Savory Bacon-Cheddar Pancakes With Corn and Jalapeño Recipe

J. Kenji López-Alt
Savory Bacon-Cheddar Pancakes With Corn and Jalape\u00f1o Recipe
*
  • Yield:Seves 4 to 6
  • Active time:30 minutes
  • Total time:30 minutes
  • Rated: 4.0

Savory corn pancakes stuffed with bacon, cheddar, and jalapeño. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Who ever said American pancakes have to be sweet? What's stopping us from savory-ing them up? These start with a basic American-style pancake recipe, but they come stuffed with crisp bacon, sautéed corn, jalapeño peppers, scallions, and—the kicker—pockets of gooey melted cheddar cheese.

Why It Works

Careful pancake construction leads to the best flavor and appearance. Read the Whole Story
  • Cooking the bacon and corn with jalapeños and scallions before adding them to the batter enhances their flavor and adds texture to the pancakes.
  • Saving some of the corn/bacon mixture and pressing it into the pancakes as they cook gives the outer surface of the pancakes a nice appearance and texture after flipping.
  • Cutting the cheese into cubes creates big pockets of melted cheese that ooze out as you eat.
  • A mixture of cornmeal and flour gives the pancakes deep corn flavor.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces bacon, cut into fine dice
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears of corn)
  • 1 to 2 red or green jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced
  • 8 scallions, thinly sliced (divided)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup (about 5 ounces) fine yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup (about 5 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons honey, plus more for serving
  • 2 eggs
  • 10 ounces (about 1 1/4 cup) cultured buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for oiling pan or griddle
  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

Directions

  1. 1.

    Heat butter, bacon, and 1 tablespoon water in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until water evaporates and bacon begins to crisp and brown, about 5 minutes. Add corn, increase heat to high, and cook, stirring, until tender and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add jalapeño peppers and half of scallions and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a plate to cool slightly.

  2. 2.

    Combine cornmeal, flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, baking powder, baking soda, honey, eggs, buttermilk, 2 tablespoons oil, half of corn/bacon mixture, and half of remaining scallions in a large bowl and stir and fold until no dry streaks of flour remain but batter is still lumpy. Fold in cheese cubes.

  3. 3.

    Heat griddle or large non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add a small amount of oil to the griddle and spread with a paper towel. Ladle 1/4 to 1/2 cup of batter onto the griddle, spreading it into an even circle. Repeat to fit as many pancakes as you can. Spread a 1 tablespoon-sized portion of the bacon/corn mixture on top of each pancake.

  4. 4.

    Cook undisturbed until edges of pancakes begin to set and bubbles start to break the top surface, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes with a thin, flexible spatula and cook on second side until golden brown and completely set, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet in a warm oven while you cook the remaining pancakes. Serve, garnished with remaining scallions and drizzled with honey.

Show 7 Comments