Mile High Biscuits


I believe this marks about 15 Cook’s Illustrated magazines I’ve received so far. And this recipe is the first of anything I’ve found of any use out of that rag. I know I know, many people just ‘love’ to rave about it for one reason or another. Each issue I find a handful of things that make me see red. I’m willing to put down the boxing gloves for a moment because my wife and I are suckers for biscuits and this issue had a recipe worth taking a look at. Yum.


It was my first issue that gave me the shock of a lifetime. Their grilling ‘expert’ touted using gas grills for the single most rediculous reason EVER. Keep in mind, I’ve gotten used to people enjoying that good ol’ propane flavor because of convenience. Okay, that’s your choice and you have to eat the food propane produces. Leaves you quaking in your boots, doesn’t it? Yum. This persons reason was that the lid of the charcoal fired grill imparts a bitter flavor (probably talking about creosote). HAHHAHHAHAHHAHH, eh? Imparts a bad flavor? THE LID !?! Hmm, okay. Let’s pretend for a moment that’s true, if something was dirty and needed cleaning, what do we do people? Clean it and reseason it. Der. Also keep in mind, Nitwit, that if your lid imparts a bad flavor due to creosote residue it is due to your lack of Fire Fu. Clean up your mistakes, don’t blame mesquite & lump charcoal. Ass.
Or the issue where the kitchen staff is stumped by the fact they can’t slice a large ham with a Cook’s Knife? It took them a whole article to find out that maybe a SLICER is what’s needed. Sigh. Or howabout the little article they did on grocery store scrubbers? That was like finger nails on a chalk board.
Well, after all that it looks as though MeatHenge Labs was able to find ONE decent recipe worth making. Their Mile High Biscuits made with buttermilk. Absolutely the fluffiest, tastiest and happily rich biscuits ever. Yar be the recipe mates;
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups cold buttermilk
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together
with a fork. Cut in the butter. Fold the buttermilk into the
flour mixture until just blended. Make dough balls from rounded
tablespoon; coat with flour. Place floured dough balls in greased
cake tin. Drizzle some melted butter over the top. Bake for 5
minutes at 500 degrees. Turn the oven temperature down to 450
degrees; bake for 15 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before
devouring the whole pan of biscuits.
Who would have thought after all this time Mr. Kimball could have pulled one out. I am surprised.
Xo Xo

14 thoughts on “Mile High Biscuits

  1. Hey, Kimball gets *paid* to be a dumbass. I say let the well-paid fool alone; go your own way, and eat GOOD food!!! …and I’m only being this nice ’cause I loved the biscuits. It was everything I could do not to eat the whole pan of ’em.
    Also, use good cultured buttermilk; not that thin watery stuff with butter chunks floatin’ in it.

  2. Oh, yeah, I know those kind of biscuits! They are the most delicious of all foods ever; flaky and crumbly and buttery and no kidding, I could eat the whole pan too!
    I was wondering how many recipes have to be repeated because the bakers have drunk the buttermilk with or without a chaser!
    A note on the guy who warned of creosote poisoning from charcoal grills. Uh…creosote builds up from any fire in a confined space and paints the surfaces of the area, such as your fireplace and can cause dangerous vapors to waft around. Confined fire spaces have to be cleaned. Wonder how many people DON’T ever clean their fireplace chimneys! Huh?!

  3. Yes, creosote is a concern. However, if you set the exhaust to max on your grill, it won’t be. The problem comes from novices shutting down the vents to ‘smoke’ their food. A little bit of research goes a long way to fine yummy foods.

  4. good info about cook’s. i’ll steer clear of their mag. whenever i want ideas, i pick up the safeway select mag. it’s only 99 cents, and i can use my safeway club card to buy the suggested ingredients.
    oh dear, did i just unknowingly write a testimonial for safeway?

  5. Hahaha! I too am stumped by the adoration heaped on Cook’s Illus, when the winners are only occassional. I subscribed to CI for a whole year and the only recipe I still use is for the mashed sweet potatoes.

  6. I remember that one, but am not a fan of the sweet taters. I’m a freak, I know.
    Yeah, I heared Deb at murrayhill5.net had a good outcome of a an appley desert. It happens, but I believe people got my point. Hooyah.

  7. I think this might be a receipe my mother saw and was talking about trying… I’ll have to try it! One note: The lid of a charcoal grill makes the food bitter? Did anyone tell these folks that you put the food on the grill, not in the lid? I LOVE my charcoal grill, grill out here in North Dakota even when it’s 20 below if the winds are down (at those temps, 30 MPH winds make it very difficult to keep the grill temp up…). NEVER had bitter food!

  8. See, I knew someone out there still used a charcoal fired grill.
    YES, do the biscuit recipe. We still have it semi-infrequently and love it as though it was the first.

  9. I loved the image of the doll and the biscuits. And YES they are great biscuits. I don’t mind CI if I can read it for free online, but it is a bit pricey. Actually, I like it’s slow pace, non-hype format. ANYWAY, I’m working on a family cookbook and in the biscuit section I have my sisters-in-law dueling it out. May I use that image in my cookbook? SOfia

  10. OK, so I see that it’s been since 2004 that you’ve responded. I’ll assume it’s OK to use the photo then?

  11. Those who can’t, critique or teach. Just use what you can and realize that the stuff you can’t use may be meaningful to others… who are neither dumber nor more arrogant than you Dr. Wannabe.
    Sadness personified… you voted for Obama didn’t you?