Breakfast is the paramount meal of the day. (And, yes. The most important too!) You have every excuse and right to go as sweet or as salty as you want. You can even mix the two (and pile it high!) without any loathsome eyebrows being raised in your direction. The meal is your oyster and you can choose pretty much anything that you want for breakfast and get away with it.
When it comes to mixing sweet and salty, pancakes are the grand champions. We found an ingenious and essential tool to prepare pancakes on your Traeger. The Grilling Plancha is a cast iron griddle that you can put directly on your Traeger and use just like you would a tabletop griddle to make those perfect, golden, cloud-like pancakes. Follow the link in this post and save 10% off on your cast iron Plancha by entering coupon code PLANCHA10 at checkout.
We just couldn't resist using the plancha to create the complete culmination of breakfasts with our Bacon Banana Pancakes.
Bacon Banana Pancakes
Recommended Pellets: Apple, Cherry or Maple
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: about 5 minutes per pancake
1 cup buttermilk (or make your own, see below)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely ground cornmeal
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
2 bananas
Other optional add-ins: blueberries, nuts, whatever you like
Nonstick cooking spray
For serving: Butter, maple syrup, honey butter, blueberries, etc.
When ready to cook, place the plancha on the Traeger and set to Smoke for 4-5 Minutes or until the fire is established. Close the lid and preheat to 350 degrees F. (It's important that the plancha preheats with the Traeger to make sure it's sufficiently hot.)
In a mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla and whisk thoroughly. Whisk in the melted butter. (If you don't happen to have buttermilk on hand, don't fret. You can make your own by combining 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of whole milk and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or distilled white vinegar. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. The milk will curdle, making your buttermilk clone...or next best thing.)
In another large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to mix. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture, and pour in the wet ingredients.
Whisk until the batter is relatively smooth, but don’t over-mix or the pancakes will toughen. Having a few clumps is not a bad thing, especially if you're stirring in mix-ins later.
Cut up bananas. I cut them into big chunks because I like a good bite of banana on each forkload.
Stir in the bananas and crumbled bacon (or whatever add-ins you love).
Lightly spray the plancha with nonstick cooking spray. Make a “test” pancake by pouring a tablespoon of batter on the griddle. When bubbles form, flip with a spatula and continue to cook until the second side is golden brown. If the test pancake turns out perfectly, make the pancakes using about 1/4 cup of batter for each. Or if you're like me, it may end up more like a 1/2 cup of batter.
Cook the first side for about two minutes or until you see the bottom of the pancake start to look bubbly, golden, and firm enough to flip. Then flip and cook for an additional minute or so.
Serve hot with butter and maple syrup and perhaps a few blueberries.
The best moment is when you get the ultimate bite with a hunk of melted banana, a few pieces of salty, crunchy bacon and that tart burst of blueberry.
