A Sunday Breakfast Without Biscuits, No Way!

August is National Catfish Month in the United States. Today we share this story to inform our readers on how catfish and biscuits have historically come together in Southern cuisine.

South Carolinian Alexander Smalls learned the art of seasoning and cooking from his grandfather, who was a great cook. His grandfather, who came from Spartanburg, South Carolina, argued that a Sunday breakfast should be a banquet. He would cook all kinds of food including catfish, sage sausage, rice, grits “and maybe gravy from the previous night’s veal or beef stew. But no matter the menu, Grandpa’s breakfast was not complete without biscuits and sorghum or molasses,” writes Smalls. Below is my biscuit recipe; hook them up with some fried fish, rice or grits, plenty of Texas Pete hot sauce on hand for that fish and butter and molasses for them biscuits and you have yourself a serious Carolina breakfast on your table. 

Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups spelt flour 1/8 teaspoon baking soda to up the flour rise/ or use 2 cups self-rising flour

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ cup sugar

4 tablespoon vegetable shortening

2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream/half and half works too

1 cup buttermilk, or until dough is like cottage cheese

1 cup whole-wheat flour for shaping the wet dough into biscuits

2 tablespoons melted butter to brush over the baked biscuits

Method

Preheat the oven to 425; spray cook sheet or cast iron skillet with non-stick spray; combine dry ingredients except for the 1 cup flour for shaping the dough; stir in buttermilk and cream and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Flour your hands and softly shape your biscuits. If you’re rushing, use an ice-cream scooper. Place the biscuits tightly against each other on wax paper so they will rise up instead of out. Sprinkle with flour then place then on the sprayed surface for baking. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with the melted butter and serve. Makes about a dozen biscuits.