On three consecutive days this past week emails have come in asking for our go-to biscuit recipe. Truth be told (a genuine rarity these days), we actually have two tried-and-true, light-and-flaky, can’t-fail biscuit recipes we use all the time.
We like ‘em both and so does Ed.
This recipe for ME’s Buttermilk Biscuits is our second most favorite biscuit recipe we’ve been using for years. The biscuits are outrageously good and are easy enough Jake could master them as a 14 year old.
From 2003 to 2006 the family ran a horse operation in the Flathead; we were north of town between the airport and the main stem of the Flathead River. It was a great place to raise our then young teenage kids though we worked our assess off pretty much every day of the year running the horse operation (and running other businesses at the time).
One of the things we ended up doing was hosting all sorts of equestrian events, during which we’d be feeding anywhere from 6 or 7 to 70 hungry horsemen (actually typically horsewomen) and their entourages.
We slung a lot of chow back in the day, ranging from high brow to pedestrian food, though pretty much every meal had a biscuit or bread of some sort to go along.
I’m not sure how it happened, but Jake became our master biscuit maker and could crank out 100 biscuits in two hours when it was time to feed the gang.
Ask any dough-puncher cowboy or Western fishing lodge chef who’s cooking for a crowd – biscuits are an essential and have to be done right, dammit.
Follow this simple recipe and you’ll have prime-time biscuits every batch. These make a killer bread pudding by the way.
3 and 1/2 cups flour
5 tsp baking powder
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 and 1/2 cups chopped pecans (or walnuts)
Melted butter for brown tops
Do ahead. Oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment (or lightly coat with butter).
Combine the dry stuff. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped nuts and blend very well with a large whisk.
Get your hands dirty. Now add the butter and the shortening and work them in with your hands (pastry cutter or fork will work but aren’t as much fun). You’re looking for large crumbs here.
Now make a dough and work it. Pour in the buttermilk, mix until most of the flour is absorbed and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 6 or 7 times – you’re looking for a stiff dough that’s not really sticky.
Roll, cut and rise. Roll the dough out until it’s roughly an inch thick, cut into 2.5 to 3 inch rounds and place on the prepared sheet. Reroll the scraps and cut again. Let your biscuit masterpieces rise at room temp (20 to 30 minutes) until doubled in sized. Brush the tops with a little melted butter if you’d like ‘em to brown more.
Oven time. Bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes and serve hot enough to melt butter. Best right out of the oven or dutch oven in camp.
You’ll never buy another blue tube of biscuits again.
Enjoy.
Tags: Friday Feast
{ 2 comments }
This son of the south approves. Good stuff. I might kick up the sugar a touch.
Agree, we do that when making a batch for bread pudding for sure…..