Savory Bacon and Corn Pancakes Are a Fun Twist on Breakfast
Bill, Judy, Sarah, and Kaitlin Leung are the cooks behind The Woks of Life, a food blog spanning several generations of their family. For the past two years, the entire family has used the blog — featured as part of Yahoo FoodBlogger of the Week series — as a platform to communicate, tell stories, and share food across distances. Below, Bill Leung recreates a treasured recipe from his youth: savory pancakes spiked with corn and bacon.
Photos: The Woks of Life
These savory pancakes are a welcome sight on a lazy weekend. Fluffy pancakes with sweet corn and bacon folded into the batter, covered in warm maple syrup — what’s not to like?
I first saw a savory pancake like this one in the kitchen at Grossinger’s Resort in the Catskills region of New York, where I grew up. A family friend working there made them, and as a kid with an inexperienced palette, I thought the idea of mixing sweet and savory was a bit strange at first. But after my first bite, I immediately took a liking to them — even without any bacon, since the resort was strictly kosher.
I wanted to recreate the memory, this time around with the addition of bacon and maple syrup. The results were spectacular — these pancakes make for an awesome, complete breakfast, or even better, a hearty breakfast-for-dinner. Enjoy!
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Savory Breakfast Pancakes
Serves 4 to 6
6 slices bacon
½ cup finely diced onion
1 ½ cups corn (fresh, frozen, or canned corn all work)
½ cup water
½ cup whole milk
½ teaspoon salt
Black pepper, to taste
1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ¼ cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons melted butter
¾ cup whole milk
1 scallion, finely chopped
Cook the bacon in a skillet until crispy and remove to a plate lined with a paper towel. Set aside rendered bacon fat, except for 1 tablespoon. Add the onion and corn to the pan, and cook over medium low heat until the onion is translucent.
Next, add the water, milk, salt, and pepper to the mixture and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The liquid should reduce until you have about ½ cup left. Let cool and transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until just combined. Chop the bacon and fold into the batter.
Brush your skillet or griddle with bacon fat (or butter) and cook your pancakes, using about a 1/3 cup of batter per pancake. Flip after about 2 minutes and let them cook for another 2 minutes. Serve with warm maple syrup.
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