One of the by-products of my butter making experiment was buttermilk.  Buttermilk is great.  I use it pancakes all the time.  Problem is I can usually only find it in 1L formats.  Half the time I say screw it and just make “buttermilk” by adding either lemon juice or vinegar [...]]]>

One of the by-products of my butter making experiment was buttermilk.  Buttermilk is great.  I use it pancakes all the time.  Problem is I can usually only find it in 1L formats.  Half the time I say screw it and just make “buttermilk” by adding either lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk.  It works out just fine.  When I discovered that making butter would yield buttermilk I was thrilled!

I immediately decided that I wanted to make biscuits.  I NEVER make biscuits, but I love them.  Fluffy, soft, yet crunchy biscuits of goodness.  Plus I acquired a bottle of homemade honey while I was in Jamaica which I thought would be a perfect accompaniment to my biscuits.

I decided to check out the Food Network website to find a recipe. I figured they have enough chefs that dabble in Southern food to come up with a good recipe. Plus, the recipes tend to have a lot of reviews. One thing I noticed immediately is that there’s a split between those that prefer biscuits made with butter vs. those made with shortening. While shortening freaks me out a bit, I did have a ton leftover from making butter tarts a few weeks ago that I wanted to use up. I also happened upon a few comments that said that biscuits made with shortening are overall better. Sold.

I ended up going with this recipe from Tyler Florence. I’ve had some luck in the past with Tyler Florence recipes AND it was reviewed more often than the other recipes I was considering.  The reviews were very positive.

Biscuit making is pretty easy.  Not a lot of ingredients. Minimal mixing.  Minimal kneading. Some rolling and cutting.  Bake them and you’re done.  All in all about 10 minutes of active time and 15 minutes baking.  It couldn’t be easier.  I grew up eating biscuits made with boxed mix (special shout out to Jiffy biscuit mix!) but the real deal is not that much harder and is so much more delicious.

I served my biscuits with scrambled eggs and peameal bacon (aka Canadian bacon) as part of a breakfast feast.  I’d love to serve these with some fried chicken, gravy and mashed potatoes.  That will be next.

Better Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 3/4 cup buttermilk

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients together with a fork. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add buttermilk. Quickly fold dry ingredients into buttermilk with your hands until a sticky dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface. Gently fold the dough over itself 3 or 4 times to create layers. Roll dough out to 3/4-inch thick. Cut with a 3-inch biscuit cutter. Transfer dough rounds to a sheet pan. Gather scraps and repeat. Make a dimple in the center to help the top rise evenly. Brush with butter. Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven until golden brown.