Bacon n' Beer Griddle Cakes
A printable recipe may be found at The Crepes of Wrath
We're almost into our new apartment! We spent all day on Sunday packing, because of course we procrastinated on Saturday. What can you do? We've got everything mostly ready to go, it's just a matter of putting away some last minute stuff and doing a bit of cleaning. Of course, we are still having a bit of trouble with our landlords, even this close to your move out date. While Kramer was out getting some extra moving supplies, I was finishing up the laundry. When I walked into the apartment from the laundry room downstairs, my phone was ringing, so I quickly put down the things I was carrying and hurried over to my phone, not locking the door. I turn around, and all of a sudden this giant, bearded man was walking into my apartment. I yelled at him and slammed the door, but he kept knocking. Of course, he was a broker trying to show my apartment. He insisted that he had an appointment, but I told him that was too bad because nobody spoke to me and they are required to give me 24 hours notice before coming over. Believe it or not, that was the second time that happened on Sunday! At 9:30 in the morning, while Kramer and I were having breakfast, a really creepy looking guy came by, also claiming to have an appointment to show the apartment. I'm really glad that we changed our locks because it seems like these people feel all too comfortable just waltzing in here (our landlords apparently just gave out copies of our keys to random brokers). Thankfully, we are out of there tonight and into our new apartment tomorrow.
Now, onto more important matters, such as these pancakes. These are some pretty bad ass pancakes, if I do say so myself. They have an entire bottle of beer and good amount of bacon, not to mention that they are fluffy as can be. I used Blue Moon, because that's what I had, but I would highly recommend using a nicer, more amber beer, like a Newcastle. These were still absolutely delicious, though. You can certainly taste the beer, but it's a pleasant, subtle taste, and goes perfectly with the salty, crispy pieces of bacon. I also read somewhere a while ago that whipping your egg whites separately and folding them into your batter makes the pancakes fluffier, so I tried it, and lo and behold, I found it to be true. I don't really know what it is, but you can definitely taste a more tender pancake. Kramer adored these, of course, and I think that they are the perfect way to start off your Superbowl Sunday or to show your significant other how much you love them, don't you?
That's all you need for these manly pancakes (minus the bacon, of course, which was cooking when I shot this photo).
To make your bacon, I prefer the oven method because making it in a pan is very messy and the bacon is never as crispy as I like it to be. Simply pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F, place your bacon on greased cooling racks on top of a cookie sheet lined with foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until your bacon has reached your desired crispiness.
Beautiful and perfectly cooked bacon.
Dice your bacon and set it aside. Try to resist the urge to eat it all while you make the pancakes.
Combine your flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Whisk together your sugar, oil, egg yolk, and beer.
Whisk your egg white separately for as long as you can, until frothy. Add to the beer mixture.
Add the beer mixture to the flour and whisk until just combined. Fold in the bacon, but save a little bit for a garnish at the end.
Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the greased frying pan. Make sure that your pan is nice and hot before adding any batter to it. Cook until bubbling on one side, then flip and cook the other side for another 2-2.5 minutes, pressing down onto the pancake with your spatula a bit to ensure even cooking.
Serve with a sprinkle of diced bacon.
And lots of syrup.
Bacon n' Beer Griddle Cakes
A printable recipe may be found at The Crepes of Wrath
Total Prep and Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 12 pancakes
10 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and diced
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg, whites and yolk separated
1 12 oz. bottle nice beer (I recommend something like Newcastle or a nice amber beer - this is definitely not a recipe you can use a cheap beer with because you can taste the beer)
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
syrup, for serving
1. Cook your bacon. You can either do it the traditional way in the pan, until crispy, or you can do it in the oven, which I find produces better results. First, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees F. Simply line a baking sheet with foil, then place a cooling rack on top. Spray with non-stick spray, then lay the bacon over the cooling rack. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until it has reached your desired level of crispiness. Set aside to cool, then dice.
2. Whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, the beer, and the vegetable oil. In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy and add them to the beer mixture.
3. Gently whisk the beer mixture into the flour mixture, until just combined. Fold in the diced bacon. Heat a large pan over medium-high, until hot. Grease your pan with either non-stick spray or butter. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake and cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbling on one side. Flip the pancake and let cook until golden, pressing down slightly with your spatula on the top of the pancake.
4. You can place your pancakes in a 200 degree F oven to keep warm while you cook the rest of the pancakes. Serve with a little butter and lots of syrup.
A printable recipe may be found at The Crepes of Wrath