What did you learn about yourself from your annual end-of-year review of your social media habits and music tastes? As I was looking over my “content” over the last year, I realized that I should probably do a better job documenting my biscuit creations. So these Biscuit of the Month posts will be sprinkled in with the recipes to highlight fun, new combinations of biscuit toppings and flavored biscuits. I love the play around with recipes, and biscuits seem like a worthy canvas. The January Biscuit of the Month builds on a sweet potato biscuit with a fried chicken thigh, cranberry chutney, and spicy collard slaw.
1. Inspiration Behind the Biscuit
- What sparked this flavor combo?
- I started with the collard greens. I wanted to find fresher ways to use one of my favorite greens and then I asked myself what are some other interesting complements to collard greens – flavors like cranberry and fried chicken.
- Connection to tradition or innovation?
- This biscuit is reminiscent of any big family dinner we had – especially around the holidays. Collard greens are a well known symbol for prosperity and have a permanent spot on my family and friends’ table for almost any occasion.
2. Recipe Development Process
- Challenges faced during development
- I couldn’t find any fresh cranberries so I had to soak the sweetened dried cranberries from the salad toppings section of the grocery store just to reintroduce some moisture before cooking them down. A bonus is that this cranberry-water can be used, if needed, instead of plain water to keep the chutney from burning at any point in the cooking process.
- Ingredients you experimented with
- The chutney was the star of this biscuit for me. I tasted it plain and paired it with each of the other ingredients, and it was the one that seemed to fit with everything.
- Besides the cranberries, the other chutney ingredients were things I already had in the pantry/fridge. It’s easy to experiment and adjust based on your preferences or the flavor profile you’re going for – as long as there is enough spice going on.
- I used brown sugar in the dressing for the collard slaw since that’s what I use in my braised collards.
3. The Biscuit Construction
- Assembly of the dish
- I put chutney on both the bottom and top biscuit and the slaw on the bottom, under the chicken. I didn’t want any excess dressing to make the chicken soggy.
- Top Biscuit (sweet potato, but buttermilk biscuits will be delicious too)
- Cranberry Chutney
- Fried Chicken Thigh
- Spicy Collard Slaw
- Cranberry Chutney
- Bottom Biscuit
- I put chutney on both the bottom and top biscuit and the slaw on the bottom, under the chicken. I didn’t want any excess dressing to make the chicken soggy.
- Textural details
- The flaky biscuit is still sturdy enough to cradle a whole fried chicken thigh with a crunchy slaw and a creamy chutney (with its own elements of crunch if you added almonds).
4. The Flavor Profile
- Flavor balance
- The spices and warmth of the chutney pair so well with the tart crispness of the slaw. You could put them on anything so a sweet potato biscuit and fried chicken thigh are sturdy and delicious staples. They, too, go with just about anything.
- The bite of the slaw does a great job of keeping the creaminess of the chutney and buttery biscuits from becoming too rich.
- Pairings and accompaniments
- This would be great with an Arnold Palmer (with slightly more sweet tea than lemonade) and a slice of cherry yum yum.
- I’m not much of a mixologist (YET!) but I’d imagine making a cocktail using the same cognac that was used to make the chutney would be a nice way to round of the meal.
5. Cooking Tips & Techniques
- Biscuit-making tips
- Use cold ingredients and utensils, if possible – cold butter makes for fluffy biscuits
- Avoid over-mixing and over-working the dough before forming biscuits. It’s okay if the dough isn’t uniform
- This month I used a sweet potato biscuit which may require some extra handling to get the puree incorporated, but don’t overdo it
- Brush with butter or buttermilk before baking for more browning
- More Biscuit Tips
- Additional tips for this specific dish
- For the chicken – I did a single coat of flour after the buttermilk and hot sauce. I didn’t want too much breading on top of the biscuit. I think I would like it more if I fried the chicken like my granny fries hers – with just a coat of flour. It’s perfect. More to come on that front…
- For the slaw – slice the collards as thin as possible and don’t overcook. As soon as they turn bright green, get them out of the pan. That’s why I start the onions first. I like my onions to be cooked down at least a little bit so I don’t have to worry about them being raw and the collards being overcooked. More on the spicy collard slaw here.
- For the chutney – low and slow is the best way. It may take close to an hour, but you want to give the ingredients time to breakdown and flavors time to meld together. Making this a day ahead of time is a good idea to give it even more time to develop its flavor. More on cranberry chutney here.
6. Visual Appeal
- Presentation
- The biscuit and chicken were pretty straightforward.
- The cranberry chutney could be more visually appealing. It kinda looked like boo boo, so I think using more cranberries or fresh cranberries would boost the red color and make it pop!
- Texture close-up
- Include photos showing the flakiness of the biscuit and the contrast between the layers.
- Any garnish or final touches?
- The only garnish this needs is some butter brushed onto the top of the biscuit. Maybe a little honey.
7. Tasting Experience
- The first bite
- If the collards had been sliced thinner, I think the bite would’ve been less clunky, but it was delicious either way. The chutney melting into the biscuit made it all okay.
- How do the flavors evolve as you eat it?
- As you eat the biscuit, more and more of the chutney flavors become more apparent which makes it an interesting dish all the way through.
- Feedback from others
- Not yet, but I will update once I’ve made another batch and have some feedback.
8. Serving Suggestions
- How would you serve this biscuit?
- I would serve this as a chicken biscuit, with the toppings on the side. The slaw and chutney are meant to be tasted plain and then added in whatever proportion you like.
- Perfect for a specific occasion?
- Not a special occasion, but I think this would be delicious on a brunch menu.
- What would you name this biscuit?
- I’m torn between naming it the “Kamala” biscuit because of the fusion of African-diasporic and Indian flavors—a mix just like our former VP. However, I also don’t like any politician enough to name biscuits after them.
- Feel free to comment any suggestions below!
9. The Verdict: Would You Make This Again?
- Would you tweak anything for next time?
- I’d definitely like to try again with chicken just coated in flour, a chutney with more or fresh cranberries, and slaw with the thinnest collards possible.
- Overall thoughts
- I’m so happy that this first foray into biscuit development was this good. I had an idea and used my food memory and The Flavor Bible to put together a really cohesive story and bite.
10. Next Month’s Biscuit
- I’m thinking something sweet and salty/savory since February is the month of love and we all know that it can be bittersweet. It should be posted here and on Instagram by the 3rd week of the month so keep an eye out for that.
