MANCHEGO CHIVE BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

This recipe was inspired by the biscuits I recently had at Crawford & Son, a wonderful restaurant here in Raleigh. And while these are not exactly like their’s because, well, I’m not a pastry chef, they are pretty darn good. I think real lard is important. Not Crisco, which is made from soybeans, people. I purchase pork lard from my local butcher’s market. If you aren’t lucky enough to have an old school (or new school) butcher then please just use more butter. Another secret is sea salt. You would normally finish a dish with this type of salt, but I like to cook with it as well when I’m baking. But kosher salt will do. Okay, now that we got that out of the way, I hope you will make these! And bonus, they are even better if you freeze the unbaked biscuits and bake them whenever you are feeling the need to eat a biscuit. Which should be often.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour, like White Lily

1 tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. fleur de sel or kosher salt (if using Diamond brand kosher, or 1 tsp. Morton’s kosher salt)

1/2 cup cold full-fat buttermilk

1 large egg

10 tbsp. unsalted butter (I like Kerrygold) cut into small dice and chilled until using

2 tbsp. real pork lard (or another 2 tbsp. unsalted butter), cold

1 heaping cup shredded Manchego cheese

2 tbsps. chives, snipped or finely chopped

1 tbsp melted unsalted butter for brushing on the biscuits

Flake salt, such as Maldon

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk together. In a seperate bowl, combine the buttermilk and egg. Add the cold butter and lard to the flour mixture and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, press the flour and the butter/lard together with your fingers trying to mix together while breaking into smaller pieces at the same time. Or using the pastry cutter to combine the butter and lard while breaking them down in the flour. Combine until the lard and butter are in small pieces, like peas. Then add chives and manchego and toss with your hands to mix.

Add the buttermilk/egg mixture and mix just until it comes together. It will be a shaggy dough, which is okay. Not all of the flour has to be incorporated. Dump out onto a floured surface and press the dough together, incorporating any dry flour into the dough. Press into a rectangle with the palm of your hand and then fold the dough like a letter, bringing each side up and over. Do this two more times, pressing the dough flat each time before you fold it. This is creating flaky layers. Now roll with a lightly floured rolling pin into a rectangle, about 3/4” thick. Cut into biscuits with a knife or biscuit cutter, being sure not to twist the biscuit cutter if that is your tool of choice. Using a knife means there will be no scraps. I personally like to use a square cookie cutter for the same reason, very few scraps. Place biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes until the biscuits become firm.

From here you can bake on a parchment lined sheet pan. Brush biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle with flake salt. Bake at 425 °F for about 18-25 minutes or until brown on top. Or, you can transfer unbaked biscuits to plastic bag and store in the freezer. Bake from frozen. Note: when you brush the frozen biscuits with butter it will almost immediately freeze up which is okay, because it will melt quickly in the oven.