Beaten biscuit
Encyclopedia
Beaten biscuits are a "Bluegrass
" Southern food from the United States
, dating from the 19th century.
They differ from a regular American soft-dough biscuits
, in that they are more like hardtack
. In New England
they are called "sea biscuits," as they were staples aboard whaling ships.
The dough was originally made from flour, salt, sugar, lard, and cold water, and beaten with a hard object or against a hard surface. It is pricked with a fork prior to baking and cut smaller than a regular biscuit.
How long the biscuits are beaten varies from one recipe to the next, from "at least 15 minutes" to "30 to 45 minutes." The beating these biscuits undergo is severe: they are banged with a "rolling pin, hammer, or side of an axe"; or they are "pounded with a blunt instrument...[even] a tire iron will do...Granny used to beat 'em with a musket"; one book "instructs the cook to 'use boys to do it'"--that is, beat the biscuits vigorously "at least 200 times." Besides ensuring the proper texture for the biscuit, "this beating also serves to vent the cook's weekly accumulation of pent-up frustrations."
These are the biscuits traditionally used in "ham biscuits," also known as "hog cakes," a traditional Southern canapé
, which are simply tiny sandwiches of these bite-sized biscuits sliced horizontally, spread with butter, jelly, mustard
, filled with pieces of country ham
, or sopped up with gravy or syrup. They are sometimes considered "Sunday biscuits" and can be stored for several months in an airtight container. Beaten biscuits were once so popular that special machines, called biscuits brakes, were manufactured to knead the dough in home kitchens. A biscuit brake typically consists of a pair of steel rollers geared together and operated by a crank, mounted on a small table with a marble top and cast iron legs.
Bluegrass region
The Bluegrass Region is a geographic region in the state of Kentucky, United States. It occupies the northern part of the state and since European settlement has contained a majority of the state's population and its largest cities....
" Southern food from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, dating from the 19th century.
They differ from a regular American soft-dough biscuits
Biscuit (bread)
A biscuit in the United States, and widely used in popular American English, is a small bread made with baking powder or baking soda as a chemical leavening agent rather than yeast....
, in that they are more like hardtack
Hardtack
Hardtack is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns. The name derives from the British sailor slang...
. In New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
they are called "sea biscuits," as they were staples aboard whaling ships.
The dough was originally made from flour, salt, sugar, lard, and cold water, and beaten with a hard object or against a hard surface. It is pricked with a fork prior to baking and cut smaller than a regular biscuit.
How long the biscuits are beaten varies from one recipe to the next, from "at least 15 minutes" to "30 to 45 minutes." The beating these biscuits undergo is severe: they are banged with a "rolling pin, hammer, or side of an axe"; or they are "pounded with a blunt instrument...[even] a tire iron will do...Granny used to beat 'em with a musket"; one book "instructs the cook to 'use boys to do it'"--that is, beat the biscuits vigorously "at least 200 times." Besides ensuring the proper texture for the biscuit, "this beating also serves to vent the cook's weekly accumulation of pent-up frustrations."
These are the biscuits traditionally used in "ham biscuits," also known as "hog cakes," a traditional Southern canapé
Canapé
A canapé is a small, prepared and usually decorative food, held in the fingers and often eaten in one bite.- Details :...
, which are simply tiny sandwiches of these bite-sized biscuits sliced horizontally, spread with butter, jelly, mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
, filled with pieces of country ham
Country ham
Country ham is a variety of cured ham, typically very salty, associated with the Southern United States. Country ham is first mentioned in print in 1944, referring to a method of curing and smoking done in the rural parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky and other nearby...
, or sopped up with gravy or syrup. They are sometimes considered "Sunday biscuits" and can be stored for several months in an airtight container. Beaten biscuits were once so popular that special machines, called biscuits brakes, were manufactured to knead the dough in home kitchens. A biscuit brake typically consists of a pair of steel rollers geared together and operated by a crank, mounted on a small table with a marble top and cast iron legs.