$39.99 Jumbo electric griddle (pancake time!)

[Kaido]

Ten bucks off, nice deal if you want to cook a bunch of stuff at once! (eggs, hash browns, bacon, pancakes, etc.). Linky:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00066XROO/

https://www.gopresto.com/products/products.php?stock=07046

Documentation:

https://www.gopresto.com/downloads/dealer/ss/SS_07046.pdf

https://www.gopresto.com/downloads/instructions/07046.pdf

* 18.5" x 15" cooking surface
* 200 - 400F temperature range (plus warming mode)
* Allow for 10 to 15 minutes of preheat time (so you don't get hot & cold spots)
* Note: very large to store (23" x ~18")

Bonus: Kaido's awesome pancake recipe!

* 2 cups Bisquick mix (Original flavor)
* 1/2 cup Milk
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup Sour Cream (the secret ingredient!)

1. Mix everything by hand with a whisk (don't use a blender, it won't come out right...trust me)
2. Use one pancake as a sacrificial lamb to get the griddle temperature right. Usually a bit above medium does the trick, but you'll have to play with it so you don't burn (or under-cook) the pancakes.
3. Cook as small or as large as you want. I usually do about a 5" pancake. I'm a fan of Pam spray for the non-stick coating.

These are great plain, but also good with chocolate chips or blueberries. If you like Reese's, drop chocolate chips in the batter after pouring onto the griddle, and when done cooking, smear the top with a layer of peanut butter & then pour on the maple syrup. Guaranteed delicious food coma!

 

[Mike64]

Wow, that is huge... The one I picked up Target, which I thought was pretty big, is 50% smaller (but big enough for my needs, and also less than 50% this one's price, so I'm not sorry to have gone with it vs this one.) But as to

Bonus: Kaido's awesome pancake recipe!

* 2 cups Bisquick mix (Original flavor)
* 1/2 cup Milk
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup Sour Cream (the secret ingredient!)

Once you're adding milk, eggs, and sour cream, why use the Bisquick at all, instead of just using self-rising flour and maybe a pinch of salt?

 

[Kaido]

Wow, that is huge... The one I picked up Target, which I thought was pretty big, is 50% smaller (but big enough for my needs, and also less than 50% this one's price, so I'm not sorry to have gone with it vs this one.) But as to

Once you're adding milk, eggs, and sour cream, why use the Bisquick at all, instead of just using self-rising flour and maybe a pinch of salt?

Yeah, it's a beast! The only real complaint I've seen is that you need to have enough room to store it, haha.

Bisquick actually has a number of ingredients:

* Enriched Flour Bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)
* Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil
* Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate)
* Dextrose
* Salt

For these particular pancakes, Bisquick is the bomb dot com for awesomeness (that, plus the sour cream). It's not hard to make DIY Bisquick tho...aside from the baking soda & salt, the only real secret is shortening:

http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/homemade-bisquick/

But I don't make this particular recipe on a weekly basis or anything (usually only when I have a free weekend day to go into a food coma lol), so I've found it's easier just to keep a box of Bisquick on-hand. That way the prep is only 4 ingredients & I only need a whisk to mix it up!

 

[Mike64]

Yeah, it's a beast! The only real complaint I've seen is that you need to have enough room to store it, haha.

And actually, it wouldn't really take up that much more room than my smaller one, assuming you can stand it up on end somewhere for storage...

Bisquick[...]
the only real secret is shortening:

Hmm, by the point I'm doing more than just adding water (or milk, if I'm feeling "decadent" ) I think I'll stick with melted butter. (MMM, butter...) But yeah, sour cream pancakes are definitely awesome, though sourdough pancakes are right up there with them (if you have the time and the starter.) I also find the Aunt Jemima buttermilk mix surprisingly good not half-bad for an "instant" mix, on the rare occasions I have a yen for pancakes, and enough motivation to actually "cook" anything, on a weekday morning... (The real problem there is that I always want bacon with 'em, and that really ends up being too much of a hassle on a work day morning...)

 

[Kaido]

And actually, it wouldn't really take up that much more room than my smaller one, assuming you can stand it up on end somewhere for storage...

Hmm, by the point I'm doing more than just adding water (or milk, if I'm feeling "decadent" ) I think I'll stick with melted butter. (MMM, butter...) But yeah, sour cream pancakes are definitely awesome, though sourdough pancakes are right up there with them (if you have the time and the starter.) I also find the Aunt Jemima buttermilk mix surprisingly good not half-bad for an "instant" mix, on the rare occasions I have a yen for pancakes, and enough motivation to actually "cook" anything, on a weekday morning... (The real problem there is that I always want bacon with 'em, and that really ends up being too much of a hassle on a work day morning...)

This is one of those "dumb but it works" devices:

https://www.amazon.com/Microwave-Bacon-Cooker-Original-Reduces/dp/B0002HSFB2/

Microwave bacon cooker. 1 minute per slice (for regular, not thick-cut), up to 5 slices. Works AWESOME. I also do sous vide bacon, which makes bacon prep much quicker, but my family prefers really crispy bacon & this does the trick.

 

[Mike64]

my family prefers really crispy bacon & this does the trick.

I've tried microwaving bacon countless times, but I much prefer soft-ish-but-not-flabby bacon (when all the fat has become clear, but is just the littlest bit "crisp" in a few spots) and have always found the right timing "window" for that in a microwave to be < ±5 seconds<sigh> - a few seconds too little and it's still flabby, but then with just a few too many, it suddenly gets hard as a rock (my term for what most people call "crispy").

 

[twinrider1]

So, do you wash it in your bathtub or take it outside and hose it off?

 

[Illusio]

I've actually been wanting one of these for a while. Nice find.

 

[Kaido]

Macy's has a one-day sale for $39 on the jumbo griddle:

http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/presto-7046-griddle-the-big-griddle?ID=147509

I am liking it so far. It is HUGE. The tilt & drain feature is really nice for getting a level platform...you pull out the left or right side (or both) to adjust the angle. My kitchen is slightly uneven, which makes stuff like eggs run down in the pan just a bit, so that's a really really nice feature. As far as the size, here's a Logitech mouse for size reference; the griddle takes up almost my entire cooktop:

Plenty of room to work. Only real complaint is the cord is pretty short (can always add an extension, I guess). I've been making all kinds of croissant sandwiches lately. Super simple procedure:

1. Slice off 1/8" to 1/4" of spam & fry each side (if you haven't had spam, it's actually not gimmicky, it's amazing!). After getting a nice crispy "crust", slice into cubes.
2. Slice croissants in half & put on the griddle to start browning. You can optionally butter them, although depending on the quality of the croissants, they may already have enough butter in them to brown up nicely. The ones I use are huge, slightly bigger than an adult hand. btw, the ultimate bread knife is this one on Amazon for $22. Cuts crazy well through croissants, bagels, and other breads.
3. Set the griddle to just north of 300F. 325F is a bit too hot. Crack two eggs side-by-side for every croissant. Once the bottoms turn white, puncture the egg yolk, sprinkle on some garlic salt, and flip. Now sprinkle on the fried spam cubes & some grated cheese (I use the pre-shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend). Cover with a glass lid until the cheese melts.
4. Coat the bottom of the croissant with grey poupon (again, not gimmicky, grey poupon is actually the bomb for flavoring sandwiches!). Load the egg on the bottom of the croissant, put the top on, and press down with your spatula-turner to push the cheese into the top. Let it cool down for a couple minutes & it will kind of bind the bread together.

And voila, eat your heart out Dunkin Donuts: