Pea method is antiquated on today's CPUs simply not because the heatspreader area is bigger but multiple dies below and (sometimes) not so efficient thermal coupling between said dies and the heatspreader. Ok, so that was a mouthful but the goal is to have the heatspreader completely covered with as thin of a layer as possible. Since the Nehalem days, I've been using the X method. Thinning lines stopping a few mm before the corners and thicker lines in the middle where the intersecting point is somewhat spherical and about 5-6mm in diameter.
Larger chips (eg TR4) require a twist to this technique either more spokes (think asterisk) or just painting a layer on. Some TIMs that are super pasty/viscous aren't going to be easy with this method. The syringe can be heated (gently) to thin it out some to make it easier. Put a coffee mug 3/4 filled with water in the microwave and nuke for 2 min, then (carefully) remove and place syringe in water. Make sure the cap is on TIGHT and watch the plunger for movement, if it looks like it's coming out on its own remove from the water, it's hot enough.
When you dismount the block, you should never see TIM past the edge of the heatspreader or running all over the place like a crazy cheeseburger. That's just too much paste. The minuscule gap between heatspreader and block is filled either way, but excessive paste just makes it more work to clean up AND in the case of electrically conductive pastes can present a real risk of destroying the board and cpu!