My quest for the ultimate buttermilk biscuits!

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TheCookLady

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 13, 2005
Messages
12
Location
North Carolina
I have just completed a journey for the ultimate buttermilk biscuits! It all started when my boyfriend wanted me to make him some. I thought that is easy enough right? definitely wrong. The thing with these little devils is that they deceive...there isn't many ingredients but it is still really complicated. I started with a recipe with Crisco and they were hard and small..."wheaty" as my boyfriend described them.

Then I discovered through my grandmother that her mother's recipe was "two handfuls of flour and a handful of lard." She added that her mother had large hands so I should double it! :D I tried the same recipe as before but with lard and made the biscuits larger so they would be fluffier. My boyfriend Hans and I even went as far to visit our favorite breakfast spot Biscuit Kitchen and do some spy work! We asked the young boy behind the counter how they cooked theirs.

To end my quest I bought a disgustingly huge thing of lard and made my biscuits! They turned out perfect.

Here is my recipe:
2 cups of self-rising flour
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup lard
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the lard to the bowl and cut in until it resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly add buttermilk and work in until "sticky." Make sure not to overwork. Turn out onto floured surface. Instead of rolling it out with a rolling pin try to press out with your fingers. Use your own discretion for the thickness. Cut the biscuits using a floured cutter or a glass. Arrange on cookie sheet. Place in oven. Cook for 10 to 14 minutes or until done.

I hope you enjoyed it:pig:
Kerry
 
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This is pretty close to hubbie's grandmas' biscuits, which are heavenly! The only thing I add is about 1/2 tsp baking powder, just to give the self-rising a little more lift.


Also, grandma always, after she had the biscuits on the baking sheet, took a little buttermilk in a dish, dipped her knuckles in it, and 'blessed' each biscuit before she put them in the oven!

Oh - and a really easy way to roll and cut - saves on those scraps, too - just roll the dough out to a rectangle, and with a knife or bench knife, cut the dough into squares - no fuss, no muss!
 
Oh I love the idea of "blessing" the tops of the biscuits. Grandmas always know best right? :) Do you think i could get even more rise with the baking powder added? That would be fantastic. The journey continues! Thank you for that peice of advice I will definately try it next time.
Kerry
 
Thanks for sharing cooklady,

I do tend to make the most grand door stops:ROFLMAO: I'll try you recipe and see if I can finally get a worthy biscuit..
kadesma:ROFLMAO:
 
I love biscuits, tall and fluffy but I can't make a good one to save my life!! Mine come out like hockey pucks but then again, I'm a New Yorker. I will try your recipe for sure. BTW, lard makes the best pie crust. It's all my mother ever used for hers and it's what I use.
 
Thank you for all the compliments I am just blown away! This is really the nicest cooking forum on the web! My boyfriend is on that guitar forum and they definitely act like little boys fighting over their toys! They argue all the time its usually pretty funny but whom ever they decide to sink their teeth I am sure end up feeling pretty hurt. Everyone here is talking about a mutual interest and does it with a lot of kindness.

Thank you again for all your comments and suggestions!

IF anyone has anymore keep em coming and if anyone has a great recipes for cinnamon biscuits I would love to have them!

Kerry
 
this is the best forum, kerry.
i want to try these. i don't usually bake but i could really go for some biscuits and sausage gravy.
 
Lard makes the best bisquits and the best pie crust! Second best is Butter Flavored Crisco.
I used to keep sourdough for my bisquits and pancakes, and were they ever good!
I never thought I'd see the day I'd feed my family a canned biscuit, but time has a way of playing tricks on us. :(
 
Glad you found us Kerry! I, too, enjoyed your story of discovery in your quest for the perfect buttermilk biscuit.

We're basically a nice bunch of folks - but if we ever get into a food fight .... we enjoy licking our wounds. :LOL:
 
My husband is a big fan of biscuits and this is the recipe I use. There are many helpful tips at the end for making them perfect rather than wondering what went wrong when the don't turn out quite right.


2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board (if you can get
White Lily flour, your biscuits will be even better)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder (use one without aluminum)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
¾ cup buttermilk (approx.)

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor.
3. Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal.
4. If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
5. Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined.
6. If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk.
7. Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
8. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it's about ½” thick.
9. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
10. You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.
11. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
12. If you like "crusty" sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.
13. Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and bottom.
14. Do not overbake.

Chef’s Notes:
-The key to real biscuits is not in the ingredients, but in the handling of the dough.
-The dough must be handled as little as possible or you will have tough biscuits.
-I have found that a food processor produces superior biscuits, because the ingredients stay colder and there's less chance of overmixing.
-You also must pat the dough out with your hands, lightly.
-Rolling with a rolling pin is a guaranteed way to overstimulate the gluten, resulting in a tougher biscuit.
-You can make these biscuits, cut them, put them on cookie sheets and freeze them for up to a month. When you want fresh biscuits, simply place them frozen on the cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.
-Make sure your baking powder is FRESH (less than 3 months old!
 
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This may sound crazy, actually it is, but read anyhow.

The BEST, and I have had a TON of biscuits in my life, buttermilk biscuits I had were in a small town in GA called Camilla.

Where? At the Kentucky Fried Chicken. The biscuits were so good that we stayed overnight just so we could get them the next day. They were unbelievable. I've never had a biscuit that good to this day.

SO, I guess drive to Camilla, GA and see what I'm talking about :) All I remember is the KFC was near the main highschool. It's a football town, so they would know what I mean.

Anyhow, talk about random.
 
Really? That is really interesting! I know what you mean here in Carolina Beach there is a McDonalds that has the best cheeseburgers! You would think because places like KFC or McDonalds is a chain they would all be the same but they arent!
Kerry
 
The best biscuits I ever ate were at a little restaurant in Knoxville Tennessee...they practically floated off the plate. My ex and I would make a point to stop there for breakfast every time we went through.
Once I was bragging on them to the waitress, and she said, "Well, honey, our cook puts her whole heart into them. Why don't you go tell her...it'll make her feel good."
She led me into the kitchen, and I was introduced to a large, motherly looking woman with sleeves rolled up to her elbows, rosy cheeks and flour on her face. I asked her what her secret was, and she said, "Just practice, honey."

I know what y'all mean about chain restaurants. We've found that especially true with Red Lobster. The one in Fairview Heights, Il is terrible...the one in Marian is fair...and the one in Paducah, Ky is excellent.
 
CookLady-cinnamon biscuits or cinnamon rolls? (Sorry, Californian here)
If you're looking for anything specific, just make a new thread with "ISO Cinnamon Rolls" or something like that in the title. You'll get a lot of folks giving you their TNT (tried and true) recipes!
Now I'm hungry.....for cinnamon rolls!
 
Just to add my two cents...I put a few chili pepper flakes in my buttermilk for about 10 minutes before I make the biscuits. At least when I am serving them with my fried chicken I do. They are delish!
 
Hi,


thank´s for your recipe. I like buttermilk bisquits very much. But the recipes here are not so good.

So I´ll try yours :rolleyes: . I hope that I can mix the self-rising flour.:wacko:

lg Tanja
 
Sweet Cinnamon Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 baking soda
1/4 cup veg. oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
8 TBSP butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Combine the 1st ingredients in a med.bowl. Mix well. Stir in oil, add buttermilk, and stir just until blended. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth Roll dough into a 15x8 rectangle. Preheat oven to 400. Grease a 9 inch round baking pan lightly. Spread butter over the dough. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix well. Sprinkle over the butter. roll up rectangle, jelly roll fashion.starting from one long side. Pinch seam to seal. Cut the roll into 1 1/2 inch slices cut side up in pan. Bake 15-20 min.

My version of biscuits these are huge!
Cat Head Biscuits ( I know weird name but I grew up on that name)
2 cups of flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 Tbsp. of lard or shortening
about 1 cup of buttermilk

sift the dry ingreidents together cut in the shortening. Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. Pinch off about a lemon size ball of dough for each biscuit and pat out with your hands. Bake for 12-15 min. Preheat oven to 450. When you remove the biscuits from the oven rub butter on top of the biscuits.
 
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