In the realm of Southern cuisine, cathead biscuits reign supreme as a testament to culinary artistry and a symbol of comfort and tradition. These delightful biscuits, renowned for their colossal size and fluffy interiors, are believed to have originated in the Appalachian region of the United States, where they have been enjoyed for generations. Their moniker, derived from their resemblance to a cat's head, hints at their generous proportions and the satisfaction they bring to every bite. As you embark on your culinary journey to discover the best recipe for cathead biscuits, let us guide you through the essential elements that define this iconic Southern delicacy.
Here are our top 8 tried and tested recipes!
FLUFFY CATHEAD BISCUITS WITH HONEY BUTTER
Cat head (or cathead) biscuits are a Southern staple whose name refers to their large size (about as big as a cat's head). The dough for this hand-rolled biscuit recipe is made by incorporating flour into the wet ingredients, instead of the reverse. The result is a fluffy (rather than flaky) biscuit, ready to be split and spread with flavorful honey butter.
Provided by Joe Sevier
Categories Biscuit Bake Breakfast New Year's Day Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free
Yield Makes 12 biscuits
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- For the biscuits:
- Arrange rack in middle of oven; preheat to 400°F. Whisk buttermilk powder, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until evenly distributed and no lumps remain. Add 2 cups water and whisk to combine. Add lard and butter.
- Add 2 cups flour and mix with a fork until mixture resembles porridge. Using fork, press fats against side of bowl to cut into smaller, irregular, flattened pieces.
- Fold in remaining 1 1/2-2 cups flour by the half cup with fork until a wet dough forms. Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface. Dust top of dough with more flour. Gently fold dough into itself until it feels like a pillow and is no longer sticky. Using a floured bench scraper or butter knife, divide dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Working with 1 piece at a time, dip cut sides in flour and gently roll into a ball with your hands. Nestle each ball side by side in a large cast-iron skillet or on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake biscuits until lightly browned, 25-30 minutes. Brush with melted butter, if desired. Serve with honey butter.
- For the honey butter:
- Combine honey, butter, and salt in a medium bowl. Mash with fork until just combined but not emulsified.
CATHEAD BISCUITS
Don't worry, there aren't any actual cat's heads involved. The origins of the name are lost to time, but the conventional wisdom seems to be that they're called that because they're about the size of a cat's head. An old Appalachian favorite. Less fuss than rolled and cut biscuits. White Lily flour is preferred.
Provided by xtine
Categories Breads
Time 30m
Yield 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Mix dry ingredients and sift into mixing bowl, then cut in lard or crisco until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Stir in buttermilk until it is incorporated with the flour mixture. The dough will be kind of wet and very sticky.
- Flour your hands and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough in the flour just enough to make it handleable - you don't want it to stick to your hands too much, but don't work in too much extra flour either or the biscuits will be heavy and taste of raw flour.
- For each biscuit, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a large egg or a small lemon and pat out in the ungreased pan with your hands. You don't want it to be really flat, just pat it down a bit so it's relatively biscuit-shaped and about 1 inch high.
- Bake at 475 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Keep your eye on them while they're in the oven so they don't burn.
- Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter, if desired.
CATHEAD BISCUITS
Provided by Food Network
Categories side-dish
Time 1h
Yield 4 large biscuits
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Combine 2 cups of the flour with the baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and 3 tablespoons of the butter until the mixture is the size of small peas.
- Add the buttermilk, and stir until the dough is just mixed and starts to form a ball.
- Rest the dough in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Transfer the dough to the floured surface, and sprinkle with a little extra flour. Knead the dough 3 to 4 times. Do not overwork the dough. It will make the dough tough and difficult to work with.
- Flatten the dough into a 3/4- to 1-inch-thick disk with a rolling pin. Cut out biscuits with a large 4- or 5-inch biscuit cutter.
- Bake the biscuits until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Brush the hot biscuits with the butter. Turn on the broiler. Broil the biscuits until desired brownness.
(BIG AS A) CATHEAD BISCUITS
This is my mom's biscuit recipe, passed down from her mom and grandma who lived their entire lives on the Mississippi Delta. Of course it took a lot of trial and error to get it right because she was from the 'handful of this and a pinch of that' school of cooking. You can use milk or plain yogurt in place of the buttermilk. Shortening or butter can stand in for the lard. Serve with butter, jelly, honey, gravy, or whatever your favorite biscuit topping is.
Provided by Susan Gamble
Categories Bread Quick Bread Recipes Biscuits
Time 35m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Prepare a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
- Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a mixing bowl.
- Mash small chunks of lard into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or with your fingers, letting each addition integrate fully before adding the next, until all the lard has been added and the mixture resembles coarse-ground cornmeal.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour milk into the well. Stir the mixture with a spoon, making sure to scrape the edges of the bowl so that the dry flour there gets wet, just until the milk is incorporated into the dry mix and there are no large areas of powdery flour remaining, leaving lumpy dough which is sticky in some places and even a bit grainy in the driest areas. From here, use your hands to carefully mix to ensure even consistency.
- Divide dough into 8 equal chunks and shape each into a thick biscuit. Put the shaped biscuits into the prepared cake pan with the sides touching.
- Bake in preheated oven until the tops are light golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 205.8 calories, Carbohydrate 28.5 g, Cholesterol 8.1 mg, Fat 7.8 g, Fiber 1 g, Protein 4.6 g, SaturatedFat 3 g, Sodium 390.5 mg, Sugar 1.6 g
SANDY'S MISSISSIPPI DELTA CATHEAD BISCUITS
Make and share this Sandy's Mississippi Delta Cathead Biscuits recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Teresa Johnson
Categories Breads
Time 42m
Yield 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- Blend above ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Dump a hand full of flour on a pastry cloth or whatever.
- A brown paper sack also works.
- Newspaper also works just fine.
- Dump the blended dough onto the flour.
- Pour a dash of oil into your skillet and smear it around with your fingers.
- Coat the inside of the skillet and the palms of your hands with oil.
- Knead the dough for about 30 seconds, rolling it in the flour and thickening it.
- Halve the dough.
- Halve it again, making 4 pieces of dough.
- Roll each piece of dough between your hands, making it into a ball, then put it in the skillet.
- Use a spoon or a pastry brush and put a little oil or bacon drippings on the top of each unbaked biscuit.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Bake 25 minutes.
- Broil/toast for 1 or 2 minutes.
SAWMILL GRAVY WITH CATHEAD BISCUITS
Biscuits and sausage gravy! Now all you need is a cup of hot coffee. fyi: cathead means big
Provided by melinda simpson
Categories Meat Breakfast
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- 1. For gravy: Make sausage into patties and fry in moderately hot skillet until brown and cooked done. Put sausage patties on paper towels to drain grease. Use about half of the grease in the skillet to make gravy. Add flour and brown flour in grease stirring constantly. Add about 1 1/2 cups of milk and enough water to make gravy as thin as you like. Break up about 4 of the cooked sausage patties and crumble in the gravy. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over hot biscuits.
- 2. For biscuits: Sift and mix dry ingredients then blend with lard. Add buttermilk. For each biscuit, pinch off a portion of dough the shape of a large egg and pat out with your hands. Bake in a 350* wood stove about 10 minutes or in an electric or gas stove at 475*.
CATHEAD BISCUITS
This is the old-time recipe from our grandmamas. There is no real measurement in this for the shortening. Wonderful and tasty heavy biscuit from the old times. Great with homemade sausage gravy. Always always always use White Lily® flour for the fluffiest biscuits. I usually don't always use all of the buttermilk. I seem to usually have just under a 1/4 cup leftover.
Provided by Hollinhead77
Categories Bread Quick Bread Recipes Biscuits
Time 25m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Preheat an oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch cake pan.
- Sift flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Make a dent in flour by pushing flour from center toward sides of bowl. Add 2 walnut-size lumps of shortening and a splash of buttermilk to the flour where you made the dent. Work the shortening into the flour using fingers in a twisting motion (rub thumb against pointer and middle finger motion) until the shortening is fully incorporated into the flour.
- Pour buttermilk into the flour about 1/4 cup at a time, continuing to work it in with your fingers until the buttermilk is completely incorporated into a sticky dough.
- Roll dough into 8 large balls and drop into prepared cake pan, working around the outside and putting the last one in middle to fill the pan. Press dough balls with back of fingers to flatten until they touch and are about 3/4- to 1-inch thick.
- Bake in preheated oven until the tops are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 336 calories, Carbohydrate 49 g, Cholesterol 17.4 mg, Fat 11.6 g, Fiber 1.7 g, Protein 8 g, SaturatedFat 5.2 g, Sodium 910.3 mg, Sugar 2.7 g
OLD-FASHIONED CATHEAD BISCUITS RECIPE - (4.4/5)
Provided by msippigrl
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 500° F. If desired, prepare a floured work surface. I just did everything in the bowl the dough was mixed up in. Whisk together in a mixing bowl, the flour, baking powder, and baking soda until well combined. Make a well in the center and add the shortening and buttermilk; using your hands, squeeze the shortening into the buttermilk until well blended, then start to work in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Don't overwork the dough. Wash the dough off your hands. At this point, I sifted flour lightly over the dough in the bowl then picked it up and sifted a little in the bottom of the bowl. Then I squeezed or pulled off a piece of dough about the size of a lemon, rolled it around a few seconds between my palms, then placed it on a baking sheet. If preferred, you can just turn dough out onto a floured work surface; sprinkle top and sides lightly with flour, enough that you will be able to handle the dough without it sticking to your hands. Flour your hands as well. Pull off a piece of dough about the size of a lemon; roll it around a time or two in your palms then place it on a baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining dough. (I got 6 large catheads). Bake biscuits for 10-12 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven and butter tops of biscuits, if desired, and serve immediately.
Tips:
- Choose the right flour. All-purpose flour is a good choice, but you can also use self-rising flour or a blend of the two. If you use self-rising flour, omit the baking powder and salt.
- Use cold butter. This will help to create a flaky biscuit.
- Work the dough gently. Overworking the dough will make the biscuits tough.
- Chill the dough before baking. This will help the biscuits to rise properly.
- Bake the biscuits in a hot oven. This will help to create a golden brown crust.
Conclusion:
Cathead biscuits are a delicious and versatile bread that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They are easy to make and can be customized to your liking. With a little practice, you'll be able to make perfect cathead biscuits every time.
Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »
#30-minutes-or-less #time-to-make #course #preparation #breads #easy #rolls-biscuits #dietary
You'll also love