Most People Are Making Biscuits Wrong! Try These Old Appalachian Tricks

A flat, hard biscuit is almost never bad luck. It is the wrong bag of flour, warm lard, and a hand that kneaded when it should have folded. Mamaw June walks through seven old Appalachian rules, and what each one really does in the bowl and in the pan: soft Southern flour instead of hard all-purpose, fat grated frozen, cut in only to pea-sized lumps, real thick buttermilk, a few gentle folds instead of kneading, a straight-down cut with no twist, and biscuits set touching in a screaming hot oven. One idea runs under all seven — keep everything cold and gentle until the very last second, then let the oven do the rest. EASTERN KENTUCKY BUTTERMILK BISCUITS 2 cups soft self-rising flour (White Lily or another soft Southern flour) 1/2 cup lard or butter, frozen solid 3/4 to 1 cup cold, thick buttermilk 1. Grate the frozen fat on the big holes of a box grater straight into the flour. 2. Cut it in with a fork till the lumps are the size of peas. Stop there. 3. Pour the buttermilk in all at once. Stir with a fork only till it clumps. 4. Turn it onto a floured board. Fold it over on itself 5 or 6 times. Pat it — don't roll it — 3/4 inch thick. 5. Cut straight down, straight back up. No twisting. 6. Set them touching in a greased 10-inch cast iron skillet. 7. Bake at 500°F, 12 to 14 minutes, till the tops are deep gold. CHAPTERS 0:00 Everything you were taught about a biscuit is backwards 2:56 Mamaw June and her kitchen 3:18 Rule 1 — soft flour, not hard flour 5:15 Rule 2 — the fat has to be bitter cold 6:49 Rule 3 — stop cutting before it goes smooth 7:54 Rule 4 — real buttermilk, thick as gravy 8:55 Rule 5 — touch the dough as little as you can 10:21 Halfway: the one idea behind all five 10:56 Rule 6 — cut straight down, never twist 12:10 Rule 7 — crowd them touching, bake scorching hot 13:28 Self-rising flour, the older way, and your own oven 14:15 When they come out tough, pale or flat 15:17 What a pan of biscuits really costs 16:01 One idea, said seven ways 16:55 Your turn: tell me in the comments This video is for general cooking information only. Ovens, flours and kitchens differ; use your own judgment.