about adding melted butter but then didn't (just followed my mother's recipe).

CharlieD can you tell me why a tablespoon of sugar is a lot for 1 cup of buttermilk? I'm trying to learn the science of it. thanks
 
The corncakes look divine, I will try them.

What is TNT?

Scotch, I thought about adding melted butter but then didn't (just followed my mother's recipe).

CharlieD can you tell me why a tablespoon of sugar is a lot for 1 cup of buttermilk? I'm trying to learn the science of it. thanks
TNT = tried-n-true

if you try them let me know if you like them. you can use that batter for pancakes OR waffles. i like them as waffles better because they are crispier.
 
... CharlieD can you tell me why a tablespoon of sugar is a lot for 1 cup of buttermilk? I'm trying to learn the science of it. thanks
I don't think there is really a science to it. Taste is a very personal thing, I should have said "in my opinion it is too much" or "in my opinion bacon pancakes do not need sugar at all"

Personaly, for me, bacon and sugar, just do not go together. But then you, Americans eat sugar and chocolate together (i.e. some candy bars) and loving it. I hate them. ;)
 
First, let me say that Scotch's recipe is very similar to my own, except that I don't use buttermilk. Some DC members made and compared my recipe (Goodweed's World's Best Pancakes) and CharlieD's recipe and voted that both are exceptional, but at opposite ends of the culinary chart. His are rich, fill-your belly with hearty goodness pancakes that have a heavy, almost biscuit texture, while mine are light as a cloud, very tender, and exceptionally moist. They are equal, but different animals. And I know this is late, but I give you my recipe just the same. It's well known around here and so I share it again.

Goodweed's World Famous Pancakes

There was a time when my Dad would take me to my grandparents’ house. Now you have to understand. I was skinny and generally small of stature, so they were always trying to feed me. Of course, since I had boundless energy and used all of it, I had an enormous appetite. I would often receive for breakfast a bowl of Sugar Smacks, or a bowl of oatmeal, followed by 2 poached eggs, from the egg-poaching pan of course and served atop a piece of toast, and finally, either pancakes or waffles.
When the final course was pancakes, my Grandpa would serve them up as he sang; “Pancakes are delicious, pancakes are so fine, I oughta know, cause I like ‘em so, that I eat ‘em all the time.” He always had a big grin on his face as here served them up.
Of course, the pancakes I got in those fondly remembered days came from a ready made mix, usually Aunt Jemima brand. But to a skinny kid, they were gourmet treats.
In honor of my Dad, and my Grandparents, I chose for my signature dish, pancakes. Of course mine are far different. But I still sing that little ditty that my Grandpa used to sing when I dish them up. “Pancakes are delicious, pancakes are so fine...” I even made everyone at out church sing it before I would serve them my pancakes at one of our annual pancake breakfasts. That was fun.
So here’s the recipe that I perfected (with help from my eldest daughter), and serve every year by request to better than a hundred folks.

Ingredients: Dry Ingrediants:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbs. Sugar
½ tsp. Salt
3 tsp. Double Acting Baking Powder (You must use Double Acting Baking Powder to get the best texture)

Wet Ingrediants:
3/4 plus 1/8 cup milk
1 large Egg
3 tbs. Cooking oil
Preheat the griddle over medium heat. Place the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir together with a wire whisk or mixing spoon. Add the remaining ingredients and again stir until mixed. Do not stir until all the lumps are gone as this will over-mix the batter. There should be small lumps. These will disappear while cooking the pancakes.
Cook over medium heat until the bubbles slowly start to close as they rise and pop. Do not cook until the bubbles stay open as this will dry out the pancake. And most importantly, Don’t squish them down with your cake turner or spatula. When they are ready to flip, turn them over and cook for about 1 minute more. Remove from the pan and serve immediately. If you must cook up enough for a bunch of people, keep them warm by stacking in a large-rectangular cake pan and placing the pan into a 120' oven covered with a clean kitchen towel.
You can add blueberries to the uncooked batter without changing anything else. However, if you add acidic fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, or pineapple, you will need to add ½ tsp. Baking soda to the batter to ballance the acid from the fruit.
The above recipe makes enough pancakes for two people. You can easily enlarge the recipe by simply multiplying the ingredients by the same number. That is, if you double the flour, multiply all other ingredients by two.

For delightfully crispy edges, melt butter or bacon grease onto the pan just before pouring on the batter. There should be just enough fat to seee it sizzling around the edges. Often, I just wipe the griddle with fat, leaving the surface shiny, pour on the batter, and then place a tbs or so of butter to the pan, rubnbing it around the pancakes so as to crispy the edges.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Perhaps I should make a batch with sugar and one without to taste the difference. I actually do not make pancakes often enough - every time I have them they are always different from before, but I always like them.

Thank you for the recipe Goodweed!

Thanks for the education msmofet. :idea: :) When I try your recipe, I'll let you know how it turns out for me!
 
Perhaps I should make a batch with sugar and one without to taste the difference. I actually do not make pancakes often enough - every time I have them they are always different from before, but I always like them.

Thank you for the recipe Goodweed!

Thanks for the education msmofet. :idea: :) When I try your recipe, I'll let you know how it turns out for me!
you are very welcome sweetie. i never really liked pancakes or waffles because they had no flavor and were just a vechicle for syrup intake!! with the sugar, vanilla (or maple flavor which really compliments the bacon), corn and/or bacon give them so much flavor and i can eat them without syrup if i want and won't feel like i am eating a rubber hockey puck!!

i will look forward to your review. happy pancaking or waffling!!
 
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