Trying to recreate a simple oatmeal pancake recipe

March 27, 2018 10:56 AM

My dad used to make a version of oatmeal pancakes when I was young. I've been trying to figure out how to make them and failing. Any help is appreciated.

We had these on some mornings, but I remember them as something we had while car camping. So, that means probably no eggs or milk. Flour would be ok, but I remember these being mostly oatmeal, as in you could see the actual oat flakes. I've tried just making oatmeal, forming it into patties and throwing it onto a pan, which seemed to be what I remembered, but these fall apart when you try to flip them. The ones that I've seen online that look like what I remember (like this one) have you refrigerate the oatmeal for a couple of hours before throwing in into a pan. Which cannot be what I'm looking for. I remember the top and bottom were sometimes burned a little, so that may help. Also, I'm pretty sure that we didn't use a pancake mix to bind things together, as we would have just made pancakes with the mix. Similarly, I'm near certain there was no powdered milk or some variety of powdered eggs.

So am I completely mis-remembering this? Do there have to be eggs/other binding agents involved and I just don't remember them? Or is there some way to make oatmeal, form it into patties and cook it like a pancake? Would using a non-stick oil spray (which my dad used very often) help? (I don't own a can of PAM but just might get a small one if it is required for this.) Am I missing something obvious here?

I feel like these should be the simplest thing in the world and yet they just have not worked for me.

posted by Hactar to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

1. Are you sure about the no milk/no eggs thing? Because I've always brought both (in a cooler) when car camping.

2. What kind of oatmeal are you using? Instant/normal rolled/thick cut rolled will have different effects. Specifically, the thinner/more cooked the oatmeal, the more it will hold together when you add water.
posted by quaking fajita at 11:05 AM on March 27, 2018 [3 favorites]

I've made oatmeal pancakes with no milk or eggs and they held together pretty well. I used quick oats and would soak them in water overnight, then heat them through in the morning with sugar and spices. After it cools down, you can either shape into patties and fry them up (these are thick and chewy), or add a bit of water to the batter for a thinner, softer pancake. It is important to use plenty of oil in the pan so they don't stick. If it's too uniform of a texture, you could soak some regular rolled oats along with the quick oats.
posted by ananci at 11:09 AM on March 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

Seconding quaking fajita that eggs are always on my car camping trips.
A few other thoughts:
- a pinch of cornstarch would help
- You don't need spray* oil, but using plenty of oil and high** heat should help the plain oatmeal pancakes work.
- Also of course there's a matter of finesse: knowing your pan, spatula, heat source etc.

* I put regular oil in a manual spray bottle. Not quite as atomized as PAM etc, but much cheaper and more environmentally sound.

** Likely higher than you think or often use. If the oatmeal is already cooked, it doesn't need further cooking, and the high heat and liberal oil will keep it sticking to itself more than the pan. I'd go hot enough to shoot for 1 minute a side, which may indeed have them kinda burny, esp. if cooked over campfire.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:30 AM on March 27, 2018

I wonder if your dad used non-refrigerated eggs . A US FDA rule that went into effect in 2009 apparently made it so that eggs should be refrigerated in the US, even though they are not stored that way elsewhere.
posted by exogenous at 11:35 AM on March 27, 2018

Neither Scottish Oatcakes nor Staffordshire Oatcakes require eggs, and both can be cooked on a griddle/in a pan easily in a camping situation. Presuming that you're thinking of US pancakes (ie thick, not like crepes) I'd probably try the Scottish recipe first off - but fried on a griddle rather than baked.
posted by Vortisaur at 12:01 PM on March 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'd try substituting instant oats for the rolled oats in the recipe you linked; I suspect that the long refrigeration step is mostly about making sure the oats are sufficiently hydrated and starchy, which shouldn't be as needed for instant oats (though letting the oatmeal cool and rest for a bit after you cook it probably would still help).

(Also, I'd recommend not getting too hung up on technique and ingredients when it comes to cooking; even if you don't end up making it the same way your dad did, if the outcome is to your liking, it's a success.)
posted by Aleyn at 12:20 PM on March 27, 2018

You can follow any Johnny Cakes recipe and sub in the right type of oatmeal, use water for milk. A splash of oil for butter or shortening.

I believe you want rolled oats or quick oats for this.

Actually, this hoe cakes recipe minus the spices is more correct. You want the recipe to have flour, baking powder or baking soda, salt, plus liquid and a fat. Basically, a pancake or quick bread recipe minus the eggs.

The oats make their own binding or mucilege (thickener) when wet. This is not rocket science, just baking science!

Get some rolled or quick oats and experiment with small batches. You'll nail it within 3 tries. Write it down before you forget the ratios. Enjoy!
posted by jbenben at 12:28 PM on March 27, 2018

When camping I've made oatmeal pancakes for my kids by mixing pancake mix and instant oatmeal. Just add water and cook.
posted by fimbulvetr at 12:59 PM on March 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

Sorry, posted before finishing.... I make that type of oatmeal pancake when we don't have enough pancake mix left for everyone to have regular pancakes. Basically stretching out the pancake mix. I've also added instant oatmeal or quick oats when I accidentally added too much water to my pancake mix and didn't have any mix left to thicken it up.
posted by fimbulvetr at 1:03 PM on March 27, 2018

Response by poster: The times I tried these I was using rolled oats. I definitely was trying to cook them at pancake temperatures- relatively cool pan and all, but given the fact that this was over either a propane or gasoline stove, the pan was probably quite hot. I'll try the high heat and plenty of oil technique. If that doesn't work, I'll move on to adding an egg.

I'll post one more time after I've tried all these and then mark some best answers. Thank you all. And if you have any more suggestions, keep them coming, I'm open to hearing other ideas.
posted by Hactar at 2:10 PM on March 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

are you using quick oats? they are a very different beast than regular rolled oats. Much gluier, much quicker to hydrate and quicker to cook. If you've been using rolled oats, the first variable to change would be to try quick oats.
posted by fingersandtoes at 2:27 PM on March 27, 2018

It includes an egg, but this recipe uses quick-cooking oats and does not require refrigeration.
posted by synecdoche at 6:37 PM on March 27, 2018

Inspired by this post, I created this oat pancake recipe this morning from what we have in my office's kitchen:

2 packs instant oatmeal
2 tsp sugar (or two packs)
1 egg
1 Tb butter (or two pats) (1/2 Tb would probably work too)

• Put pan on stove at medium-high heat.
• Put oatmeal and sugar in bowl.
• Add hot water to oatmeal (as it you were making it normally) until it has the consistency of a thick batter.
• Add the egg and stir until well integrated.
• In the pan, melt the butter, then pour into batter and mix in.
• Pour 1/2 or the batter into the pan.
• While cooking, peak under the pancake and flip when needed to cook the other side.
• Repeat for second pancake.

Serve with syrup, jam, Nutella or whatever else you like on pancakes.

Optional: Dice up some bacon and cheese and mix in with batter before cooking.
posted by ShooBoo at 10:59 AM on March 28, 2018 [1 favorite]