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If you’ve been reading “The Sleigh,” actuated by my father, Roger Lyndon Poole, then you’ve seen mention made here and there of Maxine Poole’s “cat head biscuits” in the story. They serve as an integral component of Wayne’s thumb-stuck sugar biscuits, as well as an essential vehicle for Wes’s apple butter delivery system. My grandmother, Maxine Poole, passed the recipe – along with many hands-on training sessions – to several family members. My mother, Thelma Poole, is responsible for the cat head biscuits pictured about. Here’s a wonderful video that I took of my mom remaking the recipe especially to a company this book, and below that is the written recipe.
Maxine’s Cat Head Biscuits
You’ll need:
- Large Cast Iron Skillet
- Wax Butcher Paper
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Wooden Mixing Spoon
- Self-Rising Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Buttermilk (or Milk & Vinegar)
- Bacon Fat (or Vegetable Oil)
- Butter (*optional)
Instructions:
Get a large heavy bowl and strong wooden mixing spoon. Spread out waxed butcher paper on the counter, waxy side up. Sprinkle an ample coating of flour on the paper to knead the dough after it is made.
In your big bowl put about 3 cups of self-rising flour. To that, add about 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in buttermilk until the dough is thinner than most bread dough balls need to be. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use milk and add about 2 tablespoon of vinegar to react with the baking soda.
After the ingredients in the bowl are well mixed, dump the sticky dough out onto the floured paper. Put the bowl into the sink along with the spoon and fill with water and a few drops of Dawn dish soap. The dish soap is not for eating, just for cleaning!
Sift more flour onto the top of the pile of dough. Take off your rings and flour your hands.
Flip flour up on the edges of the dough as you try to fold it in half on itself. And then flatten it out. Repeat this folding operation, adding more sifted flour until the dough ceases to be so sticky. This much kneading causes the dough to be tough.
Put a large cast iron skillet on a stove burner. Melt bacon fat in it. If you are more health conscious, you can use vegetable oil. Maxine Poole switched to 100% veg oil later in life. You will need about 1/4″ of fat/oil in the bottom of the skillet because there is no oil or shortening inside the bread.
Pinch off “lime sized” lumps of the dough. Pat each lump of dough on its sticky side in flour then place that torn side in the palm of your left hand. With the right hand, roll the dough ball around in a circle tucking any uneven edges under with your right thumb. When the top and sides look smooth, turn the biscuit’s smooth, top side down in the pan to “wet” it with the grease, then turn it over and place it in the grease by the edge of the pan. Repeat rolling dough balls and coating both sides until you have all the dough worked up.
Cook in a 400 degree oven until medium brown all over. Maybe 20 minutes. Take the skillet out. Grease will still be bubbling between the biscuits. With a fork turn the biscuits over so the top can soak up grease as they cool enough to eat. Or in lieu of this tedious process, you can slather butter on the top.
These biscuits are still good the next day. To revive them, cut them open and place the cut side down and the crunchy, brown side up on a cooking sheet. Broil for just a bit. The crispy crunchy outer shell of the biscuit is back. Alternately, you could brown them in a skillet with butter like one would hamburger buns. Or you could try in a toaster, but then the inside of the biscuit gets toasted too. Your choice, have fun!
Bonus – Biscuit video tutorial by Thelma coming soon!
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