Cowboy Campfire Pancakes
Pancakes the way the cowboys made them: six pantry ingredients, one cast iron pan, and a bed of campfire coals. A from-scratch breakfast you can cook anywhere there is a fire.
Equipment
- 1 cast iron pan
- 1 ladle
Ingredients
For the batter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tbsp
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 2 eggs
For the pan and the table
- butter a knob for the pan, plus more to serve
- maple syrup to serve
Instructions
Over the fire
- Burn your fire down to a steady bed of coals and set a cast iron pan on a grate to preheat. You want moderate, even heat — flames will scorch the outside before the middle sets.
The batter
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another, whisk the eggs with the milk and the melted butter. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk with a fork just until it comes together. A few lumps are fine; overmixing makes tough pancakes.
- Cook the batter right away. Baking powder starts working the moment it meets liquid, and batter left standing gives you flat pancakes.
Cooking
- Drop a knob of butter into the hot pan and swirl it. With a ladle, pour the batter into the middle of the pan — pour into the centre of the growing pancake so it spreads round.
- Cook one at a time. When small bubbles appear across the whole surface and the edges look set, flip once and cook the second side for about a minute, until golden.
- The first pancake is for the pancake gods. It is always the messed-up one — carry on.
Serve
- Serve warm with butter and maple syrup, or with berries, granola, whipped cream, chocolate spread or honey.
Notes
Pack it ahead. Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a jar at home. At the fire you only add the eggs, the milk and the melted butter — nothing to measure in the dark.
Flavoured pancakes. Scatter blueberries or chocolate chips onto the wet surface right after you ladle the batter in, rather than stirring them through. They stay put and do not burn on the pan.
Let it rest. If you have the time, let the batter sit 20 to 30 minutes before cooking. The pancakes come out lighter.
Heat control. Burning outside and raw inside means the fire is too hot. Move the pan to the edge of the coals or raise the grate.
Leftovers. Cooked pancakes keep two days refrigerated and reheat best in a dry cast iron pan.
See the frequently asked questions
- Why is my first pancake always a failure?
- How do I know when to flip?
- Can I make the batter the night before?
- Do I need a griddle, or is a cast iron pan enough?
- My pancakes burn outside and stay raw inside — what now?
- Can I add blueberries or chocolate chips?
- Can I make these dairy-free?
- Can I make these on a stovetop or gas grill instead of a campfire?
- Can I double the batter for a crowd?