Dying to get in on doing brunch right? Well, first you need to know the inner workings of brunching. It’s like an underground crime ring, knowing the secrets is key to get in good with the higher ups. Lucky for you, we know all the hacks to brunching and we’re willing to share them with you. Yes, we’re extremely generous. Read on to learn eight brunch hacks that you need to know to become a brunching expert.

Use a waffle iron to make hash browns

Photo: Babble

Hash browns aren’t hash browns until they’re brown, crispy, and bursting with flavor. To get them perfectly cooked, waffle irons are the unexpectedly perfect tool! Not only will your hash browns be cooked to perfection, but they’ll be in the most fun shape ever.

Invest in a sangria/mimosa pitcher

Photo: Delish

Pitchers have nothing but benefits for your brunch beverages. Not only do they look pretty and allow various fruit slices to marinate in your drink of choice, but they also hold the most bang for your brunch. You can make bulk batches of mimosa with a pitcher, save money, and ultimately have more mimosa for you and your brunch pals.

Use a turkey baster to make the perfect pancakes

Photo: WikiHow

Do you know the struggle of making the perfect pancake? Pouring pancake batter out of bowls usually produces pancakes that look like you cook with your eyes closed. But for pancakes worthy of a classy brunch, fill a turkey baster with pancake batter and squeeze out PERFECTLY ROUND PANCAKES. You just won brunch.

Make your own flavored butter

Photo: Akshaya Patra

A big brunch trend? Flavored butter. Whether it’s cinnamon sugar butter or (my personal favorite) a fruity butter like blackberry, you can instantly class up your brunch with this fancy spread. And luckily, there’s a cheap and easy way to make your own! Buy some preserves (apricot, raspberry, strawberry, whatever your heart desires) and mix with some room temperature, unsalted butter in a food processor. Serve your fancy butter with any bread item and know that you are the boss of brunch.

Don’t mess around with your bacon

Photo: Essentials of Nutrition

Perfect bacon (turkey, regular, or other) is a key to a perfect brunch. So you have to know the perfect way to cook it. This ultimate secret of life consists of two steps. First, run your bacon under cold water to keep it from shrinking by 50%. Second, line a baking sheet with tin foil, place your bacon on it and cook it in the oven for 10 minutes on 365 degrees Fahrenheit for maximum flavoring. That’s a serious game changer right there. If you love the savory/sweet flavor profile, then opt to drizzle some molasses or even dust the bacon with brown sugar prior to cooking for maximum achievement.

Make a DIY brunch bar

Photo: Encyclopedia Brunch

If your brunch is fairly casual, brunch bars are definitely the cool way to serve food. But you’ve looked on Pinterest and you don’t have a white board table (or something ridiculous like that) long enough to label a brunch bar! No one does, trust me. For a cool hack, take some wrapping paper and wrap the top of your table. Choose the lightest wrapping paper color you have so you can take a Sharpie and write quirky things underneath each of the food stations.

Use simple syrup to jazz up your less-than-fresh fruit

Photo: My Recipes

A display of fresh fruit is a brunch essential. Some party poopers are going to stay away from the more carb-heavy foods (everything I love most) and they’ll be relying on some delicious fruit to hold them over. If your fruit is a day or two old and you’re feeling a bit self-conscious about it not being at the pinnacle of freshness, never fear. Arrange your fruit however you’d like and drizzle some simple syrup over the display to freshen it up and amplify that “fresh fruit” smell.

Rely on overnight food

Photo: Project Meal Plan

We don’t mean delivery to your house. Prep some food the night before so that the morning of your big brunch, you won’t have so much to worry about. For example, you can make an individual serving of oatmeal for each guest the night before! They’re called overnight oats and are absolute brunch savers. Just combine 1 cup of oats and 1 cup of milk or water and let that sit overnight. In the morning, you’ll have oats galore! We suggest making these in mason jars for a little extra brunch flare and offering an array of toppings so guests can make their oatmeal nice and unhealthy.