Bear Fat is such a versatile ingredient for the kitchen, it is stable, flavorful, and the perfect substitute for butter or shortening. Bears tote a lot of this stuff around in the fall and it is not something that should go to waste. It is easily rendered down and stores well in the fridge.
I like my biscuits flakey, the kind where they readily split in half without a knife. This is achieved by a couple folds in the rolling process, layering the fat and dough. The layers of fat will melt when cooking and leave those classic layers a good biscuit should have.
Bear fat melts really easily, especially in your hands. You’ll want to prevent this all you can by using super cold fat, cold milk, and working fast. An extra step I used is to put the flour in the fridge the night before. Then work fast and make sure to get them right in the oven when you are done cutting them. Or place them in the fridge until the oven is heated.
Makes 4 “cathead” sized biscuits with extra “tails” to cook.
Or makes 8-10 three inch biscuits.
Ingredients
- 3 C All purpose flour
- 1 C Whole Milk
- 1/2 C Cold bear lard
- 1 T Kosher Salt
- 1 T Baking Powder
Step 1
Make sure everything is ready, so not to get the fat any warmer than needed. It is best to have everything cold, and right out of the fridge. Pre-heat your oven to 425*F.
Step 2
Get your cold flour in a bowl, and place the cold fat in and mix it together with your fingers. Break the fat up into smaller pieces with your fingers, but do not over mix them or fully incorporate them.
Step 3
Add the salt, and baking powder and stir up with your hands. Then pour in your cold milk and mix, do not over work, mixing just until the dough is mixed.
Step 4
Dump the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1/2 inch
Step 5
Fold the dough in half and roll out again, repeat this a total of 2 times. Overworking will result in a slightly tough biscuit.
Step 6
Roll the dough out to 3/4 inch thick and cut to desired size.
Step 7
Place on a greased cookie sheet, and place directly in the oven. If the oven is not heated quite yet, place the biscuits in the fridge until it is.
Step 8
Bake the biscuits for 18-20 min. or until they have a golden top.
You can enjoy these biscuits however you like. Whether with a nice sausage patty in the middle, some good jam spread over, or biscuits and gravy.
If you are so inclined you could also use the bear fat to make the roux for the gravy, fry the eggs, or maybe even some hashbrowns. It is a super useful and flavorful fat to have around the kitchen and I encourage you to use it if you harvest a bear. I always try and use all I can from an animal, it is super rewarding and there is so much the harvest has offer if you put in the effort.
The Wild Feast 