Should You Cook Your Pancakes In Butter Or Oil?

Pancakes are a comforting and simple dish. On its golden brown surface, the stackable breakfast favorite seems easy to make. Its composition is almost instinctual: a blend of flour, butter, eggs, salt, some sugar, a leavening agent, and milk (although buttermilk also works wonders) mixed together and then ladled into a hot skillet to cook until perfectly brown. Despite this simplicity, there are, in fact, many ways to cook a pancake, some better than others. One often overlooked aspect of pancake cookery is not found within your pancake batter, but on the pan. It's your cooking oil, and choosing the right one can help you make the best cakes possible. The two most popular pan lubricants for cooking pancakes are butter and oil. But which one works best? 

Well, that comes down to your own pancake preferences. For a crispier cake, you'll want to use a high smoke point cooking oil, such as vegetable oil. This will allow you to cook your cakes at a higher temperature, assuring a better crust on the exterior. However, if flavor is what you're after, then butter might be the better bet, as it will carry over its distinct buttery taste. However, you'll have to be mindful in terms of cooking temperature.

Butter is an incredibly popular choice for cooking pancakes. Its benefits are clear: It is packed with rich, creamy flavor that seeps into your cakes as they cook. However, and this is a big however, there are some drawbacks, too. For starters, butter has a relatively low smoke point, around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This is not ideal for pan-frying foods such as pancakes, which require heats of around 375 degrees Fahrenheit to cook properly. If butter is exposed to high heat, it can begin to smoke, and the milk proteins within it will begin to burn, causing your pancakes to take on a burnt, unpleasant taste. Of course, this doesn't mean that using butter isn't possible; you'll just have to cook your cakes at a lower heat, and also cook smaller cakes, which will cook faster.

Now, if you want a butter taste but with a higher smoke point, you can use clarified butter or ghee to grease your pan. Ghee and clarified butter have smoke points of 450 degrees Fahrenheit, 100 degrees above that of regular butter. It is important to keep in mind that ghee and clarified butter do also differ in taste from regular butter. Ghee is clarified butter that has been cooked until the milk solids become caramelized. This gives it a richer flavor, though both maintain a buttery taste. Either option will give your pancakes a punch of flavor without the risk of burnt milk proteins.

Ok, so we've been raving about the rich, sweet, nutty flavor of butter. But that doesn't mean you have to cook your pancakes in butter. While buttery pancakes are great, they might not be your thing. Or you might simply want a more convenient cooking oil to cook your cakes in. After all, there are plenty of ways to add butter taste to your pancakes both before and after cooking (mixing butter into your batter or covering your cakes in butter post-pan are both great options). Perhaps you prioritize crispiness over everything else. And if your want a truly crispy pancake (think golden, lacy edges and a fluffy interior), you should really opt for cooking oil over butter. Oils that work best have a high smoke point so they can withstand the heat without smoking up your kitchen, and they have a neutral flavor (avoid olive oil, unless you want pancakes that taste like olive oil).

Grapeseed oil, for example, makes a great option for cooking pancakes, as it has a clean, neutral flavor and a smoke point of around 420 degrees Fahrenheit, so you won't have to worry about overheating your oil while pan-frying. Avocado oil also works, as it is neutral and has a smoke point of 520 degrees Fahrenheit. Vegetable and canola oil are other viable options. These oils will produce a perfectly crusted, butter-ready pancake. Then again, maybe there is no such thing as perfection outside of personal preference, so let your tastes guide you to the perfect choice for you.