Pancakes, Y'all...
 

Just had another stack, courtesy of the marvellous J&J.
Mum cooked bacon and sausages (links) although I have to state, her attempt at American-style bacon was pretty rubbish. She blames the fact I was already using the top oven (where the grill is) to keep the pancakes warm, and you can't get bacon crispy on a George Foreman grill. Probably true.

ANYWAY.

We're 2/3 of the way through our buttermilk pancake mix. Apart from Mum & me, I've also cooked them for Dad, then tonight for the three of us, and the other afternoon for Mum, Dad and Mum's friend Maureen.

What we want to know is, what are buckwheat pancakes? How different are they? The buttermilk ones taste like the pancakes we recognise from trips to the States (New York, San Francisco, Vegas).

Help would be helpful.
As would bacon recommendations.
Mum says she will NOT fry it.
I suggested baking it and she pooh-poohed the idea.
All I know is something has to be better than the soggy offerings tonight ;)

Oh, and I'm apparently cooking them on Boxing Day too. Big E likes them, and I bet once she has one the kids will clamour for them too. I'll use the buttermilk mix (we are all pancaked out for a while anyway) if there is a significant difference.

Cheers!

You should be frying the bacon. Any other method is inferior. You can save the grease and use if for other cooking, adding cholesterol into foods nature never intended!

Start bacon in a cold skillet on medium heat. {Place individual strips into the pan and then watch it like a hawk. Don't wander out of the kitchen. Only do a few slices at a time. It starts clumping and sticking to itself if you overcrowd the pan. Cook it until it looks almost done. If you wait until it looks done, it will be burnt. Move cooked strips onto a paper towel to drain.

Bake you bacon on a broiler pan at 400 american degrees... guaranteed crispy, even, doneness after 15-20 mins. The grease will be in the bottom of the broiler, not all over your walls, and you can make the whole batch at once.

I would say buckwheat are to wheat bread when buttermilks are to white bread.

You're having eggs too, right? And coffee and OJ?

I sometimes make bacon on a George Foreman grill. It turns out OK. Not as good as baking or frying, but perfectly acceptable for a sandwich.

Actually, I take that back -- I haven't had as much luck cooking *anything* with the GF grill as I did with my Hamilton Beach knockoff. I had to get rid of the old one 'cause I literally wore the thing out. I don't think the GF grill gets as hot, or heats as evenly. Maybe because the grills come off for washing; the old one didn't.

Pancakes aren't rocket science. I make them from scratch sometimes. Or if you get Bisquick, that makes good pancakes too.

Buckwheat is an entirely different grain, and not actually wheat at all. (It's gluten-free, as a matter of fact.) I have never had it in pancake form, but it is one of the better baking flours when it comes to taste and texture, so I imagine they'd be good, just different.

just grill the bacon, SG. It'll be just fine. When the smoke alarm goes off, it's done. Now you are using smoked streaky bacon, right?

I had pancakes yesterday. In fact I've had pancakes every time i've been to uni for about the last 6 weeks. The German Christmas market in the civic quarter of Leeds has a little stall that does pancakes (crepes) with all sorts of different toppings. I have had the same one each time: sugar and lemon:) That ol' standby. delicious and really fascinating to watch them being made.

crepes not the same as American Pancakes...

http://www.viethfamily.com/jQuery/images/pancakes.jpg

I know. We get both over here: American style (or 'scotch' which seem to be similar but much smaller) and English/European style (crepes). That's why I specified that these were of the 'crepe' variety :)

Generally speaking, if we say 'pancakes' we mean crepes.

buckwheat is otay

Are they generally the same ingredients, just made on the other side of the pan?

No, he's not. He was shot.

Monster, translation - stat!
This is grilling it in UK terms isn't it?
We weren't, but there is egg in the pancake already, so I daren't push it with the borrowing from the store cupboard :) We've not had them for breakfast, mostly because we breakfast at different times. I might suggest to Mum that she cooks Dad an American breakfast - she's got the pancake side of things sorted anyway.
I think that's what we'll have to do - it was just that I was hogging (!) the part of the oven where the grill is. And it's a lot more cleaning up than using the GF. Mum's oven is only a few years old and she waited so long to get it she is still very precious about it. She had the previous one for about 20 years and wants this one to last as long again.

Thanks for the advice peoples.
I'll try the buckwheat ones next and save what's left of the buttermilk for the others on Boxing Day.

I'm following this thread with interest ... just not had the time for culinary experimentation as I'm too busy going out and playing carols ... (lah lah lah!) ...

Hmmm. I doubt they're the same. Let me check


Thought so. No the main difference is the use of baking powder. The last thing you want with anEnglish pancake is for it to rise or go at all fluffy: hence the phrase 'flat as a pancake' :P The other big difference is we don't sweeten the pancake mix. The sugar is added as a topping afterwards. Without the sweet topping the finished pancake is actually completely savoury. Also the ratio of egg to flour is different, as is the quantity of milk.

Thanks, Dana. Considerable difference in the basic recipe, as well as the presentation, then.

No-no, Cranberry juice for breakfast, OJ kills! :haha:

Buckwheat Pancackes

For you Cellarites on Metric go to the site and click the button to convert ingredients.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-bu...es/Detail.aspx

No, she's suggesting cooking them on the grill pan in a hot oven -the heat would be more indirect, but no need to turn.

I just cooked about a squillion of your American pancakes for the girls at Hebe's sleepover birthday party. And served with that concoction you call pancake syrup. Although most opted for the chocolate syrup. and the healthy fruit and cereal options were left completely untouched! :lol:

AHA! I was right all along then (from what I said to Mum I mean)
Cheers for that.

We have had great luck in making the perfect bacon in the microwave.

Place strips on a microwave safe plate on top of about 6 sheets of paper towels. Lay another 2 pieces of paper towels on top of that to prevent the mess. Place in microwave on high for about 1 min per piece of bacon. If you have never done it down step the time by a minute for a first run. i.e. 6 pieces (average you can cook), cook it for 4 or 5 minutes. Just keep checking it and run it another minute until it looks well cooked and brown. (note we always cook the very thick bacon and this is how we fix it when having burgers for bacon-burgers). Remove and let it rest off the paper towels on another plate or a wooden cutting board. ( we always drip them off on a wooden cutting board because it is good to keep the life of your board if it gets re-oiled). After a few minutes it is hard and crispy and not over cooked. Once you figure out your microwave it is fast and easy to cook them to the level of doneness that you enjoy for your bacon every time based on the thickness you like.

Be careful because the thin bacon is easy to over cook and burn in the micorwave. The good thing about this method is that you can under cook them over and over and just keep adding another minute as you check them in between.

Caution, the plate in the microwave gets very hot from the grease.

Hope this helps someone.

Yuck, that shit's nasty... real maple syrup or bust.

We've been eating ours with the real maple syrup that came in the same package!

I probably don't have to say this, but I feel I should defend my Mum. Mum cooks bacon very well. She's been doing it for more years than she'd like me to tell you after all. The bacon question has only come about because we are trying to cook it American style, to go with the pancakes.

We have different cuts over here, so we're experimenting with what will come the closest.

There - family honour defended I can continue to post in pieces.

I am willing to try Merc's suggestion if Mum (again) vetoes the oven baked variety.

Pancakes are best made on a flat griddle, although you can make do with a large enough skillet. Proper crepes, which should be paper thin, require a specific sort of pan. I had one, but I think momwolf threw it out during one of our moves. Or it was in the box that got sacrificed to the moving gods.

We don't have a griddle, but have been making them in a single person pan. It's worked really well.

Pancakes are okay in a large frying pan, but crepes really need specialist equipment to maintain even coverage, given that they are whisker thin.

Good distinction Sundae. I've been using the word 'crepes' to distinguish between our pancakes and American pancakes, but actually, English pancakes aren't quite as thin as European 'crepes'.

American pancakes
135g/4¾oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp caster sugar
130ml/4½fl oz milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp melted butter (allowed to cool slightly) or olive oil, plus extra for cooking

Scotch pancakes
125 g (4 1⁄2 oz) self-raising flour
2 tsp caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp melted unsalted butter
150 ml (5 fl oz) semi-skimmed milk
4 tsp sunflower oil

these two, on the other hand, seem pretty similar, except for less sugar in the Scotch variant. Merc's pic seems to bear this out. Taste tests will be carried out :yum:

Cetainly, whenever I've had scotch pancakes they;ve tasted very similar to the American pancakes I've had. Similar texture too, though when you buy packs of them premade, the American ones are always about twice the size of the Scotch pancakes.

From first hand experience of buying Scotch Pancakes (Scots? Shurely?) the American ones are lighter in both colour and texture. Merkin ones have more holes in, and are larger. At least the way I've been cooking them.

Of all those mentioned, traditional English panckes are the most obviously fried. We have them on Shrove Tuesday by tradition. But as mentioned before we've chosen to have American style pancakes on three occasions so far. Apols to my ancestors, but they are yummier.

Disclaimer: pancakes were made to finish off the goods in the larder/ pantry which could not be consumed during the Lenten fast. To eat them at any other time of year is sheer gluttony.

I like themboth equally, but at different times. They both hit me in different ways. There are times, when a traditional pancake, with sugar and lemon is just perfect. Then again, there are times when an American pancake with bacon and maple syrup is just to die for.

Scots are the people. Scottish is an adjective. Scotch is an adjective applied to whisky, pancakes, pies and mist ... :cool:

Scots' Pancakes it is then :p

Buckwheat pancakes come out darkish in color, about the same tint as pale pumpernickel. Definitely a starch food, with a somewhat tangy, faintly smokelike flavor. Tastes -- dark. Put that way it doesn't sound all that fun, but it is tasty enough, and comes up robust under flavorful syrup, rather than overwhelmed as a milder-flavored pancake might. Probably go well with dark treacle, though this treatment would doubtless give the plate an English accent.

The local Mexican restaurants with breakfasts and restaurants with bilingual menus show us the term has been adopted whole by Spanish speakers as a tasty novelty from el Norte: panqueques, pronounced "pan-KAY-kays."

Mom is trying out a five-grain pancake recipe that sounds made from scratch. If she likes it, she promises to send it along, and if you like, SG, I'll pass it along to you.

SG, how did the Boxing Day pancakes turn out?

In Russia they are called Bliny and are eaten preferably with sour cream and caviar.
I tried making them (the Blinys only, without the caviar) and found they need very slow cooking, as the buckwheat flour soaks up a lot of liquid. Merc's recipe using wheat/buckwheat half-and-half sounds like a good compromise.

See, I saw "buckwheat" on the packet J&J sent me, and I thought "bliny" and "savoury" straightaway. I'm thinking fish paté, shredded hot-smoked salmon and other yummies on buckwheat pancakes - would that be good? Not that I don't like maple syrup - but I'll save that for the buttermilk pancakes ...

I thought the American pancake originated in Scotland.
and I think we're all about the scotch pancakes here in the U.S.

I like mine with fruit or syrup. The 10 grain are especially good.

I've had crepe's, American Indian fry and an Indian breakfast pancake but there's nothing better than the original and best. pancake. mmm

oh and waffles too! esp Belgium style.

*blinks* original and best? English style 'pancakes' were being cooked up over here long before you guys came up with what you call pancakes. And I'm pretty sure French 'crepes' predate American pancakes too :P

American pancakes are scotch and not something the colonists made up but something adapted from Scotland?

and I know France and England has been around a while too. :P

That said. I don't know why I said original! because every country has their variation.

Oh sweetie, i was just joshing. :P It's original and best because it's what stands as original and best in your life :)

jfc!

jfc?

I would love some pancakes right now (wonders if one of the unmarked tupperware-full-o-cooking-dusts-and-powders in the cabinet is pancake mix.)

IHOP!

Have one close? Nearest to me is at Kenwood in Cincy. Too far to go for pancakes.

Mrs. Levy made pancakes yesterday from a mix I bought from Amazon. While we liked the oats and apples mix, we tried the 'grainy day' high fiber mix yesterday. Mrs. Levy mixed in bananas, which made it ok. I'm regretting that I didn't get the sourdough flavor instead of the multi-grain.

No IHOP. There's Awful Waffle but I'm balking at leaving the house. :)

It turns out that every culture that figured out how to mill grain, has pancakes of some sort

But only the native Americans figured out how to boil the sap of the maple tree down to a rich, sweet syrup. Thanks Shawnee!

Anytime! :)

Maybe it came from getting the munchies after smoking some peacy pipes.

:D awesome UT and Shaw

more comic relief



Two brothers went downstairs where their mother was cooking breakfast.

"What do you want for breakfast?" asked the mother.

"Shit, I want some fucking pancakes," said the first brother.

The mother slapped him across the face.

"We don't talk like that in this house. Now, how about you, son? I hope you've learned a lesson from your brother. What do you want for breakfast?"

"I've sure learned my lesson! You can bet your ass I don't want any fucking pancakes!"

Does sound good -- let us know how you liked it.

Smoked salmon is going at post-holiday discounts around here.

We've started on the buttermilk pancakes in this house ... with maple syrup. Very yummy - and reminded me how good pancakes are!
I also made a vat of soup yesterday with the harvest soup mix in case we were visited by first-footers, but we went out instead, so what's left of that'll go in the freezer.
Oh, and on Boxing Day with our cold meats (turkey, beef, ham, smoked goose) mashed potatoes and salads, pickles etc we had a spinach salad with fake croutons and Bacon Dressing. The dressing seemed suspiciously sweet straight out of the jar, but the salad got a big thumbs up from me and all the guests.
Will start on the buckwheat pancakes when we've finished the buttermilk ones.
Thanks y'all!

yum. what are "first-footers"?

People who go out visiting just after midnight on New Year's Day. This year we went first footing the neighbours.

huh. never heard of that custom. thanks!

Does it count if you spent the night at their house?

So long as you arrive after midnight, yes. The luckiest first footer is a tall, dark, handsome stranger bearing coal and "black bun" (a type of fruit cake) - we took coal and Christmas cake.
The tradition is that you also take a bottle with you, and offer a drink to your host in exchange for the drink they offer you. Many first footers used to be away for days at a time, staggering from one house to another. This practice is less common now, around here anyway.

Pancakes are from IHOP people.

IHOP.

I found out how to be IHOP at home.

Just add baking powder, sugar and vanilla to the Bisquick mix. It's the supreme recipe. They will taste like cardboard otherwise.
In teeny tiny text under the recipe on the box is a message about how to make them better?! Odd they just don't include it in the main recipe. Anyway they were the best pancakes I have had outside a pancake house.



:) I've heard about this. It's very appealing yet I'm not sure if I would want anyone stumbling in after midnight. I guess the point is to be stumbling into someone elses house after midnight.