Continuing on my quest to convince the world to cook in cast iron, here is another recipe that just tastes better when cooked in a cast iron skillet. Of course, you can bake these in lesser cookware, but it's just not the same.
For years I have tried to replicate my grandmother's biscuits. Still not there, but this recipe comes fairly close. My grandmother had a huge, deep flour bin built into her cabinets. It held 2 things - flour and an empty red baking powder can. The can served as the biscuit cutter. The cast iron skillet was oiled up with bacon grease, and she would dip each biscuit in the bacon grease, then turn it over and place it in the skillet. This way, both sides got the benefit of the grease. Maybe not the healthiest food in the world, but she baked them every day at breakfast and dinner and lived to be 92. My grandfather, who loved her cooking, died at 91. Hmmmm.....
Ok, here comes the recipe - not her's, but it's pretty darn close....
Buttermilk Biscuits:
4 c. flour - all purpose
2 T. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
2/3 c. unsalted butter (I'll bet my grandmother used lard)
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and blend. If you have a food processer with a chopping blade, it will come in handy. If not, no big deal.
Cut the butter into chunks, then cut it into the flour mixture. This is where you would use that chopping blade. Don't worry about leaving a few little chunks of butter, you won't get rid of them all.
Add the buttermilk and mix. With your hands knead the dough some, not a lot. Pat the dough out on floured wax paper until it's about 3/4 inch thick. You can also use a rolling pin.
Cut the biscuits and place them in an oiled 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet. If they touch each other, their sides will be soft. If they don't, all sides will be crunchy. Your choice.
Bake about 25 or 30 minutes, until golden brown.
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I don't think anyone can do it the same way their grandmother did . its just not suppose to be done. but this is a great biscuit recipe.
ReplyDeleteI have posted several dutch oven cookware articles also, & tons of recipes on my blog your readers might enjoy. my latest Dutch oven cookware article is
at this link.
http://wildernessoutdoors.net/2010/09/04/dutch-oven-recipes-dutch-oven-cookware
You're right, Iron Cooker. I have to accept that I can never really duplicate my grandmother's biscuits. For one thing, I don't use bacon grease and lard, which were two of her staples!
ReplyDeleteI'll check out the recipes on your blog - I love cast iron cooking!
Debbie