Cornmeal & Bacon Pancakes

These cornmeal and bacon pancakes fold crumbled bacon right into the batter and use bacon drippings as the fat. Every pancake has bits of salty, smoky bacon throughout and a subtle cornmeal grit that gives them more texture and crunch than standard flour pancakes.

The cornmeal adds a slightly sweet, nutty flavor and a golden color that plain flour pancakes don’t have. It’s a supporting player here, not the main act. The ratio of flour to cornmeal keeps them light and fluffy while the cornmeal adds just enough toothy texture.

Bacon fat in the batter does what butter does in regular pancakes but with way more flavor. It’s already there from cooking the bacon, so it costs nothing extra and adds a savory richness that pairs perfectly with maple syrup.

Kitchen Tips

• Keep the batter fairly thin. Thick cornmeal batter makes dense, heavy pancakes. Add more milk if needed.
• Mix the wet into the dry slowly and stop as soon as it’s combined. Overmixed batter makes tough pancakes.
• Cook on medium heat. The bacon fat and cornmeal brown faster than plain pancake batter, so lower heat prevents burning.
• Crumble the bacon into small pieces so it distributes evenly through the batter.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of sugar or a drizzle of honey to the batter for a sweeter pancake.
• Fold in fresh corn kernels alongside the bacon for a corn-on-corn pancake.
• Top with a fried egg and skip the syrup for a fully savory breakfast plate.