Colonel Bill Newsom's Bacon Biscuits

Yes, I was a member of The Bacon of the Month Club. I have a t-shirt and everything. The Christmas gift of my year-long membership to this club was one of the sweetest most thoughtful gifts ever (from Marsha in 2005). Once a month, for the next twelve months, a special package would arrive with bacon from a different private farm that raised healthy pigs and used its own time-tested curing technique. This was no hormone-and-water-injected Hormel nonsense. This was the real deal! It was the gift that kept on giving (until the 12 months were up and it stopped giving).

Each month's bacon came with a recipe card, complete with a suggested wine pairing. Colonel Bill Newsom's Bacon came with this recipe:

--4 oz Thick-cut Smoky Bacon, small dice
--Preserved Bacon Drippings
--2 cups all-purpose Flour
--1 cup Buttermilk
--4 oz Butter, small dice
--1 tsp dry active Yeast
--1/2 tsp Sugar
--1 tbsp Salt
--1/2 tsp Baking Powder
--1/4 tsp Baking Soda
--2 oz cold Water
--1 tsp Black Pepper

Slow-cook the bacon on medium heat until the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel and preserve the drippings.

Sift the flour, sugar, salt, black pepper, yeast, baking powder and baking soda into a large mixing bowl. Add the diced butter, cold water, buttermilk, bacon, and bacon drippings. Mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise - about 45 minutes to an hour.

Once dough has risen, turn out onto a floured work surface. Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees. Dust dough with flour and roll out to a thickness of 1/2-inch. Cut out rounds (1-inch to 2-inch) and arrange on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.