Heard a guy at the grocery store say he greases his pan AFTER he puts the batter in, and now I can't sleep | Baking Fails And Wins - The Community Guide
Honestly the guy might be onto something. If you pour batter into a cold dry pan and then add a little grease around the edges, it melts down and spreads under the batter as it heats, kind of like how you'd oil a grill grate right before the food goes on. The problem is timing, because if the pan is already hot the butter burns before it ever touches the pancake. So maybe he's not crazy, he's just doing it in a weird order that only works if the pan starts cold.