Where chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author Erika Council grew up in North Carolina, baking an exceptional biscuit meant you were a loved and respected member of the community. “Everyone who was revered could make really good biscuits and cornbread,” recalls Council. “I wanted people to talk about me like that, so the older I got, I tried to think of different ways to perfect biscuits as much as possible.” And that’s exactly what she’s offering here: tips for anyone looking to perfect their Southern biscuit recipe.

Council’s lifelong passion for biscuits has made her an expert on the Southern staple, with her restaurant, Bomb Biscuit Co., and cookbook, Still We Rise: A Love Letter to the Southern Biscuit with Over 70 Sweet and Savory Recipes, evidencing her esteemed biscuit-making skills. Ahead, she shares her best tips for baking and serving a perfect batch of biscuits that will send your loved ones running for seconds (and thirds, and possibly even fourths).

Buttermilk Is Best, But Any Milk Works

While buttermilk brings mouthwatering flavor to recipes, Council says it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have any on hand. “I have recipes that use whole milk, evaporated milk, water and buttermilk powder, and even yogurt,” she shares. Council adds the closest 1:1 swap for buttermilk is whole milk. “You probably need a little less whole milk because it’s not as thick as buttermilk, but it will be roughly the same consistency,” she explains. Regardless of the milk you use for your Southern biscuit recipe, Council maintains that your biscuits will still turn out great.

Experiment Until You Find Your Favorite Fat

Speaking of ingredient swaps, you can also be flexible with your fat of choice. “We use mainly butter at the restaurant, but the biscuits I had growing up were made with lard and Crisco,” shares Council. She says the flavor of your finished biscuit will change slightly depending on the type of fat you use, but there’s no single fat superior to others. “Things like mayonnaise and sour cream can add creaminess, and duck fat can also give a really cool flavor,” she explains, urging people to choose the one they like best in their Southern biscuit recipe. 

Don’t Be Afraid To Add Mix-Ins

“If you have a really good base biscuit, you can add anything to the mix,” says Council, who encourages experimenting with add-ins like cheddar cheese, chives, rosemary, lemon zest, and even chocolate chips. “There’s a chocolate chip biscuit recipe in the book that was my daughter’s idea,” Council shares. “She saw me adding herbs and said I should do it with chocolate chips.”

To make sure you’re not mixing too much or too little into your Southern biscuit recipe, Council recommends the following strategy:

• Roll your biscuit dough out flat to about ¼-inch thick.
• Sprinkle the dough with a layer of your mix-in.
• Fold the dough over and roll it out again—if anything falls out, don’t try to shove it back in, as this is likely a sign that you added a little too much.
• Repeat the process up to two more times to ensure your mix-ins are well incorporated, giving your finished biscuits plenty of eye-widening flavor.

Use Dictates Shape

If you can’t decide whether to make a roll-and-cut recipe or drop biscuits, think about how you plan to eat the biscuits and go from there. “Drop biscuits tend to be super crumbly,” Council says. “They’re good to eat as is or with added cheese or flavor.” She adds, “I like to do roll-and-cut because I like to use biscuits for sandwiches.” Opt for drop-style when doing a biscuit basket and roll-and-cut when the main course is bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches on biscuits.

Never Cut With A Cup

Council says you should never use a glass cup to cut the dough in your Southern biscuit recipe. It might seem like a savvy hack, but a glass cup ruins the texture and appearance of your biscuits. “The rim is rounded, so it’s just sealing the edges around the biscuit so you won’t see all the pretty flakes,” explains Council. A metal biscuit or cookie cutter is best for cutting out biscuits. If you’re in a pinch, use an open and empty (and clean) tin can or a sharp knife.

Keep This Mix In Your Fridge 24/7

If you’ve ever gotten an impromptu call from your mother, daughter, or cousin on a Sunday morning alerting you that they’re coming over for brunch, the ensuing scramble can be stressful. This was a nearly weekly occurrence for Council, so she created a home version of the Southern biscuit recipe mix she used for catering—and she encourages you to do the same! When you’re ready to use it, simply add liquid for fresh biscuits in minutes.

Council’s All Purpose Biscuit Mix

Ingredients:

• 8 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons baking powder
• 1½ tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 cup vegetable shortening, cold and cubed

Instructions:

1. Place the flour, baking powder, and salt into a food processor bowl and pulse for 10 to 15 seconds to combine.
2. Scatter the cubed shortening over the top of the flour mixture and pulse for 15 to 20 seconds until well combined and the mixture resembles cornmeal.
3. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Yields about 8¾ cups biscuit mix (about 3 batches of biscuits).

Reheat In The Toaster Oven

Biscuits are at their best straight out of the oven, but on the rare occasions you have leftovers, Council recommends using a toaster oven to reheat biscuits quickly and deliciously. “I’ll put the biscuit in a pan, brush some melted butter on top, cover it with foil, and it comes back to life in 5 minutes,” she says. If you don’t have a toaster oven, you can use the same method in the regular oven, though it will take a little longer. Council also likes cutting open a biscuit and griddling it on the stove for a few minutes per side. Her only hard and fast rule? Just never put biscuits in the microwave. 

All-Purpose Biscuit Mix recipe reprinted with permission from Still We Rise by Erika Council, copyright © 2023. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.