Grandma Mae's Biscuits
These biscuits make me swoon. To say they are merely good, is like saying Mona Lisa has a nice smile. They are like nothing I've had before and I hope you'll love them too!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups (450g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter
- 5 tbsp lard preferably leaf lard, which is the highest quality and can be found at your local butcher shop
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Blend 1/2 cup of the butter and the lard into the flour mixture using a dough or pastry blender. It will resemble course cornmeal, with pieces no larger than a small pea.
- Pour half the buttermilk into the bowl and use a butter knife to gently stir it into the dough. Add more buttermilk, 2 tablespoons at a time, until there is no more dry spots remaining, but the dough should not be wet looking. (We ended up with 1/4 cup left in the glass, but you may have more or less depending on humidity.)
- Gently press the dough together to form a rough ball. Take off pieces of the dough and form small balls, dipping your hands in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, as Suvir shows in this short video.
- Melt the remaining butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Place the biscuits in the pan and then turn them over, so the butter side is up.
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let them cool for about 5 minutes before serving.