These are classic buttermilk biscuits – no surprise ingredients, nothing revolutionary. But biscuit success depends on the proportion of the ingredients and the preparation, so I’m going to share all my tips for producing biscuits that are tall and puffed, light and pillowy on the inside and crispy and flaky on the outside. They’re perfect served hot with butter (and maybe a little bit of honey), or with sausage gravy, or as the foundation for an egg sandwich, or filled with pulled pork or thick-sliced country ham with cheese and hot mustard…or pretty much anything else you like.
The ingredient list isn’t long, and the technique isn’t difficult. But just as with pie crust, the ratio of fat to flour to liquid is important, as is the temperature of the ingredients, and the size of the pieces of fat that are suspended in the dough to make those essential flaky layers.
After patting out and cutting the dough, arrange the biscuits on the baking sheet so that they’re almost touching; the biscuits will start to bump into each other as they rise, providing each other a kind of scaffolding that helps them grow upward instead of outward.
Out of the oven, brush the warm biscuits with melted butter for a glistening, golden top.
A note on the ingredient list. I said there were no surprises in this recipe and that’s true, except perhaps for the lard, which some bakers may not be familiar with. You can substitute all butter in place of the lard if you prefer. If you are going to use lard (which I recommend), be sure to use a non-hydrogenated baking lard (such as this one), or splurge on leaf lard which is the highest grade. Either will be fine for these biscuits. To measure the lard either use a scale, or use the water displacement method: Fill a liquid measure with 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of cool water. Spoon in the lard, pushing it under to submerge it, until the water level rises to 3/4 cup.
How far in advance you can make these depends on how much perfection you’re willing to compromise in the name of convenience. This is not being judge-y, it’s being realistic. On a day when you’re making 53 other dishes, like, say Thanksgiving, whatever can be made ahead should be. Here are some guidelines:
- These are at their very best warm from the oven. A make-ahead step that in no way diminishes this is to mix the flour, baking powder, salt, lard and butter in advance – early in the day or the day before – and store it in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to bake, dump the mixture into a bowl, add the buttermilk, and proceed. There’s still some last-minute work but at least all the measuring and weighing has been done and the food processor has already been cleaned and put away.
- To make them earlier in the day or one day in advance: bake the biscuits, cool them completely, and store them in a single layer in an airtight container, or on a small tray or baking sheet just large enough to hold them without extra space around them, and covered with plastic wrap. Reheat them in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.
- To make them farther ahead than one day (or to store leftovers), cool them completely, then pack them carefully in a zip-lock freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw, then reheat them in a 300-degree oven for 10 minutes.
Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (1½ ounces/42 grams) lard
- 2 tablespoons (1 ounce/28 grams) unsalted butter (preferably European-style), divided
- 2 1/3 cup (9 7/8 ounces/279 grams) all-purpose flour, plus additional
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 3/4 teaspoon Morton's)
- 7/8 cup (¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons) well-shaken, cold buttermilk
Directions
- Step 1 Cut the lard and 1 tablespoon butter into approximately ½-inch pieces. Put them in a small bowl and freeze them for 10 to 15 minutes until very firm but not rock hard. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 500 degrees with a rack in the upper third.
- Step 2 Put the flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
- Step 3 Add the lard and butter and pulse the machine until the largest pieces of lard and butter are the size of peas.
- Step 4 Dump the mixture into a large bowl and add the buttermilk. Quickly stir with a fork until the mixture starts to come together into a shaggy dough.
- Step 5 Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured board and knead gently a few times, just until the dough comes together – don’t overwork it. Pat the dough out to 1-inch thick.
- Step 6 Use a 2½-inch round cutter to cut out the biscuits. Push the cutter straight down into the dough and pull it straight up – don’t twist the cutter. Reshape the dough and cut out additional biscuits – you should get six with the cutter, and will probably have a hefty blob left over that can be rolled into a ball by hand, then flattened into a biscuit shape with your fingers. (This one is the cook’s reward.)
- Step 7 Arrange the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing them so they almost touch.
- Step 8 Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes or until they’re just turning light golden brown on the tops, turning the sheet halfway through the cooking time so they brown evenly.
- Step 9 Meanwhile, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. When the biscuits come out of the oven, transfer them to a rack and brush the tops with the melted butter. Serve warm.
