Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Nashville fried biscuits

With Jim home for labor day I was able to try a few new recipes without "help" from the kids. Yesterday for dinner I made two grilled chickens (I will always let poultry soak in a saline bath before I cook it - always!), green beans with bacon and onions, broccoli salad (just enough for me, since no one else really enjoys it) and Nashvile Fried Biscuits. I had found this recipe in a cookbook awhile back, and it sat in my folder of "recipes to try" for a really long time. I thought it might be time to try it.
The basic recipe is for a biscuit made with yeast - usually these are found in the south, named "angel biscuits." The beauty of this type of recipe is that you can prepare a large batch and then freeze it for later use. Pull out a few biscuits, let them thaw and rise, then bake. No mess, no fuss.
While angle biscuits are baked, these, obvious from the title, are fried. They are somewhat like a donut, just not so sweet. (Although, if you put a glaze on them, they might come close to a krispy kreme.) It turns out lovely, light and fluffy, with a crisp golden exterior. The inside is not as flakey as a biscuit, but when you eat one you won't care. They are delicious! Perhaps not worth the work all the time, definately not worth the health risk all the time, but nice to try every now and again.

Fried Biscuits
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp yeast
1/4 c. warm water
2 c. milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
5 c. flour
1/4 c shortening
fat or oil for frying
Stir yeast into warm water; set aside to proof. Mix together the sugar, salt and 3 1/2 cups flour. Cut in the shortening. Combine milk with yeast mixture, add to flour mixture. Add flour as needed to make a soft, smooth dough. Cover and let rise one hour, or until doubled. Roll out 1/2 inch think, cut into rounds. At this point the biscuits can be frozen to use at a later date. As the biscuits rise, heat your oil to 350 degrees F. Fry biscuits until golden brown, drain on paper towel and serve warm. Yields about 5-6 dozen 2-1/2 inch biscuits.

1 comment:

Laura said...

I'm ready for a visit... but I don't think our budget is. You could always come out here, and we could fry together!