The Calgary Stampede is here, July 4-13, which means your feed is about to be full of cowboy hats, pancakes, and someone’s cousin riding a mechanical bull. While the city lines up for another parking lot breakfast served on a flimsy paper plate, you’ve got a better plan. Skip the crowds, fire up your griddle, and serve a Stampede breakfast so good your neighbours will be talking about it until next July.
This isn’t just about pancakes. It’s about good food, strong coffee, and proving you’ve got the grill skills to own the morning before most people hit snooze.
Every proper Stampede breakfast starts with a solid griddle. If you’re still flipping pancakes one at a time in your scratched-up frying pan, we’re gonna stop you right there. This isn’t amateur hour.
Our flat top griddles give you enough space to cook 8 to 12 pancakes at once, with plenty of room left for bacon, sausages, and eggs. It’s the backyard breakfast upgrade you didn’t know you needed.
Not ready to commit to a full unit? No problem. You can drop one of our cast iron griddle accessories right onto your existing gas grill and still get those golden-brown results. You’ll wonder why you didn’t do this sooner.
Cooking Tip: Heat the griddle to about 375°F and test it with a flick of water. If it sizzles and disappears, you’re ready to roll. Flip those pancakes once the bubbles show up, and go easy on the butter. This isn’t a deep fryer.
And if you’re still using that plastic spatula you found in the back of the drawer, it’s time to treat yourself. Check out our full BBQ tool sets for gear that can actually handle the heat. No fork-flipping allowed.
Sausages Done Right
Most people ruin sausages before they even get started. Crank the heat too high, poke them with a fork, and suddenly your breakfast is one step away from beef jerky.
Here’s how to do it properly.
Start on medium heat. Use a good pair of BBQ tongs and turn them often so they cook evenly. Keep the temperature steady and resist the urge to stab. Poking holes in sausage is a rookie move that lets all the juices escape and leaves you wondering why it tastes like cardboard.
For perfect results, use a BBQ Thermometer and pull them at 160°F. You won’t have to guess, cut them open, or watch the juices pour out before they’re even on a plate. Just hot, juicy sausage cooked exactly the way it should be.
Bonus move: Brush on real Canadian maple syrup in the final minute. It’ll caramelize fast, add a smoky-sweet finish, and guarantee you don’t have any leftovers.
Gear That Works As Hard As You Do
A Stampede breakfast isn’t the time to find out your spatula can’t handle the heat. If you’re cooking for a crowd, your tools need to pull their weight, and then some.
This is your no-nonsense checklist:
● Spatula for flipping pancakes like a pro instead of launching them into the neighbour’s yard
● Tongs to keep your hands far from the bacon splash zone
● Thermometer to take the guesswork out of sausage duty
● Heat-resistant gloves because "branding yourself" isn’t part of the cowboy aesthetic
Still missing something? That’s what we’re here for. Hit up our full BBQ accessories collection and gear up before the batter hits the griddle.
Build the Seating Area
Good food draws a crowd, but a good setup keeps them there. Create a space that feels like Stampede. Lay out some Adirondack chairs, queue up a country playlist, and keep things casual.
Want to go full cowboy? Toss a few checkered tablecloths on folding tables, and add a fire table for morning ambiance. It’s perfect for those crisp Calgary mornings when the sun hasn’t quite shown up yet and it gives your guests a spot to gather while you keep those pancakes coming.
Let’s Do This, Calgary
Hosting a Stampede breakfast is more than making pancakes. It’s about starting the day with community, a hot grill, and the smell of something worth waking up for.
So don’t just attend one this year. Host one. Be the neighbour people talk about. The one who turned a plain old morning into a backyard gathering.
Visit Barbecues Galore and let’s make this Stampede one for the books.
Yeehaw, neighbour. Let’s get cookin’.
