How to cook pancakes without spreading that horrible smell of burnt oil?

Very simple: don't burn the oil.

Different fats start to burn at different temperatures (called "smoke point"). This can be as low as ~100°C for unrefined vegetable oils. Butter is also low, at around ~150°C, which is below frying temperatures. Refined vegetable oils have very differentn smoke points depending on the plant they were made from, some starting as low as butter, and going up to around ~250°C (safflower oil, rice bran oil). Fats meant for deep frying (palm fat, clarified butter) are also around ~250°C.

So the two things you have to do is 1.Choose the right fat, and 2. don't let the pan get too hot.

From a nutritional point of view, deep-frying fats are not so good, so I'd recommend using a vegetable oil with a high smoke point. If you can find refined safflower, it's perfect, but if not, canola is also a good choice.

About the temperature, the easiest way is to measure it so you will know how hot the pan gets at any given moment. I use an infrared thermometer when frying, and make crepes at 200°C. If you don't have one handy, you could try heating a pan with oil on a middle setting for a long time (20-30 min), look if it smokes. If yes, let it cool down, and start again with a lower setting. If not, increase the setting and wait again. When you have found out the setting where your oil doesn't smoke, you can use it, or you can try one setting above (the first where the pan starts to smoke) because the room-temperature batter cools the oil. It is time-consuming, but you only have to do it one to find out the correct temperature.

You could use a nonstick pan, but the typical PTFE coated ones lose their nonstick layer at about 250°C, and a pan used for frying quickly heats much more than that. It is safe when used at lower temperatures, but you cannot fry crepes at 150°C. So unless you have a ceramic-coated nonstick pan (but not the type which disintegrates from hot starch in oil!) or you are controlling the temperature of the pan closely with a thermometer, it is better to use a noncoated pan.

If you want your crepes to taste like butter, don't fry them in butter. Instead, keep a cup with melted butter in a water bath near the pancakes. As soon as one is ready, take it out of the pan and use a glazing brush to brush it lightly with butter on both sides.

With a non-stick pan, you only need very little oil (any oil will do), one or two drops, spread it evenly with a spatula. Ladle the pancake mix on the pan, when you see a fair amount of bubbles popping out, then you can flip and fry the other side.

The key to perfect color and spongy texture is the temperature of the pan, use very low heat to fry the pancake. When you finish the first one, use a wet kitchen towel to wipe and cool down the pan a bit before you fry the second one. Because if the pan is too hot, the pancake will burn easily with the center not cooked at all.

I have tried almost every method but here's one that works best for me using margarine:

Use just a little butter to oil the slightly heated pan and make sure to spread it evenly using a spoon. You then pour the desired amount of pancake mix into the pan, wait for bubbles to form and pop before you flip it (use your spatula to make sure its as golden brown as desired before you flip it over.) You will then remove it from the pan after which you lift the pan off the stove just long enough to let it cool off for a second and you can also add a little more butter just for that nice golden colour for every pancake.

I have struggled so many times with this burning and the smell that comes with it and have come to discover that too much heat is what ruins a good pancake and the smell that comes with it is so off-putting but this method works for me + I get the desired look + great butter flavour and smell! Hope it helps.

Clarify your butter-doesn’t burn. Don’t use butter to fry use a light amount of crisco in a non stick. Melt it on with a paper towel. It’s how Greek restaurants make pancakes. And I recommend birch bender brand buttermilk. Oh baby