Baking Powder Biscuits

The smoker is back in action. First warm weekend of real spring and I loaded it with a pork butt at 7 AM. By noon, the entire building smelled like hickory. By 3 PM, the landlord was standing in the parking lot looking up at my balcony. By 6 PM, I had twelve pounds of pulled pork and the landlord had a plate. The social contract holds.

Megan invited her friend Jen over for dinner — the first time we've hosted someone as a couple. Hosting in seven hundred square feet requires creativity. I set up the folding table in the living room and Megan put out the nice napkins (we have nice napkins now — this is what cohabitation does to a man) and I made pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and cornbread. Jen ate two sandwiches and said, "Megan, you need to keep this one." Megan said, "I'm keeping the pierogi. He just happens to come with them." I am unclear whether I'm the main attraction or an accessory to my own dumplings. I'm okay with either.

At the brewery, we're gearing up for summer. Outdoor events, beer festivals, the whole thing. I'm working on a session IPA — lower alcohol, more hops, crushable on a hot day. The craft beer world goes through trends like fashion goes through trends, and session IPAs are the thing right now. I don't chase trends, but I don't ignore them either. You can make something trendy and still make it good. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

Megan is counting down the last weeks of the school year. She's exhausted and exhilarated — the kids are squirrely, the weather is distracting, and standardized testing has everyone on edge. She comes home and collapses and I feed her and she rallies. Teaching is a marathon run at a sprint pace, and Megan runs it every day without complaining, which makes me admire her even more than I already did, which I didn't think was possible.

Jen’s two-sandwich verdict meant everything, but I’ll be honest — the biscuits were doing a lot of heavy lifting that night. I ditched the standard hamburger bun because pulled pork this good deserves a real foundation, and nothing soaks up smoky drippings and slaw like a warm, buttery baking powder biscuit. If you fired up the smoker this weekend and you’ve got a mountain of pork to work through, do yourself a favor and make these first — they come together in about thirty minutes and they’ll make every sandwich feel like a full commitment.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 27 min | Servings: 12 biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup whole milk (or buttermilk for extra tang)
1 tablespoon melted butter, for brushing

Instructions

Preheat. Heat your oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it.
Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until evenly mixed.
Cut in the butter. Add the cold butter cubes and work them into the flour mixture using your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized butter pieces remaining. Keep the butter cold — this is what makes the biscuits flaky.
Add the milk. Pour in the milk all at once and stir with a fork just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix; a shaggy dough is exactly what you want here.
Shape the biscuits. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it gently to about 3/4-inch thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Re-pat scraps and cut remaining biscuits.
Bake. Place biscuits on the prepared baking sheet so they are just touching (for soft sides) or spaced 1 inch apart (for crispier edges). Bake for 10—12 minutes until tops are golden brown.
Finish and serve. Brush hot biscuits with melted butter immediately out of the oven. Split and load with pulled pork and coleslaw while still warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Baking Powder Biscuits — The Secret Weapon Behind Those Pulled Pork Sandwiches