Universally, bacon is viewed as a breakfast food or an accessory.  Today, we will embrace both.  We are going to have a twofor.  I’m going to show you how to make biscuits from scratch, and we are going to incorporate bacon into the mix (pun intended).

For this preparation, any kind of bacon will do, but I suggest Applewood Smoked Bacon.  Why? Because that gives me an excuse to make apple butter.  After all, you can’t have biscuits without butter, and the apple ties all the components together.

Before we make the biscuits, we must first learn the biscuit method of baking.

The biscuit method simply involves “cutting” solid fat into flour.  For this method, we will employ 7 steps:

1. Obviously, gather all ingredients.  If your solid fat is butter (and usually it is), freeze it first.
2. Combine the liquid ingredients and mix well.
3. Mix the dry ingredients together (a few pulses in a blender or food processor works well).
4. Rub (or “cut”) the solid fat into the dry ingredients until about half of the fat disappears.  The rest should be small balls.  It’s a good idea to put it back in the freezer at this point.
5. Make a well in the middle of the dry goods.  Pour in the wet goods and mix quickly.
6. Turn the dough out on to a piece of wax paper (dust it with a little flour first) and briefly knead the dough.
7. Roll out the dough, cut, and bake.

That’s the basic steps.  Now, let’s talk bacon!

Bacon Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 3 thick smoked bacon slices (Applewood), cut crosswise into 1″ pieces
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces and frozen
• 3/4 cups buttermilk

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon over medium-low heat.  Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and freeze (30 minutes will do).
2. Chop the bacon into fine pieces.  Cut or break the frozen bacon fat into pieces as well.
3. Preheat an oven to 450F
4. Combine the flour, salt, bacon bits, baking powder, and baking soda soda
5. “Cut” (rub) the frozen butter and bacon fat bits into the mixture until half the fat disappears (mixture’s texture should resemble a coarse meal).  Put the mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes or so.
6. Make a well in the mixture and pour in the buttermilk.
7. Quickly mix until a soft dough forms.  Do not overmix.
8. Knead the dough onto a floured wax paper or parchment paper 2 or 3 times.
9. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 an inch and use a 2″ round cutter to cut out the biscuits.  It works best if you dip the cutter into flour first.
10. Bake the biscuits for about 10 minutes.

Slap Your Mama Good!

As a bonus, let’s make some apple butter!

Apple Butter

Ingredients:

• 3 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 8 cups apple cider
• sugar if needed

Directions:

1. Combine the apples and 4 cups of cider.
2. Simmer over medium heat for 1 hour, stirring frequently.
3. Add the rest of the cider, 1 cup at a time 45 minutes apart.  Remember to stir often.
4. During the last cup, reduce the heat to medium-low.
5. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
6. Taste and add sugar as needed.

It's Apples. It's Butter. It's Apple Butter.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, and maybe it is, but the spoils are well worth it!