I have adapted this recipe from Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, With Recipes by Jennifer McLagan (McClelland & Stewart). These are an original take on ordinary tea biscuits.
Servings: Makes 9 or 10 biscuits.
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
4 tablespoons poultry cracklings, chopped (see recipe below)
2 tablespoons chopped chives
3 ounces (90 grams) duck fat, cubed and well chilled or frozen
2/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, milk
Method
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix, add the cracklings and chives and pulse again. Add the cold duck fat and pulse until the mixture has coarse lumps of fat about the size of small peas. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in enough milk to make soft, slightly sticky dough. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead gently.
Pat the dough into a disk ½ inch thick and, using a floured 2½-inch biscuit cutter, cut out rounds. Knead any leftover dough together, pat into a disk and cut out additional biscuits until all the dough is used up. Arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet and brush the tops with the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk.
Bake until the biscuits are puffed and golden (about 15 minutes). Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Lucy Waverman