Stupid Easy: Pancakes in Cast Iron

Bubbles away...

It was about here that I realized I needed to turn up the heat.

Breakfast taco!

What's for breakfast this weekend?  I always think at least one of the days should include a lazy breakfast cooked into lunch time.  That's brunch, I guess.  I felt like pancakes, so I made some.  I then always regret it because an hour later and you're still flipping pancakes--tedious.  But, worth it and fun, once in awhile.

The best thing about this was also seasoning my beloved cast iron pan some more.  Constant heat and fat for an hour was a real boon for it, and helped it a lot.  I looked at some old pictures and realized I've had this guy for a year now, exactly.  See my post on seasoning cast iron to find out how I, um, seasoned cast iron.  I'm posting it in conjunction to this.

The recipe I used for the pancakes was Martha Stewart's.  But, since she hates me, I had to add an extra cup of flour, so I would call that a crappy recipe, although others have told me it's great.  I wanted a buttermilk recipe as buttermilk pancakes are the best.  What?  You don't know what to do with that carton of buttermilk after you make pancakes?  Well, instead, might I suggest getting POWDERED buttermilk you can keep on hand in your fridge for all your baking needs?  :-)  King Arthur might have a better recipe.  I will search further and get back to you.

Some things I like to remember when making pancakes:

• Make sure you heat up your pan HOT HOT HOT.  You can always turn it down if you notice the pancakes are cooking too fast.
• When you turn on the stove and heat the pan, also turn on the oven to your "warm" setting for your done cakes.
• Grease the pan with BUTTER.  Butter is best.  That's my motto.
• The batter shouldn't be too thick, but it shouldn't be soup either.  Even crepes have a nice consistency that is NOT soupy.  Pancake batter should look similar to cake batter (after all, they're cakes!).  You should also have to pour it, not glop it...  If it's GLOPPY then add a bit of water/milk.
• Ladle the batter onto the hot greased pan.  I spread out the butter with a silicone brush, too, so it's a nice layer.
• Wait for it to develop bubbles...  Tiny bubbles.......  Before flipping.
• Flip with confidence, and flip with a large metal spatula.  None of this flimsy crap and I prefer metal to plastic.  That's why I love cast iron...  You can use metal and not scrap Teflon into your food!
• Wait till it stops sizzling too much and then flip that done cake into the oven where I assume you have put a dish or pie plate to collect the done cakes.  :-)

Pancakes are good with PURE maple syrup and REAL butter.  It's good for the soul.  We didn't have maple syrup.  They're thankfully also good with jam and butter, jam and whipped cream, or in my case, fresh berries and plain yogurt.  As you can see in the photo above, I made it into a breakfast taco, and it was tasty.