Butter My Biscuit

There is nothing like taking the time to find a good southern biscuit recipe, getting the ingredients, following the instructions to the T, putting them in the oven, waiting, and then taking a bite only to realize that your biscuits are more like crackers and lack any flavor at all and your wife smiles and nods to be supportive (because she loves you, just maybe not your biscuit skills) but secretly never wants you to attempt THAT again.

Enter the story of me. This has been my life: always wanting to get a biscuit recipe that actually worked. Wanting to make them for breakfast; quickly throwing everything together, the house filling with the warm aroma of fresh baked dough making the mouth water with anticipation for that first bite. But no. I was denied this feeling time and time again. Sure I tried every recipe promising “even a fool can do it” only to be left feeling like less than a fool for my crusty failures. However, I could have probably gotten a deal with a professional hockey team as their puck supplier with the results I was turning out!

Okay. So what does this have to do with What’s Grandma Cookin’? Well, today we are taking a break from Nana’s recipe book and instead doing a family recipe I was recently taught. Now, I don’t know who originated this recipe, but I will attribute the teaching to my uncle Jimmie who took the time during my last visit for a crash course in biscuit making. 

So getting the recipe for a good southern is difficult. There are a lot of “roughly”s, “more-or-less”s, and “when it gets to the way you want it”s involved. So while I was learning, Jenna was documenting. Now, the “class” was held in January, and I have not had the chance to revisit the recipe notes and videos until just this past weekend. We had a day off, and decided to make some breakfast at the house, so I broke out the notes and we got to work. 

The gathering of the simple ingredients needed for a simple yet delicious biscuit recipe. Now the steps for this are not super documented due to flour covered hands not cooperating very well with phone usage. 

We started by getting the butter and flour mixed together well. Quick tip: use a blender. Your butter needs to be cold, so this will cut down the mix time greatly. Add in your buttermilk, another half a cup of flour, and mix together well. Allow it to rest once mixed for at least 5 minutes. Then, comes the fun kneading part to get the rest of the flour incorporated and the biscuits cut out.

Load them all up into a well buttered cast iron skillet and put in a cold oven, to which you will cook the biscuits at 450F.

Now, I just want to make an announcement: 

Hi. My name is Eric. _{(Hi Eric)} And I am a messy cook. 

And I have a very loving supportive wife who puts up with this with a smile on her face. This is some of the outcome of this recipe: 

Now, while that is bad, you know what? It was all made better by the fact that (wait for it..................) THE BISCUITS CAME OUT GOOD!!

No...not good...

GREAT!! 

For once, my wife ate a biscuit that I made and she actually genuinely enjoyed them! We may or may not have eaten the whole batch. 

Worth it. 

So the recipe will be presented directly as it was presented to me:

• 2 cups of self rising flour total more or less
• 1/3 cup of cold butter or about half a stick 
• Around 1 cup of buttermilk

Combine butter with 1/2 cup of flour in a blender. Put in a small bowl, add buttermilk, and another 1/2 cup of flour. Mix with a fork until fully combined. If too wet, add some more flour. Once combined, rest for 5 minutes. On a well floured surface, gently knead dough by folding over on itself and adding flour until most of the remaining flour is mixed in. Roll the dough out to an even thickness and using a glass or a biscuit cutter, start cutting out your buscuits. In a well buttered cast iron skillet (don’t be stingy on the butter!!!) place the biscuits and cook at 450F for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

2 things you should know in full disclosure: 1) Yes, I did leave a few things out here because I feel like they should be deemed trade secrets but the above will still give you a good biscuit. 2) A lot of the recipe coming together properly is based on how the dough feels and looks. So the measurements may be slightly different dependent on those factors. 

Okay okay...3 things. 3) Flour makes excellent war paint and fuels continued motivation for the rest of the day. 

Enjoy guys!!