Making grilled Biscuits?

[Whiskadoodle]

Have you or would you make grilled biscuits or cornbread? I think putting the cornbread in a Cast Iron skillet works. Not sure how to go about cooking biscuits. Do you think you can just lay them directly on the cooking grate, and cook indirect? Or would it be better to lay them on a CI pan. I think I have a smaller size CI flat gridle I could use.

I'm pretty sure the boy scouts (and campers) have been doing this using dutch ovens with Flat Lids for a long time. I wasn't a boy scout and don't have that kind of pan.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[GLC]

Simple breads, cooked in various ways, were a staple of the frontier. You can use wheat flour and make something like a biscuit, pretty much the same recipe, but cooked as a more cake-like form in a skillet or pan or on any stone or metal plate that can be placed where it is heated from all sides, not just the bottom. While I doubt it was often done on an actual hoe, hoecake was one term. Ramrod bread was the war version with a snake of dough spiraled around a ramrod.

Wheat could be scarce on some frontiers, and corn substituted. The simplest corn cake was made by walking into the field and picking a few ears and shucking them and grinding/mashing the kernels. Not at all corn meal, and certainly not limed grits.

If you read early accounts, you hear about it all the time. F. Law Olmsted (the NY Central Park designer) rode through Texas in 1855 with his brother.
http://www.amazon.com/Journey-through-Texas-Saddle-Trip-Southwestern/dp/0803286201/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336176046&sr=1-1
He moaned that all the way from the Sabine in the east to near Austin, they stayed in private homes and had nothing but corn cake picked that morning, salt pork, and bad coffee. I guarantee you most of those folks didn't have ovens. They didn't even finish roofing their houses. And it was pork, because pigs care for themselves. But forget milk. None to be had. Soda was also rare. The corn cakes could well be just corn, salt, water and tallow.

None of this is to say they wouldn't make corn pancakes or something in between at need. They were not picky eaters. Nothing you stumble into making will ever be as bad as some of what Olmsted was fed.

 

[Addie]

I would try to create the same conditions that you would have in an oven. Place the biscuits on your CI grill and place a domed lid over them.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I only put cornbread in a skillet to keep it corralled. Biscuits could be put right on the grill or a piece of aluminum foil. You might even be able to put a knob of biscuit dough on the end of a stick and bake it over a flame or burner.

 

[gadzooks]

Nestle a covered dutch oven full of biscuits or cornbread batter in among the coals, put some on top. That is what a dutch oven is for.

 

[Andy M.]

A grill with the lid closed is an oven. Prepare the biscuits as you would for the oven and place them, pan and all on the grill to cook indirectly. You need to manage the temperature to a stable level for the biscuits.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

As Andy says, a Dutch oven is an oven. It is what they did for ovens when the West was wild.

Same for pan biscuits, or griddle biscuits. You can make easy ones from Bisquick baking mix.

A while back (a year) I was interested in making yeast flat breads on my gas barbecue (flat breads similar to pita) and I enjoyed them. Unfortunately I don't have notes and can't recall the exercise in detail.

I think my ideas came from Steven Raichlen and his books and PBS TV programs regarding Barbecue University, etc. I have three of his cookbooks and I think they're pretty good, and they cover cooking not only meats but vegetables, breads and all other sorts of barbecue mischief. I hope I'll live long enough to cook every recipe in all three books. (He has more books but probably more than I have time to cook all the recipes.)

 

[GLC]

Well, since you have a cast iron pan, you can do biscuits in it on top of the fire. The heavy cast iron will convey heat up the sides. You still have to account for the lack of top heat, and top heat is the important heat in breads. So you just turn your biscuits at the appropriate moment to do the other sides.

Here's the finished biscuits (obviously store-bought tube biscuits, but it works with rolls, too). They used a Dutch oven lid, but an iron pan works.

Brush both sides of the biscuits with oil. A tin foil tent can make it go faster.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

And everything tastes better when you're camping.

 

[taxlady]

I have made bannock.

Parks Canada - Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site - ACTIVITY - Bannock Recipe

or

Bannock recipe - Canadian Living

As you can see, it can be made with or without shortening and with milk or water. I used a recipe closer to the first one, if I recall correctly.

It was served to a Southern friend who said, "That's just a big biscuit."

We had a 55 gallon drum wood stove and no oven, so I needed a stove top bread. That is also why I learned to make English muffins.

 

[GLC]

And everything tastes better when you're camping.

And here are all those people griping about some bug in their Starbucks Frappuccinos.

Some of the best water I remember was from the Rio Grande in Bandolier. I made kind of tactical error up a canyon and had been without water for long enough that the yellow mud soup in the river was pretty great.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Wow! I've camped many times along the Colorado River and you certainly wouldn't want to drink that water! Of course most of us know 'colorado' is the Spanish word for 'red' and there's a good reason why they picked that name for the river! I always take a gallon of water per day per person when camping in dry areas or in areas without good water, and try to carry additional for washing. A quart per person works for half-day hikes.

I don't mind bugs too much unless they're the kind that eat you while you're eating dinner. Or I think it was hornets, were attracted to the smell of blood (my raw steak) in incredible numbers, I had to pack up and move because too many were interested in my food and I was afraid they mistake me for the meat.

The best water I've ever drank was in the back country of the High Sierras.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

You can add my name to the list of Gringos and Tenderfoots!! We went hiking in the Colorado mountains one time, on a 3 or 5 mile hiking trail. Thought ththe distance would be about the same as a stroll around our lakes. Didn't bring any water or snacks, expecting to be back for lunch. Well, the terrain is different, and just because the path is marked, doesn't mean it's a smooth trail. And there is all that altitude!! And the day got hotter and hotter... AND then you have to walk back out the way you came in. Anyway, learned to go prepared. Also learned that summer not to camp "off -road" where there might and Indeed Are Bears.

Thanks for your thoughts about grilling up some biscuits. I was thinking yesterday while grilling up some chicken, that pretty soon it's going to be too hot indoors to be using the oven. I think I will try my hand at biscuits on the grill using a CI pan and and Grill-Bake. I think I will get a more even temp using the gas grill. Thanks.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I should have thought of this earlier. There's many good ideas from Steven Raichlen popular PBS TV barbecue chef.

Google this and see if you don't get some fantastic ideas: Steven Raichlen barbecue bread recipes.


Barbecue University®

Grilled Zahtar Bread with Tomatoes Recipe - Steven Raichlen | Food & Wine

and
Steven Raichlen: Grilled Naan - YouTube

His books have far more recipes but you have to be a fan to buy the books. Or check him out at your local public library. He's one of my favorite TV chefs.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

TaxLady. I had to look up Bannocks. It's Scottish origin, and is related more closely to a scone than a biscuit. The two are pretty close, like cousins. Then the article I read says it's also related to North American Indian Fry bread. Even though it isn't necessarily fried like their culture makes it. However, the ingredients are pretty much the same.

Mmm I like scones and all the different things you can put in to them.

I think I will not get fancy and keep making biscuts.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

Greg-- I looked at Steven Raichlen's website BBQU and I thought this used to be more extensive. Maybe some of his recipes are moved over to his new website that coincides with his current Tv program. I also thought there used to be a reader's forum, similar to DC. I didn't see that just now. BUT this does remind me to look at some other grilling/ bbq forums for ideas. Like should I use the same favorite buttermilk biscuit recipe I bake in the oven, or should I add more fat or liquid or whateveror tweak it for outdoor cooking.

I probably will indeed do this just for fun, and convenience, this summer. I also copied a Lavash recipe the other day. I've never made this, but it looks conducive to cooking directly on the grates. Anyway, thanks for the further ideas.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Greg-- I looked at Steven Raichlen's website BBQU and I thought this used to be more extensive. Maybe some of his recipes are moved over to his new website that coincides with his current Tv program. I also thought there used to be a reader's forum, similar to DC. I didn't see that just now. BUT this does remind me to look at some other grilling/ bbq forums for ideas. Like should I use the same favorite buttermilk biscuit recipe I bake in the oven, or should I add more fat or liquid or whateveror tweak it for outdoor cooking.

I probably will indeed do this just for fun, and convenience, this summer. I also copied a Lavash recipe the other day. I've never made this, but it looks conducive to cooking directly on the grates. Anyway, thanks for the further ideas.

It's quite possible that Raichlin has reorganized some of his Internet material (or even removed it). If he had a forum site perhaps it was too much drain on his personal time. Remember that we are enthusiasts while he is a professional (a very enthusiastic one from the looks of his recipes) and I'm sure he has to pay attention to getting the best income from his profession and from expenditure of his time.

Most of my familiarity from him is not the Internet. I've rarely looked at any of his Internet material and only when I'm sharing it with others like our present discussion. I've seen 3-4 of his seasons on PBS TV and he's really piqued my interest in barbecuing and smoking. I was interested enough to buy three of his books: Barbecue Bible, BBQ USA and Planet Barbecue! He has several others but the material in just these three books is more than enough to keep me occupied for years. (I whole heartedly recommend all three of these books. If I were to lose any of them I would without a doubt buy new copies. They are part of my permanent collection.)

As far as your buttermilk biscuits I think you might be better off cooking something more bread-like, or cooking them in a skillet while you're grilling something else, or you could even use just a sheet of aluminum foil to keep them from sticking to the grill or sagging. Spray the foil first with a vegetable oil spray but do it away from the barbecue because that spray is flammable.

I don't recall exactly which of Raichlen's bread recipes I cooked (a pita like bread) but it was easy and came out tasting really good. My books are in storage or I'd look it up. I think all three of the books I have include some bread recipes and other side dishes. In fact he makes the point often on his show that barbecuing is not just for meats.