I've been on a quest to rediscover the biscuits my grandmother made all my life. Her recipe isn't written down and the notes I took a year or two before her death are lost. I know the basic ingredients, but could never get the biscuits "right". Last year, I got Vivian Howard's cookbook,
Deep Run Roots, which has the closest interpretation of the recipe as I've been able to find, including the method for mixing the ingredients. Vivian is from the same region in NC as my family (in fact, she lives in the same town as my mom's sister and her family), so the entire cookbook is chock full of foods I grew up on.
This page shows how it's done,though they use self-rising flour instead of AP and separate baking powder, as well as cooking at a slightly higher temperature...I think I need to reduce the baking powder a bit as the biscuits are rising a bit too much. I think the higher cooking temp is worth investigating as well. I left the biscuits in a bit longer as I didn't think they were done enough "by the book".
Vivian Howard's cookbook can be found here and is a good read for background on eastern NC cooking and food culture as well:
https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Run-Roots-Stories-Recipes/dp/0316381101/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=For breakfast today, while I made the biscuits, I simmered some country ham in a lidded pan. When the biscuits were almost read, I transferred the ham to a cast iron pan to give it a light sear. To the drippings and leftover liquid in the first pan, I added a half cup of coffee, a beef bullion cube, and a tablespoon of butter to make my red eye gravy. I simmered this until we were ready to serve breakfast.
This is a breakfast that will keep you going all day. :)
ETA: These are great with molasses, which was my favorite way to eat them growing up.
Also ETA: I went to college not far from where my grandparents lived while they were alive. A few times a year, I'd meet them at a Sunday lunch buffet about halfway between us (Spivey's Corner, NC if you're curious). My grandmother would bring me a big cookie tin packed full of individually wrapped ham biscuits. I miss that.
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Chris