Best Chicken ’n’ Biscuits

Veteran's Day. Dad was in Vietnam for thirteen months, 1971 to 1972. He doesn't talk about it. I know three facts about his service: he was infantry, he was in the Mekong Delta, and he came home. Everything else he's kept interior for fifty years and I've never asked him to give it up. Some things belong to the person who lived them.

I made his favorite breakfast this morning without announcing it — biscuits and sausage gravy, the thick white kind with plenty of black pepper. He came downstairs at six-thirty, which is an hour past when he usually comes down, and sat at the table and I put a plate in front of him without saying anything. He ate the whole thing. Then he said: Good biscuits. That was the conversation. It was enough.

The gravy is a simple thing but it requires the right proportions — too much flour and it turns stiff, not enough and it won't hold on the biscuit. I use breakfast sausage browned in the skillet, pull it out, make the roux in the drippings, add milk slowly while whisking, season with salt and more black pepper than you think you need. The biscuits I make with lard because that's how Mom taught me and that's the correct answer. Butter biscuits are fine. Lard biscuits are better. Anyone who argues this point hasn't eaten enough lard biscuits.

Took a long drive in the afternoon — no destination, just the back roads south of town. Elk country visible from the highway, the brown grass covering slopes where I've stood at dawn and waited for something to come. I think about the bull from last month sometimes. The clean shot, the gratitude, the work of packing it out. This time next year I'll be doing it again. That forward view — knowing what good things are coming — is something I try to hold onto. It helps.

Dad’s two words—Good biscuits—are still sitting with me, and I keep coming back to how much weight a simple plate of food can carry. The recipe I reach for when I want that same warmth and stick-to-your-ribs satisfaction is this one: Best Chicken ’n’ Biscuits, built on the same foundation of flaky, tender biscuits and a thick, peppery gravy that made this morning what it was. It’s the kind of dish that doesn’t need an occasion to justify itself—it just needs people around a table who matter to each other.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

For the Biscuits:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup lard (or cold unsalted butter, cubed)
3/4 cup whole milk or buttermilk
For the Chicken Gravy:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper (or more to taste)

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the biscuit dough. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the lard (or cold butter) using a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbles with some pea-sized pieces remaining.
Add the milk. Pour in the milk and stir just until a shaggy dough forms—do not overmix. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat to 3/4-inch thickness.
Cut and bake. Cut biscuits with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake 12–14 minutes until golden on top. Keep warm.
Season and cook the chicken. Toss chicken pieces with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and cook chicken until browned through, about 6–8 minutes. Remove to a plate.
Build the roux. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk constantly for 1–2 minutes until the roux is lightly golden and smells nutty.
Add the liquid slowly. Gradually pour in the chicken broth while whisking, then add the milk in a steady stream, whisking the whole time to prevent lumps. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Season and finish the gravy. Stir in thyme and black pepper. Let the gravy simmer 4–5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened enough to coat a spoon. Return the cooked chicken to the skillet and stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
Serve. Split warm biscuits and ladle the chicken gravy generously over the top. Finish with an extra crack of black pepper.

Nutrition (per serving)

Best Chicken ’n’ Biscuits — The Breakfast That Said Everything Words Couldn’t