Recipe For Lard Biscuits

Bread expert Elizabeth Yetter has been baking bread for more than 20 years, bringing her Pennsylvania Dutch Country experiences to life through recipes.

The rich culinary heritage of the Pennsylvania Dutch means their classic cooking methods and ingredients are still used on a daily basis. In their parts of the eastern United States, traditions seem to remain unaltered despite the rapid changes in the world around them. Baking is an essential part of this culture and many recipes honor the German heritage of the first immigrants to the area. Despite common belief, the current occupants of the area are descendants of Germans, and not Dutch people, but they're referred to as Dutch from the term

Delicious pretzels, sweet rolls, soups, stews, savory pies, scrapple, and canned and pickled products reflect farmers' need for hearty and caloric foods. Some still use wood ovens to cook, and old-fashioned animal fats like lard to enrich their dough. Our savory biscuit recipe using lard is a testament to the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition.

Classic Buttermilk Lard Biscuits

When it comes to biscuits, lard gives them the perfect texture. Easy to make, these savory biscuits can be on your table in less than 20 minutes. Ideal to accompany soups and stews, the biscuits are also great with eggs and sausage, and any leftover biscuits can be reheated on a skillet. Serve them with bread and butter for a quick and satisfying snack.

This soft fat comes from all the fatty parts of a pig and is obtained via a process called rendering in which the solid fatty parts are cooked, and the liquid fat is retrieved. The obtained fat is of darker off-white color when solid, but becomes clear when melted. Because lard doesn't contain hydrogenated fats, it's coming back into use by many cooks. They also like it due to other qualities, such as its neutral flavor. Because lard has a high smoking point of 370 F, it's a great fat for frying.

Leaf lard is a type of lard that is found around the pig's kidneys; this type is creamier than other lard and is most commonly used in baking. Lard-containing pastries and pie shells are lighter and fluffier.

Buttermilk Lard Biscuits (4 Pack) Ships Frozen / Ready To Bake

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2, 000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

I don't like this at all. It's not the worst. Sure, this will do. I'm a fan—would recommend. Amazing! I love it! Thanks for your rating!

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Three Ingredient Biscuits |

If you’ve never had a biscuit made with lard, you need to. Lard biscuits are truly special! The overall texture is so different than those made with butter. They are softer, more tender, and crazy flaky.

Baking Soda: You might be wondering why baking soda is needed if this recipe already contains baking powder. While baking powder does the heavy lifting, the baking soda balances out the acidic ingredients.

Salt: Salt is what gives these biscuits flavor. It’s not so much that it makes these biscuits too savory. In fact, these biscuits are perfect topped with a sweet jam or salty eggs.

Best Ever Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk: The buttermilk in this recipe is what gives moisture and holds everything together. Because buttermilk is cultured, it has an acidic quality to it. I personally love the tang that buttermilk brings to biscuits. If you do not have any on hand, you can easily make a substitute!

Put 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup and add enough milk to the measuring cup until it measures 1 cup. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes before adding it to your dough.

Leaf Lard: The lard in this recipe is the star! Leaf lard comes from the fatty parts around a pig’s kidneys. It is obtained through a process called rendering. It’s creamier and more popular in baking than other types of lard. The lard coats the flour creating a fluffy, tender, and very flaky biscuit.

Lard Have Mercy! Gluten Free, Pro Glutton Buttermilk Biscuits!

If you are looking for a vegetarian-friendly biscuit recipe, you can easily substitute the lard in this recipe for unsalted butter or vegetable shortening.

All Butter Biscuits: if you really love the flavor of butter or can’t find lard, you can easily swap the lard in this recipe for unsalted butter. Dice up the butter into small cubes and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Butter and Lard Biscuits: if you prefer the taste of butter but want the flakiness and tenderness of a lard biscuit, swap half of the lard in this recipe with butter.

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Add thecold lard to the mixing bowl and cut it into the flour mixture. I like to use a pastry cutter to cut the fat through. You could also use a fork or even your hands but you want to make sure the fat stays very cold and your hands can start warming the temperature. As soon as the mixture resembles coarse meal you are ready to add the liquid.

Pour all of the buttermilk into the bowl at once and gently stir together. I like to use a wooden spoon for this but you could use a rubber spatula if you like. Stir just until the mixture is all one mass but not until smooth. You want it to be lumpy and you don’t want to stir very much. It usually only takes me about 5-6 stirs to get here. The mixture is going to look very wet.

Flour a clean work surface and your hands. Gently gather all of the dough and place it on the floured surface. Now, using your hands, pat the dough out to about a 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick disc. You may need to dust a bit of flour on top of the dough. Fold the dough in half and then turn it 90 degrees. Pat out and fold again for a total of 6 times. This process is creating layers that will create flaky biscuits.

Pennsylvania Dutch Lard Biscuits Recipe

Press the dough out to about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick and use a round cutter to cut out your biscuits. When cutting out, dip your cutter in flour, press straight down, and pull it back up without twisting it. Gently pat the scraps together to cut out the rest of your biscuits.

I like to place my biscuits in a cake pan very close together to bake. I believe this helps the biscuits climb on each other and in the pan to rise more. You can also bake them on a parchment-lined sheet pan with their sides touching.

The word lard is actually a general term that refers to fat from a pig. In cooking or baking, this is usually the rendered fat from a pig. The premium fat that is used for rendering lard is called leaf lard. Leaf lard comes from the fat that surrounds the kidneys and inside the loin of the pig.

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The result of properly rendered lard is a white, creamy shortening (a fat that is solid at room temperature and liquid at warmer temperatures).

You can buy lard from a butcher or farmer. You may find it in a specialty store, however I’ve never seen it at my regular grocery store. If you ask a butcher, make sure you ask for rendered lard otherwise, you might receive a whole piece of fat tissue.

You can render your own lard by breaking down the fat, heating it, and straining it. Doing it yourself is incredibly simple to do and will give you a very pure fat without hydrogenated oils (which is often found in processed lard).

The Iowa Housewife: Never Fail Lard Baking Powder Biscuits

How to prep ahead: Make the biscuit dough the day (or 2-3 days) before serving. Prepare as directed, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or in a buttered cake pan) and wrap with plastic wrap. When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and bake directly from the refrigerator.

How to store in the refrigerator (or at room temperature): Biscuits are best eaten fresh, but they can also be stored after completely cooled at room temperature and wrapped in foil for 2 days.

How to store in the freezer: Freeze the biscuits raw and bake straight from frozen at 425°F/220°C for 18-21 minutes, until baked through.

Classic Southern Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

If you do not have buttermilk on hand you can make soured milk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon