Cat Head Biscuits

     New Orleans has been figuring large on my mind these days.  The 10 year anniversary of The Hurricane and a recent trip to one of my favorite places for R&R, food and music – the Crescent City.

     Chef Steve Herbert is well known for his Cat Head Biscuits, a Southern specialty.  His current restaurant, Café Gentilly, is located well outside of the tourist areas, in the neighborhood of Gentilly Terrace.  I actually met Steve while catching an early evening set of jazz on Frenchman Street.  I overheard him discussing cooking and a recipe with a woman sitting next to me; so when she stepped away, I picked up the conversation.  I’m shy that way…

     Lucky for us, he invited us to his restaurant for lunch the next day – red beans and rice were going to be the day’s special.  Who could resist?  And this is before I learned of his Cat Head Biscuit Fame.  We ended up spending most of the afternoon with him, well past closing his lunchtime service.  Seems he’s a gracious host, and when regulars come knocking on his door (with the closed sign facing out); he can’t help himself and is compelled to feed them.  On this day it was the family of Mr. Okra; a local legend who drives his truck through the neighborhoods, providing fresh produce to the locals.

     Cat head biscuits are so named because of their enormous size, about that of a cat’s head.  These light, fluffy biscuits are perfect with butter (or jam, or honey) and of course gravy.

     Southern cooks often use self-rising flour to make their biscuits.  I already have too many flours in my pantry, and it’s easy enough to add baking powder, baking soda and salt (also pantry staples) to make these.  If you happen to have access to White Lily self-rising flour, typically sold in Southern states or online, you do can skip mixing all-purpose and cake flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  White Lily is a lower protein flour, which means softer and lighter biscuits.  Steve will tell you that it’s all in the technique when making biscuits.

     Consider these the real grand slam of biscuit making:  Quick. Easy. Delicious. Show-stopping!

     Bonus:  No rolling involved with this recipe.  They are “drop biscuits” of colossal proportion!

Cat Head Biscuits

 Adapted from Cooks Country April/May 2010

Makes 6 very large biscuits

Ingredients

• 1 1/ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/ 2 cups cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/ 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/ 2” pieces and softened
• 4 tablespoons pork leaf lard, cut into 1/ 2” pieces (Substitute vegetable shortening if you insist)
• 1 1/ 8 cup buttermilk

Instructions

1. Adjust an oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425°F. Butter a 9” round cake pan.
2. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Rub the butter and shortening into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.  Stir in buttermilk until combined.
3. Use a buttered 1/ 2 cup measuring cup or scoop to transfer 6 heaping portions of dough into prepared pan. Place 5 portions around the perimeter and 1 in the center.
4. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 – 25 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

Notes:

• In a pinch, you can substitute the buttermilk by combining 1-1/8 cups milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and letting it sit for about 10 minutes until it thickens slightly.
• The dough is fairly moist.  Take care to not overmix, as this will result in a denser biscuit.

Lard produces light and flavorful biscuits.  Shortening is okay too.

Mix in the butter and lard (or shortening) with the flour until it looks like this.

Add buttermilk and scoop dough into the prepared pan.  Six enormous biscuits ready for baking!