This Is the Right Way to Flip a Pancake, with Zero Splatter
The only thing better than a breakfast you can completely douse in sweet maple syrup is one that you can also stack high into the sky. This is where pancakes come in. The beloved pancake is a staple of the breakfast table for a reason — it’s a mixture of fluffy, cake-like texture and rich, buttery batter.
When making pancakes at home, you can reach for the convenient pre-made pancake mix or you can make it easily from scratch. Either way, one of the most important things when it comes to properly preparing a pancake in a hot oiled skillet is making sure you pull off the dreaded “flip” successfully. In other words, you want to make sure you flip the pancake without any of the still-wet batter splattering all across the pan or griddle.
To flip your pancakes like a pro, without any of the splatter, use this technique from the chefs at Australian pancake restaurant chain Pancake Parlour. The trick is simple: Instead of using your wrist to turn the spatula, simply use your thumb, middle, and index fingers. Isolate the three digits and use a quick twisting motion to flip the pancake. This smaller motion will use less force, and you’ll be less likely to splatter the wet batter.
Once you get the pancake-flipping trick down, you can make sure your pancakes have more even edges and a more flat surface on each side, which is ideal for soaking up lots of maple syrup.