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Ode to Griddlin'

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R. Tyler Croy 2016-11-30 17:27:44 -08:00
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---
layout: post
title: Ode to Griddle
tags:
- food
---
The longer I have been working from home, the more important and involved my
breakfast routine has become. With colleagues in various timezones around the
globe, it can be difficult to find time in the middle of the day to leave the
house or make myself a decent lunch. A hearty breakfast however, can stretch
from mid-morning all the way to an early dinner (5-6pm).
A *vital* part of my breakfast routine, and probably my most favorite tool in
the kitchen, is my two-burner [Lodge cast-iron Griddle](http://a.co/9N6IQWc).
Those that follow me on [Flickr](https://flickr.com/photos/agentdero) no doubt
recognize the griddle from my pictures of [making english muffins](https://www.flickr.com/photos/agentdero/30781757836/) or [biscuits](https://www.flickr.com/photos/agentdero/26934353304/), but it is safe to say that it is the linchpin of my breakfast.
<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/agentdero/30301481570/" title="Whole wheat pancakes"><img src="https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5834/30301481570_421d2f00e9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Whole wheat pancakes"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>
A typical breakfast will include, at a minimum, a couple eggs (sunny-side-up or over-easy)
numerous slices of American-style bacon and a "starch": pancakes or hashbrowns
(recipes below). Occasionally, depending on what we have available at [Croy Family Farms](https://twitter.com/croyfamilyfarms)
I might add grilled tomatoes or onions onto the grddle, or serve breakfast with
sliced fruit or baked goods from the night before.
All of this, now that I am practised in the Art of Griddlin', takes **under 30
minutes**.
### Griddlin'
Before I start Griddlin' for the day, I typically wipe up the excess congealed
grease from the day prior with a paper towel. This is the only regular
cleaning I will do of the griddle.
Once it's mostly wiped down, I turn both burners to medium (top burner slightly
warmer) and walk away to finish whatever I was doing in the office for about
five minutes while the surface heats up. Once heated, I use my [square-end
metal spatula](http://a.co/dW9XdOA) to scrape any left-over bits, or excess
grease, into the grease trap. I have found it is more effective to do this
after the griddle heats up than trying get everything scraped away while it's
cold.
Because cast-iron doesn't cool down, and I try to make everything only on the
griddle, **order** and **placement** are important.
The griddle is basically split into some zones of various temperatures:
```
+------------+
| |
| Top-burner |
| (med/high) |
| |
| |
| Middle |
| (med/low) |
| |
| |
| Bottom |
| (med) |
| |
+------------+
```
First the bacon goes on, mostly on the top-burner with a few strips on the
bottom burner. The bacon is guaranteed to provide all the grease I need for
*anything* that follows. That isn't to say everything I make is coated in bacon
grease but I find a glistening, well-greased, griddle to be very useful for
rapidly moving food on, off, or around the griddle.
While that's going, I start preparing the starch, whether pancakes or
hashbrowns. The bacon only needs one flip, so once I make the first flip the
starch is ready to go onto the bottom-burner. While both hashbrowns and
pancakes also only require one flip, hashbrowns tends to take a bit longer
since the potatoes are thicker than the thin dollop of pancake batter.
Once the bacon is finished, the hashbrowns get flipped and that's when the
sliced vegetables (tomatoes, onions) are put onto the middle part of the
griddle to cook for the remainder of the time. Since the bacon leaves behind
plenty of grease and some other little stuck bits, before re-using the top
portion of the griddle, it needs a good scraping with the square-edged spatula
again.
Tidied up, eggs get cracked directly onto the top part of the griddle. If I'm
making sunny-side-up eggs then I will grab a lid from a pot and put it over the
egg after about one minute to ensure the yolk firms up a little. Over-easy is a
lot simpler as I just flip the egg over after a couple minutes.
Regardless, once the eggs are done there's typically a couple minutes remaining
for the starch and vegetables to finish.
Everything cooks rapidly enough to where items are plated as soon as they come
off the griddle. When cooking for two however, the ordering changes and I might
place lids or foil tents over the plates while finishing items.
Each "part" of the meal takes between 5-7 minutes of griddle time total, but
because the griddle is just one big flat heated surface, it's _very_ easy to
get things cooking in parallel.
<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/agentdero/30760230546/" title="Just normal shopping"><img src="https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5791/30760230546_a1aacded09.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Just normal shopping"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>
Cooking all this from scratch, I estimate the cost of my breakfasts to easily
cost less than a couple bucks and, I believe, fairly healthy compared to a
prepared breakfast.
I never grew up with a griddle and at under $50, as far as kitchen-ware is
concerned, it's easily one of the best kitchen purchases I have made.
## Recipes
### Whole Wheat Pancakes
This is a Martha Stewart recipe I have adapted for relatively quick and easy
whole wheat pancakes. Half of the batter is enough for a "short-stack", which
is rougly 3 pancakes. Depending on how hungry I am, a short-stack is sometimes
insufficient so I eat a tall-stack (all the batter) in one sitting.
#### Ingredients
Dry:
* 1/2 cup (60g) of all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup (60g) of whole wheat flour
* 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
* 2 Tsp baking powder
* 1/2 Tsp salt
Wet:
* 1 egg, ligthly beaten
* 3/4 cup evaporated milk
**Note:** *Martha Stewart's recipe calls for 1 cup
of milk, but I find it easier to just keep cans of evaporated milk on-hand
since we do not always have fresh milk on-hand. Generally the ratio would be 1 cup
of fresh milk is substituted by 1/2 cup evaporated plus 1/2 cup water. I use
3/4 cup evaporated milk to provide more liquid for the whole wheat flour and to
make the pancakes a little richer*.
* 1/2 cup water
* 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
**Note:** *Martha Stewart's recipe calls for 1 Tbsp
vegetable oil and 2 Tbsp of melted butter. I use 3 Tbsp of vegetable oil as a
time saver*.
----
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then throw all the wet ingredients
together in the bowl too.
Whisk vigorously to make sure everything is mixed properly.
Pour batter onto a heated griddle, after bubbles have appeared and popped, flip
the pancakes.
Wait about however long it took for the bubbles to appear and pop before
removing the pancake from the griddle.
### Actually-potatoes-hashbrowns
Prior to my cast-iron griddle, I actually had a *lot* of trouble with
hashbrowns in my other pans. With a properly greased griddle I have found
hashbrowns to be *incredibly* easy to get right.
#### Ingredients
* 1 yukon gold potato (unpeeled)
* Salt/pepper to taste
----
Shred the whole potato with a coarse grater.
Collect the shredded potato in your hands, and over the sink
squeeze the everliving hell out of it, purging as much liquid as possible.
Spread the shredded potato onto the griddle, into about a 1/2-1 inch thick layer.
Cook for about 6-7 minutes per side.