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Black Pepper Biscuits with Country Ham and Hot Mustard Sauce

Source of Recipe

From "Down South" by Donald Link


Recipe Introduction

"The star on any Southern party table is a pedestal of sliced salt-cured country ham, ready to be eaten with buttery biscuits. Curing country hams properly is a time-honored process, and one of the oldest methods of food preservation in the South. Seasonings like salt and brown sugar are rubbed into the meat by hand, and then the ham is rinsed, hung, and smoked over a hickory wood fire. The smoke infuses the ham with a deep, complex flavor. After twelve to eighteen months of aging, the result is an intense concentration of salty goodness that rivals the aged hams from Italy and Spain. What I like about this biscuit recipe is how the shortening is incorporated into the dough. Instead of being cut into the flour, as usual, it's added to the dough toward the end of mixing, which makes the dough messier to work with but results in a flakier biscuit. When Julia Reed was growing up, the ham and biscuits were always joined by her mom's delicious hot mustard sauce. These are perfect for brunch, picnics, and lunch boxes, and will likely steal the show on a festive table of party foods."

List of Ingredients

â—¦  8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, plus more for the baking sheet
â—¦  4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
â—¦  2 tablespoons baking powder
â—¦  2 teaspoons kosher salt
â—¦  2 teaspoons sugar
â—¦  1 teaspoon black pepper
â—¦  1 ½ cups buttermilk
â—¦  ¾ cup vegetable shortening
â—¦  Hot Mustard Sauce (recipe follows)
â—¦  8 ounces thinly sliced country ham


Recipe

Heat the oven to 400° F. Butter a baking sheet.

Combine 4 cups of the flour, the baking powder, salt, sugar, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Cut 6 tablespoons of the butter into slices and use your fingertips to work the butter into the flour mixture until it is pebbly and coarse. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour in the buttermilk, and combine with a fork—this is going to be messy. Form the dough into a wet, sticky ball and work the shortening into the dough by hand. Use the remaining ½ cup flour to coat your hands and work surface while you work with the dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ¾-inch-thick rectangle. Fold the dough over itself, like you're folding a sheet of paper to insert into an envelope, roll out ¾ inch thick, and repeat this process three times. This will develop flaky layers.

Use a knife to cut the dough into 2- to 3-inch-wide squares, put the biscuits on the baking sheet (so they are not touching), and bake until light golden brown on top, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on wire racks, then split, and serve with mustard sauce and ham.

Serves 10 to 12



Hot Mustard Sauce:

This sauce keeps well for weeks, so after the ham fest you'll have an awesome sandwich condiment that will dramatically improve your lunch hour.

â—¦  ½ cup Coleman's dry mustard
â—¦  ½ cup cider vinegar
â—¦  ½ cup sugar
â—¦  1 large egg, beaten well
â—¦  ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Combine the mustard and vinegar in a stainless steel bowl. Cover and macerate overnight.

Put the mustard mixture in the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water. Add the sugar, egg, and salt and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. The mixture will be like a thick soup, but it will thicken considerably when refrigerated. Let cool and then refrigerate.

Makes ¾ cup