Cook with Mitch: August 2020

I'm always on the look out for a better biscuit. I think I may have found something. At least with Tonya and her family it is.

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of Golden Crisco shortening
1 1/4 butter milk

2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup butter

Things you will need

Mixing bowl
Box Grater
Rolling pin
Scraper/Chopper
Mixing spoon
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Microwave safe bowl
Basting brush

Optional -
Chefs knife
Pastry cutter

Directions

Incorporate the dry ingredients. Turn the oven on to 350 F.
Freeze the Golden Crisco, or you can use actual butter if you prefer.

Then using the box grater, you will grate the Golden Crisco.
Using the mixing spoon, incorporate the lard into the dry ingredients.

Alternately, you can chop up the Golden Crisco and then using the pastry cutter, you will incorporate the lard into all the dry ingredients. But your biscuits will not be as fluffy.

If your like me, you don't have buttermilk at your store. Add the milk to a large enough glass and add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to the milk. Let stand for about 5 minutes. You will notice the milk is lumpy. Congratulations, you just made buttermilk.

Add the buttermilk to the mixture and continue to mix with the mixing spoon. You don't want to add the heat of your hands to the dough. Right now, it doesn't seem like much of a dough, but it will.

On a floured surface, pour out the "dough". Using the scraper, push the dough into a roughly 6 x 9 rectangle.

Using the floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to 12 x 18 rectangle.

Using the scraper, fold the dough, like you would a sheet of paper before you put it into an envelope. Top 1/3 to the middle and bottom 1/3 to the middle.

Turn the dough 90 degrees, so it is now, about 6 x 12.
Roll out the dough once again. Till it's about 12 x 18. Fold once again. Turn, roll out.

Do this so that you have turned and rolled out the dough 5 times.

Cut the edges off the dough so that you have a straight edge.
If you don't start with a straight edge, your biscuits will not rise on that side. The original recipe, said to discard the edges of the dough. I rolled out the remains dough again and created some other biscuits that I could have. The "proper" biscuits went out to the table.

You can use a floured chef's knife, or use the scraper/chopper do do the cutting. Again, using the floured chef's knife, cut out the biscuits. I cut the biscuits into 2 x 3 inch rectangles.

Transfer the biscuits to parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Melt the butter in the microwave. Using the basting brush, coat the biscuits with the melted butter.

Bake the biscuits for about 14 to 15 minutes. Remember the end pieces you made into biscuits, you can snack on these as soon as the biscuits are cool enough to handle.

When people have these biscuits, there is going to be a lot of eye rolling, eye fluttering, and satisfying lip smacking.

Comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!

I was on YouTube watching these videos about cooking chicken and I ran across this one that really got my attention.

Devote some time and you will absolutely LOVE the finished product. Total time, about 3 hours.

Ingredients

1 package of cut up chicken thighs, or wings, or legs

1/4 cup salt

3 litres of water
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp pepper
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayene pepper

1/4 cup Crisco Oil

Stuff you will need

4 litre container

Mixing spoon

Cooling rack (Metal as your going to be cooking with it)

Pam Cooking Spray

Mixing bowl

Cookie sheet

Basting brush

Directions

In the 4 litre container, put the room temperature water and the 1/4 cup of salt and dissolve the salt in the water.

Add the chicken and make sure the chicken is submerged in the water. Let soak in the brine for 1 hour but not more than 3 hours.

Take the chicken out of the brine and leave the chicken wet.

In a mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.

Put the metal cooling rack on the cookie sheet and spray the rack with Pam Cooking Spray. This will make for easy clean up.

"Bread" the chicken and place the chicken skin side up. Let it rest for 30 to 60 min in the fridge.

Place the chicken into the oven for 45 min at 350 F.

With the basting brush, drizzle the chicken with oil to cover the flour. This will give a crispy coating that you would get if you were to deep fat fry the chicken.