Friday, February 28, 2014

Crack Biscuits






Crack biscuits. That's what bossy chef calls them. They're so darn good they're as addictive as crack cocaine.

I've tried hundreds of biscuit recipes, always looking for a lighter, more flaky and flavorful version like the ones my grandmother used to make. My grandmother Johnnie Reagan, was the ultimate biscuit maker. She and my grandfather John, lived on a 1200 acre farm in rural New Mexico, not far from the Texas panhandle. As both their names were a version of 'John' my grandfather renamed my grandmother 'Bill' so no one would be confused as to who was who.

 When my brother and sister and I were young we had the good fortune to spend several summers on the farm. We learned to ride horses, take care of chickens, milk a cow, slop the hogs, and many other daily chores that keep a farm running. We also gained about 5-10 pounds each during those New Mexico summers. It wasn't for lack of activity, because we were running around like wild Indians from sun up to sun down. A 1200 acre farm is a great place for kids to run amok.

Our summer weight gain occurred because of Grandma Bills' abundant and delicious southern cooking. Breakfast was a hearty meal, usually bacon or ham, (from hogs raised on their farm), eggs, (from their chickens of course), and either pancakes or biscuits, usually biscuits because they were fast and easy. We drank milk at each meal which came from their dairy cows. Grandmother would skim the fresh milk, and make butter with the cream. Some of the cream she would set aside and allow it to sour, she called it 'clabbered' milk. That's what she used in her biscuits. Most biscuit recipes today call for buttermilk,  you can't buy clabbered milk that I know of and unless you have a dairy cow you can't make it at home because all of our heavy cream is pasturized.

 She made biscuits so often, never using a recipe, just by the sight and feel of the dough. Once when I was about 10, I asked her to teach me how to make them. I really wanted to learn, as I loved being in the kitchen even back then. But she was all business, cooking was just one more chore on a very long list that had to be done each day. She quickly became frustrated with my ineptitude and shooed me away, afraid that I had ruined the dough because it looked too dry. I'm pretty sure she fixed it though, and the biscuits turned out fine, but she wasn't about to have me waste a whole batch of biscuit dough just so I could play. She had raised three daughters during the great depression and wastefulness of any kind was never tolerated.

Grandma Bill set the bar pretty high when it came to biscuits, and as I mentioned earlier I've tried many recipes. Some with excellent results and some were dismal failures. I've learned a few basic techniques that apply for making a good biscuit with any recipe. In no particular order:
1. Your butter or lard has to be very cold. And it doesn't hurt if your flour and other ingredients are cold too.
2. The dough should be JUST dry enough to handle, a little sticky is good
3. Do not over work the dough, the more gentle you are the more tender your biscuits will be.
4. For proper southern biscuits purists use soft red winter wheat flour, low in protein and gluten – traditionally White Lily brand or Southern Biscuit brand. These can be found and ordered on the internet. I've used them and they do make great biscuits.


Bill, aka Grandma Johnnie  has been gone for quite some time now, but the memory of those incredible meals on the farm will never fade. And since I never learned how she made her biscuits my quest to find a biscuit that equals hers continues. The recipe I'm sharing with you today comes pretty darn close. Click on the link below for a printable pdf copy of 'Crack Biscuits' from Max and Eli Sussman from their book 'This is a Cookbook Recipes for Real Life'. (Jack added the 'Crack' because they're that good!)







Thanks so much for reading our blog, we hope you try these tasty little buttery orbs of deliciousness soon, I"m sure you'll enjoy them as much as we do.


Remember I am always here for your Real Estate questions and needs. Financing has changed dramatically since the first of the year, if you would like information as to what a buyer's qualifications and requirements are today don't hesitate to contact me as the lending climate has become one of the great challenges in our industry today.


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Becky Goldsmith
720-979-3184
Becky@beckygoldsmith.com