When you grow up in WV the one thing you become a Connoisseur of is a well made biscuit! Unfortunately I’ve never really gotten the hang of making a really good homemade biscuit… until Momma T. taught me how. I’ve tried every recipe for biscuits known to man kind practically, and they never turn out the same as a good ol’ WV biscuit for some reason. Those other recipes always failed to quench my cravings as I moved around the US during my career in the military.
I met Momma T at a campground in WV and we became fast friends! She made her biscuits in a dutch oven over a campfire and they were sooooo yummy that I quickly begged her to teach me her magic recipe (after gobbling down more than my fair share of biscuits lol) . She laughed, and said her husband taught her how to make biscuits, and said it’s only two ingredients. Well… seriously?… my mind was blown! After all these years of following countless recipes (trying to find the ”right” one) all of which had dozens of ingredients… apparently a good WV biscuit only has two ingredients?!?!?!? SAY WHAT!!?!?!?
I am almost embarrassed to admit this post really isn’t for local WV residents because I’m apparently the only WV born child who doesn’t know a good biscuit recipe is only two ingredients! But rather, for those wanting to find out what a really good county biscuit tastes like. So here it is… the way Momma T taught me how to make it:
Really good county cooks don’t actually use measurements lol … so I’m gonna approximate here (exactly like Momma T told me how to make them) that it takes about 2 cups of self rising flour and about 1 cup of full fat (real) buttermilk (not regular milk!) for the mixture.
Dump the flour into a bowl and slowly add (little by little) enough buttermilk to get the dough formed (I mix it using a fork as I add the buttermilk). The dough should be firm enough to roll into a sticky ball in your hand without falling apart, but not so wet to be soupy. Don’t worry about getting the ingredient amounts measured perfectly because you can always add more flour or more buttermilk in small quantities to get it to the right consistency.
For oven cooking we cook the biscuits at 450 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. So now is the time to preheat that oven. I like to use a cast iron flat pan (aka a cowboy pan) to make biscuits. I also like to make what is called ”cat head” biscuits because you don’t have to roll and cut and get all fancy with them. Remember these are country biscuits not city biscuits lol so simple is best! Don’t overwork the dough. It comes out fluffier if you just quickly mix, roll, and drop in the pan.
We always have bacon grease handy in a grease can… but you can use what ever grease, butter, oil, crisco, lard, etc you have available. I grease the pan generously with bacon grease and liberally coat my hands in grease as well (reapplying as needed). Spoon out enough dough to form a biscuit sized ball and GENTLY roll the ball in your hands covering the outside in bacon grease. Put the ball in the pan. It’s ok for the balls of dough sides to touch one another in the pan. One does not ”kneed” this dough. The trick is to work the dough gently.
While the oven is preheating I place my pan on the back burner of the stove top and allow the heat from the oven to warm the pan and the biscuits till its time to pop them in the oven. You don’t have to do this… but it’s just something I do to warm everything up, gentle like, before putting it in the oven.
To tell if the biscuits are done cooking. I gently tap on the top of the middle one and if it feels solid, then it’s done. If it feels squishy then it needs to cook a bit longer… and voila… the best WV country style biscuits you have ever tasted!
As a side note: yes it has to be buttermilk. The full fat works best. Don’t use regular milk or try to make buttermilk by using milk + vinegar. Just get a small 1/2 gallon jug of buttermilk because these are so yummy you will totally be making more. Buttermilk really doesn’t go bad per sey, and will keep in the fridge for several months in my experience… but you may not find it lasting that long if you too are a biscuit connoisseur /snob like me lol
Be sure to send us a comment so we can tell Momma T. how much you love her recipe, and what state/country you live in… so she knows her recipe is now shared and enjoyed world wide! Which will make her so happy!
