FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Food

Lard Biscuits

Every Southern grandma knows that lard makes for the tenderest biscuits.

"These biscuits freeze really well, egg-wash them right before sticking them in the oven if you freeze them."

Servings: 4

Prep: 25 minutes

Total: 85 minutes

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter

112 g rendered leaf lard

140 g pastry flour

24 g baking powder

8 g baking soda

5 g kosher salt

720 g ap flour (plus a little bit extra for rolling out dough)

365 g buttermilk (give or take)

1 each egg

a splash of heavy cream

Advertisement

Directions

1. Dice the butter and leaf lard into squares (roughly 1-inch, don't stress about it).

2. Whisk together the pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and toss it together with the butter/leaf lard squares. Put this in the freezer for an hour, or until the butter and leaf lard are frozen. Once the fats are frozen, transfer the mixture to a food processor and pulse until pea-sized chunks of fat are evenly distributed throughout the flour.

3. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and add the all purpose flour, tossing everything together until the butter and lard are spread evenly throughout.

4. Add 1¼ cups (330 g) of buttermilk and mix gently. Test to see if the dough holds together when you squeeze it—if it doesn't, add the remaining ¼ cup (35 g) of buttermilk and work it into the dough.

5. Bring the dough together on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to 1-1¼- inch thick. Cut the dough into 3" rounds with a circle-cutter. (You can re-roll once with the leftover dough but that round won't be quite as fluffy).

6. Heat the oven to 400° F and stick the biscuits in the freezer. (You want them to go into the oven as cold as possible).

7. Beat the egg and cream together, and brush the tops of the cold biscuits with the mixture. Bake on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper for 20-25 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

From How-To: Make Lard Biscuits With Cara Nicoletti