MY BISCUITS IS BURNIN'!

[280plus]

What movie did that line come from and who's line was it?

Anyhoo, I finally got some lard and combined it with the buttermilk and self rising flour per mtnbkr and followed the directions best I could. Tried not to "overwork" the dough. While I have no way of knowing whether they tasted just like grandma's THEY WERE AWESOME!! So go to the "old customs" thread posted by Gewher and find the recipe and try it. I did, in fact, overtoast a few of the high spots but they were crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. We had them with butter and jelly. Yummm yum!



mtnbkr, I had a real problem with them sticking to my fingers when I was trying to get them on the sheet. Is this normal? I didn't want to overdo the buttermilk so they maybe could have used a little more. Still came out great though!

[Sindawe]

Toy Story II.  Stinky Pete.

[mtnbkr]

Toy Story II.  Stinky Pete.

Was a Yosemite Sam exclamation first (probably dates back to the 70s...).

mtnbkr, I had a real problem with them sticking to my fingers when I was trying to get them on the sheet. Is this normal?

If you're dusting your fingers with flour, then I'd say you might need to try and work a bit more flour into the dough.  It's a fine line between easy to work with and too much though.  It's a problem I'm having a hard time with at the moment.

Glad you like them though!  

Chris

[280plus]

Yosemite Sam but in "Roger Rabbit"

Yup, I'll need to work on it a bit, but NOT BAD for the first time out!!

The best part is after all the eyerolling and skepticism on the wifey's part SHE LIKED THEM TOO!!

[mtnbkr]

Yosemite Sam but in "Roger Rabbit"

Really?  Could've sworn he said it in the cartoons.  Guess I need more research...

Yeah, it's hard to believe such a simple bread could have such a great taste.  I was surprised when I found out it was only 3 ingredients.

Chris

[280plus]

Hmmm, I don't remember YS ever saying that other than Roger Rabbit but you never know. If you could tell me the name of Quick Draw McGraw's DOG though, I'd be mighty obliged. That seems to be the "Holy Grail" of cartoon trivia cause nobody knows and neither do I. I can still remember him getting a biscuit (of all things ) for a reward and doing a big yummy dance and floating off into the air to flutter down to the ground in sheer ecstasy. It is NOT Babalouie (that was his donkey sidekick) and CERTAINLY not BabaBooie.

Yeah, it's hard to believe such a simple bread could have such a great taste.

+1 I was going to ask you if a little salt went in there but I'd say not.

BTW, I was talking to granny last night and picked her brain on the lard thing. She says you have to get "leaf lard" and melt it down yourself. I told her I bought the stuff in the store and she says, "Ooooh noooo, that's not lard." (granny always says, "Ohhhh noooo". "Grandma, you want me to get a little shotgun for you in case someone tries to break in?" "Ohhhh nooooo"...) Granny's neighborhood ain't the best anymore. She's holding out though.

Back to lard, I noticed things like"hydrogenated lard", BHA, Propyl Gallate and citric acid (to "preserve flavor" ) in mine.

I don't think granny put any of that stuff in hers. This might be the cause of your not quite getting that old flavor / texture. As a matter of fact, we have a thing around here we call "chickle (sp?) bread". When you melt down the leaf lard little bits of meat or whatever are left over. These are called chickles. You take the chickles and mix them in bread dough and bake it. Very yummy as well. Not many people make it themselves these days. You have to get it at the bakery. I went to the butcher yesterday and asked for lard there. They have it but you have to buy 50 POUNDS!! I passed.

Just FYI. Granny is 96. she probably didn't stop using lard til she was ~70. If lard and the like is so bad, HOW DID SHE MAKE IT TO 96?? She takes NO pills except the occasional "Anacin", she swears by it.

[mtnbkr]

No idea on the dog.  I was never a fan of Quickdraw.  I gravitate more towards Loony Toons, Tom and Jerry, etc.

My grandmother uses lard that comes in blocks.  I don't know if it has the same "additives" as the lard we purchased (mine has the same as those you described).  

The bread you describe sounds like cracklin' bread.  

50lbs of lard?  Dang, that'll last nearly forever.  

My grandparents are only in their 70s.  They're not quite as healthy as yours, but I don't think the lard was the problem.  Their generation was able to get away cooking with lard because they worked it off in the fields, at work, etc.  They didn't sit at a desk all day like we (or at least I) do.

Chris

[280plus]

Not a fan of Queeksdraw?

[mtnbkr]

Not really.  Dunno why other than 1. they didn't show him on the channels I watched back then, and 2. I'm not much of a "cowboy" fan (I didn't play cowboys and indians as a kit and cowboy guns today don't do much for me).  I guess I was an odd kid.

Chris

[thumbody]

If I remember right, the dogs name was Babalouie

[K Frame]

Where do you live, 280?

I find it hard to believe that you can't find lard in any of your local stores.

[mtnbkr]

He has lard, but it's not "pure".  I have the same issue with mine, it's lard with additives.  Dunno if it makes a difference though.

Chris

[Brad Johnson]

Here's my grandmother's recipe for camp cornbread. You will notice there are a lot of "about this much" instructions. She never wrote down the recipe. I learned it by watching her, and by a lot of trial and error at home.

Put a "big chunk" (2-3 tablespoons) of butter in an iron skillet and preheat in a 375 deg oven (keep an eye on it, this is hot enough to burn the butter and scorched butter smells nasty and tastes even worse)

About 1-1/2 cups buttermilk
Big pinch of salt (about 1-1/2 teaspoons)
BIG pinch of sugar (about 1 table spoon)
Small pinch of baking soda (it's easy to add too much, and it will be bitter if you do)
Enough white cornmeal to bring it to the consistency of thin oatmeal

Take the skillet and swirl it around to coat the inside with the melted butter
Pour in the batter immediately (careful, it's going to pop and sizzle. A lot.)
Back into the oven and cook for 20-25 minute until golden.

It will be crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and will soak up butter like a sponge. Slice it open, butter it up, toast it, throw a coupla fried eggs on top and smother it with chili and cheese for a "stick to your ribs" breakfast guaranteed to last you a while (provided it doesn't kill you first ).

Brad

[Gewehr98]

Mike, is the stuff in the white plastic tubs the right type of lard?

It's usually in the Mexican food section of Publix.  I'll check out what's available at Winn-Dixie, Albertson's, and Super Wal-Mart.

Those biscuits sound way to good not to try making them.

[280plus]

Brad, I'm assuming we put it back in the oven? Problem with me is I do the cookin' around here. I have years of resturant experience and the wife CAN"T COOK!! So it's a survival thing.

So some day soon we'll be having "camp cornbread"

As far as the lard. I'm guessing todays lard is much purer than yesterdays and probably doesn't impart quite the same flavor to whatever you're using it in. That's just a SWAG though. (Scientific Wild ass Guess) (stole that from the book I just finished about Hathcock)

[K Frame]

The partial hydrogenation gives lard (any other fats) more shelf-stable characteristics. It's going to be virtually impossible to find any that's not partially hydrogenated unless you go out into the country and get some from someone who's doing butchering and rendering, or unless you live in an area of the country where you have either Amish or a solid farming infrastructure.

You could always see if you could find a butcher who would sell you 10 or so pounds of pig fat and you could render it yourself.

Not something you want to do indoors, though.


Partially hydrogenated lard will give a somewhat different texture to the biscuits you make, but it will still make decent biscuits. At least that's my guess based on using the same sort of lard to make pie crusts. No, they're not 100% the same, but they still turn out pretty good.

[280plus]

No, they're not 100% the same, but they still turn out pretty good.

Well, if the fact that the ones I made are already GONE says anything...

It was the Little Red Hen all over again. Everybody made faces and laughed but when it was time to EAT them there didn't seem to be any problems.

Mike - How do the hydrogenate lard? High temperature in the presence of zinc like vegetable oil?

[K Frame]

I'd assume the hydrogenation process is the same for all oils and semi-solid fats. Basically it saturates it by forcing more hydrogen atoms into the fat structure.

The good thing about saturated fats is that they don't go rancid very quickly. The bad thing is that they're tough on your heart.

[Gewehr98]

So do I have to tweak the biscuit recipe if all I can find is the smaller quantities of hydrogenated lard? (Although my 3 dogs would probably love whatever I have leftover from a 25-pound chunk of the good stuff...)

[K Frame]

No. You'll still start with the same quantities that the recipe calls for, and go from there.

After you make it a couple of times, you'll probably start adjusting things natually based on your experience.