French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

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Shule
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French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#1

Post: # 44797Unread post Shule
Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:44 pm

You're free to use this thread to explain your own methods, but here are some things I've discovered that I like.

1. For French toast, cut each piece of bread into four pieces before you batter and fry it. You may find that you really enjoy this, and that it makes them easier to cook while making it seem like you have more food in the end.

2. Instead of pouring syrup and spreading butter on your French toast, waffles, pancakes, etc. like people usually do, just get a small bowl, put some syrup and butter in it, mix it around, and dip your French toast, waffles, or pancakes in it. If you quartered your French toast as previously described, this works even better. No more big messy plate. No more knife and fork to wash. No more uneven amounts of syrup. You get exactly the amount you want in each bite. I tend to use a lot less syrup and butter this way; so, for me, it's more efficient, and it's healthier for those who need to eat less sugar and saturated fat.

3. If you like a lot of ketchup on your hamburgers like I do (most people don't; so, if you're like most people, then you can probably skip this), then you may have noticed that dipping your hamburgers in ketchup just isn't as satisfying (or as tasty, for some unknown reason) as actually having it on the hamburger, and it still makes a mess anyway (if you have many toppings that fall out easily). What I've discovered is that if you ladle some ketchup with a spoon onto the parts you want to bite next, then those problems are overcome. You don't have to worry about anything falling out or getting mixed into your ketchup. Kind of unconventional, but it works for me, and I even think it tastes better than dipping it (don't ask me why), and somewhat more like it tastes when it's actually on the hamburger with the toppings. Why do this instead of put it on the hamburger: Because if you put a lot of ketchup on a hamburger, it often tends to ooze out and drop off, and it's kind of awkward, especially if someone is watching you. Yeah, ladling ketchup on a hamburger as you eat it might be awkward in a social situation, too, but at least it's neater, and more elegant. I still prefer the ketchup on the hamburger to start with, but when I have to keep it separate due to strange toppings (like crumbly cheese), this works great.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#2

Post: # 44810Unread post karstopography
Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:39 am

Interesting hacks. We almost all like food done in specific ways.

For me any pancake or waffle with syrup it must be real unadulterated maple syrup from real maple trees, dark or amber, it matters little so long as it is boiled down maple tree sap. I usually get the darker bolder maple syrup. Heating the syrup to remove the refrigerator chill prior to serving is a nice touch. Fake maple syrup, hungry jack for example, has a gooey, odd characteristic about it that puts me off.

Must please also be real butter from real cows. Please no partially hydrogenated spreads, margarines, a.k.a. country crock or butter/margarine blends. And yes, I can tell the difference. A cold, generous pat of real butter melting over preferably a waffle maker dial set to full crisp waffle hot from the maker with warm maple syrup mingling with the melting butter, that’s the best.

Please no powder sugar or chocolate chips. Well Toasted pecan pieces on top, yes. Blueberries are good in pancakes provided they were good blueberries to begin with and not the massive quarter sized ones. Other berries like blackberries, strawberries, raspberries are acceptable providing they are very fresh and freshly cut in the case of strawberries, but only blue berries can go in the batter, the rest served on top or on the side.

The problem I have with hamburgers is that when I’m the one cooking them, I’m so saturated with the smell of cooked meat that I don’t enjoy them nearly as much as I do as when someone else cooks them. If I get to eat them right away, they aren’t sitting around for any length of time, I love the cool, crisp lettuce, fresh sliced tomatoes juxtaposed with the hot off the cast iron or grill patty. But this is a highly perishable, made to order situation, can’t be sitting under a heat lamp or wrapped in foil or just out on a platter.

If it’s a situation where a bunch are being done and stacked for eating at some later time frame, then forgo all the veggies and serve condiments on the side. The worst of all worlds is a burger dressed with all the veggies that sits more than a couple of minutes before eating. Hot, soggy heat wilted lettuce and tomatoes, yikes.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#3

Post: # 44821Unread post Paulf
Tue Apr 13, 2021 9:35 am

1. We just make French Toast the old way; full size slices, add butter (yes, real butter).

2. My grandkids love to eat "bug" pancakes. We have a skillet with insect forms to pour pancake batter into. It makes seven small pancakes. They use some plates with dividers and one section has the syrup poured in and they hand dip the small cakes. No silverware used.

3. Never met anyone who doesn't like ketchup on hamburgers. Don't know where the idea comes from that most don't like ketchup on hamburgers. Maybe a poll needs to be set up. I hate mayonnaise on hamburgers but love a cheeseburger with mustard on the bun (the inside that is), absolutely NO ONIONS. I like to taste the meat not awful onions. Lettuce and tomato are OK. And then I am a dipper for the ketchup. That way if there are french fries they also can be dipped.

Interesting to read how people eat and prepare their food. Most differences seem to be regional. Hold the mayo and the onions!

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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#4

Post: # 44824Unread post Shule
Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:31 am

[mention]Paulf[/mention]
I meant lots of ketchup (not just a small amount). But if that's what you meant, too, then awesome. Most people I meet just put a 1" blob or less on their hamburgers (if they use ketchup), and only on one side; I put like a 3" blob on each side, sometimes (sometimes not that much, but still more than a 1" blob). I haven't paid attention to how many people actually use ketchup on their hamburgers (but I have noticed many people don't put it on their hotdogs, preferring mustard only--which is strange to me). A poll would be great.

I like mayonnaise on hamburgers, but most of the hamburgers I've had in my life have been mayonnaise-free. I like onions, too (about as much as I like ketchup), but onions are a lot of work to cut up (so, I only put them on my hamburgers every once in a while). My mom doesn't believe in sauces, except for liquid custard, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce (and fish / French fries dipped in vinegar); so, she made me eat a lot of ketchup-less hamburger when I was growing up.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#5

Post: # 44825Unread post Julianna
Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:50 am

Lol I don't like vinegar and so now you can say you know someone who doesn't like ketchup... Or mustard, mayonnaise, dressings, etc. :) also love real butter and strongly dislike maple anything. I make pancakes adding a handful (for me that is exactly 1/3c) oat bran and a handful of wheat germ. Then I add way too much butter for any definition of healthy.
Last edited by Julianna on Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#6

Post: # 44829Unread post worth1
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:11 am

If you don't like vinegar try tomato paste on your burger.
[mention]Julianna[/mention]
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#7

Post: # 44830Unread post Julianna
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:24 am

worth1 wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:11 am If you don't like vinegar try tomato paste on your burger.
@Julianna
I actually don't like cooked tomato, really. I love fresh! I am always a terrible person to ask about what tomatoes work for cooking.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#8

Post: # 44831Unread post worth1
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:31 am

Julianna wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:24 am
worth1 wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:11 am If you don't like vinegar try tomato paste on your burger.
@Julianna
I actually don't like cooked tomato, really. I love fresh! I am always a terrible person to ask about what tomatoes work for cooking.
Not a huge fan of cooked tomatoes either but sometimes i use them.

I like mayonnaise on both buns sweet pickles or relish and lots of black pepper on a hamburger along with tomato lettuce and onion.

Pancakes and waffles i like Steens cane syrup real butter fresh hot peppers with bacon or sausage on top.
Couldn't care less about French toast.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#9

Post: # 44833Unread post Shule
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:36 am

[mention]Julianna[/mention] [mention]worth1[/mention]
You two just reminded me of another thing I like to do with hamburgers (I think I already mentioned it elsewhere where worth has read it before):

Instead of adding ketchup, just add lots of fresh tomato slices coated in black pepper. To me, it really makes an excellent ketchup replacement (and there's no vinegar). Pepper on tomatoes makes for a nice flavor.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#10

Post: # 44834Unread post worth1
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:49 am

I'm actually making hamburgers tonight for supper.
As always with ground chuck.
As for peppers on a burger it has to be fresh jalapeño or habanero.
If not then my homemade fermented habanero lime sauce mixed in with the mayonnaise.
The meat patties are preferred to hang outside the bun.
But that doesn't always happen.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#11

Post: # 44835Unread post Shule
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:52 am

I might be the only one you meet who admits to loving all three of these things: imitation maple syrup, imitation crab, and imitation bacon bits. (I've been trying the Log Cabin syrup, lately, and I really like the flavor; much tastier than the stuff I had as a kid, which I also liked.)

I like the real maple syrup, too, though, and I'm sure it's much healthier.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#12

Post: # 44836Unread post Shule
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:52 am

One thing I love on pancakes, waffles, and/or French toast instead of syrup is date molasses. Also, raspberry jam. Strawberry freezer jam is pretty nice, too. I wonder if strawberry ice cream would be good on French toast.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#13

Post: # 44837Unread post Julianna
Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:55 am

I really love a plain burger, but with the meat or whatever well seasoned. Haven't been able to eat mammal in 22 years, so I started experimenting with turkey. I like starting with the ground white meat but adding truffle salt, black pepper, this Trader Joe's mushroom umami powder (mushroom, flakes of hot pepper, etc), then also i have taken to adding a bit of bread crumbs or oats with an egg as binder. I sometimes omit bread and egg. Anyway, I cook them on the stove and in the pan I do 50-50 butter and olive oil which adds back that missing fat component. It isn't perfect yet, but it is getting there.

Eta oh! I also add onion and garlic powder.
Last edited by Julianna on Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#14

Post: # 44838Unread post Shule
Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:04 pm

[mention]Julianna[/mention]
I was just thinking about ground turkey burgers, and regretting that I didn't include them in the scope of the thread. (I won't complain if people talk about other kinds of burgers than hamburgers, even if they're vegan or something.) Turkey is one of my favorite meats (definitely my favorite for hotdogs, too, if they don't have a strong smell where they're the small turkey franks without medieval seasonings like cloves). I like ground turkey almost as much as ground beef.
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#15

Post: # 44840Unread post Julianna
Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:53 pm

[mention]Shule[/mention] I forgot to say I add onion and garlic powder too! I like turkey burgers. I found that what was missing for me was a certain amount of the moisture. So I have been working on that as I feel that I have the flavor I like down.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#16

Post: # 44843Unread post karstopography
Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:13 pm

Probably are some regional trends on food tastes with a massive amount of exceptions. Of course, anything about food preferences and tastes, there really is no right or wrong. I have always associated ketchup on burgers as things people in the midwest and northeast tend to prefer, whereas yellow prepared mustard on a Burger is more of a Texas thing and then with Mayonnaise on burgers encompassing the South in general. Could be wrong, though, just a general impression.

I really like fresh peppers on burgers, too, not so much Habanero hot , okay, maybe sliced real thin, like [mention]worth1[/mention] mentioned, but certainly Jalapeños and even sweet types. A roasted hatch green chili burger is delicious. That’s definitely a New Mexican thing. New Mexico has it’s own cuisine that’s much different than Tex-Mex. Ground Chuck is great for a burger. Ground sirlon is typically much too lean for my tastes.

Raw sweet yellow or purple Onions work fine if they are cut very thin, don’t like massive raw onion rings on my burger, but they are easy enough to remove.

When my grandmother had her drive in hamburger stand, she served a lot of chili cheeseburgers, hot chili con carne ladled over the patty along with melted cheddar and chopped onions if you liked. You could get it with a peanut or olive coke or a chocolate malt. Chocolate malt here was vanilla ice cream, hershey’s chocolate syrup, and carnation dry malted milk. I like a chocolate malt, but not if the malt is omitted.

I couldn’t eat a burger for a long time after serving as her flat top cook one summer. I absolutely reeked from burger grease cooking all those patties. The sense of smell gets fatigued and overwhelmed. I’d rather eat someone else’s smoked brisket than my own since by the time I’m done cooking it the smell of meat and wood smoke becomes too much.

Fascinating what does and doesn’t appeal to folks, though, nice thread.
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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#17

Post: # 44845Unread post Sue_CT
Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:29 pm

Love real, dark maple syrup. Really dislike mustard, only use it in deviled eggs or a dab now and then to emulsify hommade dressing. Like Mayo or Mayo and Katsup combined or fresh tomato, or all of them on a hamburg. Love chocolate chips in pancakes, as well as "good" blueberries. My favorite french toast I make is Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast. I have few strong feelings about what is "acceptable" in most foods. I am happy to pass the mustard and sweet pickles to you to put on anything, but I will stick with the Mayo, Katsup, and dill pickles. :)

Messy looking, should have cleaned it up a bit before taking pics, but it was tasty, lol:


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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#18

Post: # 44854Unread post Cole_Robbie
Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:13 pm

I worked at wendys when I was 16, and I still remember the ridiculous vhs training videos on how to make a hamburger. They were very adamant about the order that burger toppings were applied and had a music video set to a song with the chorus "white, red AND GREEN....white, red, AND GREEN!" And that meant the order of mayo, tomato, lettuce, onion, ketchup, pickle if I remember correctly.

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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#19

Post: # 44856Unread post Tormato
Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:53 pm

Blueberry buckwheat pancakes and the darkest of amber maple syrup. I don't mess with the lightweight fluff like french toast and waffles.

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Re: French toast, waffle, pancake, and hamburger hacks

#20

Post: # 44860Unread post worth1
Tue Apr 13, 2021 4:15 pm

Make a pancake or waffles out of masa harina and thank me later.
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