Troy Lightfield

Pancake perfection, my son was pleased!

I love pancakes!

I am not certain who invented pancakes, maybe my grandma but I am pretty sure that I perfected them! Where they rank in the world is probably up for debate but as far as my son is concerned they are the best in the world. I really do enjoy making pancakes for my family and friends.  I use an improved upon version that has been handed down from my grandfather’s mother which includes flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, milk, water, vanilla, and honey. (please send blood sample to verify you’re a family member for recipe).  Of course there are variations that include nuts, berries and even chocolate chips.

My family is a little different when it comes to pancake toppings and whenever guests are over it becomes a topic of conversation. We start with a good helping of creamy peanut butter followed by some maple syrup, delicious. Ask my brother and he will let you know two over-easy eggs on top are required.

We also like sugar, jelly, ham gravy, and of course just good ole butter and syrup. Generally served with a pork product, hash and/or eggs I would say my favorite is sausage links and pancakes. My son would definitely concur.

Pancake Advice:

Your Griddle. Know your griddle and what temperature it needs to be set on to make the perfect golden brown pancake, no one likes a burnt hard pancake! I use a very nice griddle from All-Clad which distributes the heat very evenly. I would consider a test run or two to really find the sweet spot for a heat setting for your pancake griddle.

Batter. Make your own batter! Hey, I know everyone is busy but once you have a recipe and get used to it you can whip up a batch of pancakes in minutes. If you’re going to use a pre-mixed batter I can not help you.

Mixing. I generally start by mixing my “powder” items first, flour, salt, baking powder. Then I mix in the rest. Don’t over stir your batter, some lumpiness is ok.  I am not real sure how to explain the texture…not too runny and not to thick! You’ll figure out what works.

Cooking. Once you have the batter on the griddle you will start to see it “bubble up”, once these bubbles start to slow down your getting real close to flipping. The side of the pancake will start to look a little “dry”. Take a peak! If they look golden brown give them a nice quick flip. They probably don’t need as much time on the reverse side. give them about half the time and flip it back over and poke your spatula in and make sure it comes out clean, free of wet batter. Sometime I will even poke several slits in the reverse side and flip it back over just to double check but don’t let it get too hard on the reverse side either.

Once you have all those steps in place, throw it on a plate, top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

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