Food & Drink

I Tried 6 Methods for Cooking Pancakes and I Have a New Forever Favorite

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Pancakes have been a Sunday morning staple of my childhood. My mother made a convention out of whisking up a bowl of Krusteaz pancake batter, swiping her forged iron skillet with plenty of butter, and turning out thick, fluffy pancakes topped with plenty of maple syrup. Whereas I don’t keep on with the identical Sunday custom, pancakes are additionally an everyday at my household desk — I’m an enormous fan of serving pancakes as dinner, in addition to making massive batches on the weekends and freezing them for fast weekday breakfasts. 

Lately, I acquired in an enormous textual content debate about pancakes with my sister-in-law. She contends that for pancake-making, a well-seasoned forged iron skillet can’t examine to her favourite electrical griddle. She’s additionally a guardian who has relied on pancakes to spice up morale (or simply cross as dinner) lots within the final yr, so I do know she speaks from expertise.

To settle this debate, I knew there was only one answer: Conduct one in all our expertise showdowns. This weekend, I made a triple batch of Kitchn’s easy pancake recipe and put six well-liked pancake cooking strategies to the take a look at. The outcomes have modified how I’ll cook dinner pancakes perpetually. 

To create consistency throughout the cooking strategies, I landed on Kitchn’s easy homemade pancake recipe for my batter. It’s made with pantry staples, doesn’t require any crushed egg whites, and is fairly corresponding to pancake combine in thickness when combined and rested. 

I did my finest to do as most of the strategies side-by-side as attainable whereas additionally cooking at the very least three batches of three to 6 pancakes at a time. Alas, my stovetop solely has 4 burners, which meant that the griddle technique and the electrical griddle strategies have been examined instantly after the stovetop strategies. One other trick for consistency was to make three separate batches of the batter in order that the resting time was near the identical for every technique. 

I style examined every technique because it got here out of the pan in addition to facet by facet with syrup and butter with my household (my husband, two youngsters, and my brother, who grew up on the identical Sunday morning pancake ritual I did). We judged every pancake on browning and taste. Right here’s what we discovered. 

Pancake Methodology: Nonstick Pan with Butter

A nonstick pan seems like a no brainer for pancake cookery — specifically for the truth that pancake batter is sticky and this pan guarantees to brown with out a lot fats. Most recipes name for including butter to nonstick pans for taste and to assist with browning.

Proper out of the gate, there have been some points with this mix. First, the nonstick pan appears to take longer than different pans to warmth up, so the primary spherical of pancakes was a bit pale and never fairly browned. In between batches, I used to be tempted to wipe out the pan (some recipes recommend this), however I made a decision towards it. Shouldn’t one of the best technique for cooking pancakes not require fussy between-batch wiping and losing lots of paper towels? As I suspected, the leftover butter from the primary spherical burned a bit through the second batch, regardless that I added extra butter.

My whole household ranked this technique lifeless final. Whereas we cherished the buttery taste, the outcomes have been actually inconsistent from batch to batch — some pale, some golden-brown and excellent, and much more pancakes had very browned, almost burnt bits of butter. In case your solely choice is a nonstick pan, attempt oil or, even higher, skip the fats altogether.

Pancake Methodology: Nonstick Pan with Oil

Testing the 2 nonstick strategies facet by facet — one with butter and one with oil — was extremely eye-opening. Not solely is the oil simpler to dose out and refresh between batches, however it additionally shortly revealed how a lot butter, even the little bit used for cooking, impacts taste. 

I’m fortunate sufficient to have two an identical nonstick skillets (this one from Made In that I really love), so I heated them on parallel burners on my electrical cooktop. The oil-cooked pancakes appeared to brown higher from the start, which I imagine was a results of not having to attend, even simply 30 seconds in some circumstances, for the butter soften earlier than including the batter. The primary batch of pancakes browned fantastically, but additionally acquired soggy and greasy after resting for just some minutes on their serving plate. In subsequent batches, I dialed again on the oil to assist stop this and people pancakes had a delightfully crisp exterior. 

My 9-year-old described this batch as “lacking one thing,” and I’ve to agree. The buttery taste of pancakes is paramount, even when you plan so as to add it as a topping together with syrup. As a ultimate follow-up, I cooked a single batch of pancakes within the nonstick skillet with none fats. These pancakes had a few of the most even browning outdoors the electrical skillet take a look at, however there was no crispness on the edges. Does a nonstick skillet make a nasty pancake? No. Does it make the sort of pancake all of us crave? Additionally no. 

Pancake Methodology: Stovetop Griddle with Oil

My dream kitchen would have a luxe stovetop with a built-in griddle so I may very well be an at-home diner cook dinner, flipping pancakes, frying eggs, and smashing burgers all day lengthy. Till then, a stovetop griddle provides me related thrills for about 50 bucks. You could find stovetop griddles that double as grill pans too, like this one from Lodge

Griddles have virtually twice as a lot cooking floor as even the biggest forged iron skillet, permitting you to cook dinner greater than three pancakes at a time. The draw back? A griddle wants to take a seat throughout two burners, which implies that even a forged iron griddle has chilly spots within the space between the burners. Due to that, solely a few of the pancakes get as golden-brown as you’d count on. 

Pancake Methodology: Solid Iron Skillet with Oil

Within the cast-iron-skillet-is-best camp, the place I stay and which began this showdown, virtually each recipe requires both butter or oil. Having been scorched by the burned butter within the nonstick skillet face-off, I needed to start out with oil within the forged iron. 

Primary canola or vegetable oil is all you want for cooking pancakes in a forged iron skillet. You preheat the skillet over medium warmth, then add the oil adopted immediately by the batter. A 12-inch skillet can simply match three 3-inch pancakes directly, or extra when you like smaller, silver-dollar-sized pancakes. The oil will get sizzling shortly and also you get a really satisfying sizzle because the batter hits the pan. 

Oil-cooked pancakes are improbable — they brown evenly and so they get a skinny, crisp periphery with lacy bits of batter that fry up because the flipped pancakes splash a bit within the pan. They’re extremely even in brownness from batch to batch. As a result of the oil doesn’t burn in between batches, there’s no have to wipe out the pan — even after a number of rounds of pancaking. Nonetheless, these pancakes didn’t have the buttery taste each my youngsters (and my child brother) actually needed on the breakfast desk. 

Pancake Methodology: Nonstick Electrical Griddle

My sister-in-law swears that she can not make pancakes with out her trusty electrical griddle. The dialable temperature management and nonstick floor all however assure picture-perfect pancakes. Plus, you possibly can cook dinner 6 to eight pancakes at a time — no chilly spots or burner straddling required. A lot of recipe sources advocate oil or butter for cooking on an electrical griddle, however I knew from my stovetop assessments (and from recommendation from my sister-in-law) that the nonstick floor didn’t want any fats.

This technique really makes probably the most lovely pancakes on the planet! With just a bit care, you may make pancakes that appear like they have been cooked in a manufacturing unit, when you like that sort of factor. For me, these pancakes have been too excellent and lacked the feel and taste of a few of the different cooking strategies. Plus, I hate storing the griddle and dragging it out each time I wish to make pancakes. 

Pancake Methodology: Solid Iron Skillet with Clarified Butter 

To keep away from the burning butter drawback but additionally hold the buttery taste, I puzzled if clarified butter could be the important thing. Clarified butter is butter without the water and milk solids, which implies that it gained’t burn at excessive temperatures like common butter can. You can make your own at home or use store-bought as an alternative. It provides you the deliciousness of butter with the cooking energy of oil. 

I’d forgotten what a pleasure cooking with clarified butter actually is — particularly within the forged iron skillet. Over medium warmth, the clarified butter melts shortly and the cooking pancakes scent heavenly. In addition they brown fantastically with the identical lacy edges as oil-cooked pancakes, however are filled with buttery taste. For on a regular basis pancakes, that is my new favourite technique.

As a frequent pancake maker, I felt like I knew lots about this subject, however this showdown shocked me. To start with, I noticed that pancake recipe language could be letting us down. Many recipes name for one thing alongside the strains of: “Warmth a nonstick pan or heavy forged iron skillet (or use an electrical griddle) over medium-high warmth, then add butter or oil.” My assessments jogged my memory how that path leaves lots of room for interpretation — and likewise looks as if dangerous, or at the very least incomplete, recommendation.

Whereas oil does an honest job of browning, it brings nothing to the cooking course of by way of taste. And for all its deliciousness, butter burns after a single batch of pancakes, leaving a nasty style and resulting in uneven browning. When cooking in a nonstick skillet or griddle, skip the fats altogether and simply pour within the batter. For brilliantly browned pancakes, you may wish to contemplate investing in an electrical griddle, when you’ve got the cupboard space.

However for me, it’s all in regards to the clarified butter. It’s available in most supermarkets (and ahem, you can even make it yourself, so why not hold it readily available for cooking? It’s nice for extra than simply pancakes.) So, this weekend, combine up a batch of your favourite batter, let it relaxation for a bit, then warmth up a forged iron skillet, slather it with clarified butter, and see in case your pancake cooking isn’t modified perpetually.

Meghan Splawn

Food Editor, Skills

Meghan is the Meals Editor for Kitchn’s Abilities content material. She’s a grasp of on a regular basis baking, household cooking, and harnessing good gentle. Meghan approaches meals with an eye fixed in direction of budgeting — each money and time — and having enjoyable. Meghan has a baking and pastry diploma, and spent the primary 10 years of her profession as a part of Alton Brown’s culinary group. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about meals and household known as Did not I Simply Feed You.

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