Ree Drummond's Top Tip For Hassle-Free Skillet Flipping

If you've ever tried to fancy up your cooking skills to impress guests, chances are you've suffered at least a few cooking fails. Of all the advanced kitchen skills to master, learning to successfully flip a skillet takes the cake (or the pancake) as one of the most difficult. Many tips exist on the internet to help home chefs attempt a skillet flip without ending up with their would-be meal all over the kitchen floor.

The "push and pull" method is one tip designed to help beginner skillet flippers master the technique of flipping their food. Cooks are advised to push their skillet forward and then quickly pull it back in order to allow the momentum of the initial push to act as the force behind the skillet flipping magic. The secondary pulling motion is designed to catch the food after it gets sent into the air by the force of the push.

While the push and pull method works well for small meals like an omelet, it may prove difficult when trying to contend with something more dense like a pancake or galette. For these instances, Ree Drummond's sheet pan flip tip is the perfect method for showing off your professional skillet-flipping abilities.

To flip your skillet dish like Drummond, the cooking star suggests using a piece of equipment you might not immediately associate with MasterChef-level flipping skills: a sheet pan. Cooks should wait until their pancake, galette, or other delicious creation is sufficiently browned on the bottom before attempting to flip it (via Pioneer Woman). Following this tip ensures that your food will be cooked enough to hold together once it starts its journey out of the skillet.

Next, use a spatula or other kitchen utensil to slide the browned pancake onto the sheet pan. Once the pancake is resting browned side down on the sheet, remove the skillet from the stove and use it to completely cover the pancake. The next step is where the skillet flipping magic actually happens. Firmly grasp the handle of the skillet and the side of the sheet pan and flip the whole thing so that the pancake ends back up in the skillet.

The browned side of the pancake should be facing up and the cooking process can continue until the other side of the pancake is cooked or browned to each chef's taste.