These Delicious Thyme and Black Pepper-Flecked Biscuits Were Contributed…

—Not On Website

Ingredients

1 ½ cups Bob's Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour (about 6 ¾ oz)

1 cup Coarse Grind Cornmeal (about 4 ½ oz)

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 tsp Freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp cold Vegetable Shortening, cut into ½-inch chunks

½ cup cold unsalted Butter, cut into ⅛-inch slices (4 oz)

1 ¼ cups Cold Buttermilk (10 oz)

2 tsp chopped fresh Thyme

2 Tbsp unsalted Butter, melted (1 oz)

Ginger Peach Relish

2 tsp blended Olive and Vegetable Oil

1 Shallot, sliced into small rings

2 Tbsp peeled and minced Fresh Ginger

1 lb fresh Peaches (about 3 medium peaches), finely chopped

½ cup Sugar

½ cup Apple Cider Vinegar (4 oz)

¼ cup Honey

1 Jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced

Sausage

1 lb Ground Pork

4 oz cooked Ham, finely chopped

½ cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

cup soft, fresh Breadcrumbs

2 tsp Sorghum Syrup

1 ½ tsp minced fresh Sage

1 tsp Kosher Salt

¼ tsp Red Pepper Flakes

¼ tsp Ground Coriander

1 Egg, beaten

Erika Council’s Black Pepper-Thyme Cornmeal Biscuits

Ginger Peach Relish

Sausage

Directions

Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Work shortening into the flour mixture by breaking up the chunks with your fingertips until only small pea-size pieces remain. Add in a few slices of chilled butter and coat in flour. Press pieces between well-floured fingertips into flat (nickel-sized) pieces. Repeat until all chilled butter is incorporated.

Freeze flour mixture (in the bowl) until chilled, 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 450°F. Gently stir buttermilk into the flour with a fork. Add thyme. Stir until dough forms a ball and no dry bits of flour remain. (Dough will be sticky and shaggy.) Turn dough out onto a floured surface. With floured hands, pat into a ¼-inch thick 10-inch rectangle. Add more flour if needed to prevent sticking.

Fold dough into thirds using a bench scraper or metal spatula. Lift the short end of the dough and fold in thirds again. Rotate the dough 90°, dusting the work surface underneath with flour. Roll and fold again into a 10-inch square about ½-inch thick.

Cut out 12 biscuits using a 2-inch round floured cutter. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush biscuit tops with melted butter. Bake until the tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and ginger. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the peaches and remaining ingredients. Cook until liquid is reduced and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together pork with remaining ingredients; let stand 15 minutes. Scoop about ¼ cup of the mixture onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet, and shape into a ½-inch-thick patty. Repeat until the mixture is gone. In a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, brown patties in batches until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.

To Assemble:

Split the biscuits. Top the bottom half of the biscuits with sausage patty and relish. Cover with top halves.