Page 276 - Turkey Book from Meathead

accurate results.
About the buttermilk and how to substitute. Most biscuits are made with buttermilk because it is acidic and the acid reacts with the baking soda to create carbon dioxide and that gives the dough “lift,” helping it rise and add airiness and lightness since there is no yeast involved for fermentation. But most of us don't keep buttermilk on hand. To make a cup of buttermilk substitute, pour one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup and top it o with milk until it measures one cup. Stir them together and let them sit for five minutes. Here's another hack: whisk together half a cup of sour cream and half a cup of water. Yet another hack: take 2/3 cup heavy cream and 1/3 cup sour cream and beat them ‘til fluy.
1| Freeze. Toss the butter (in its wrapper) in the freezer an hour or so before cooking. Preheat the oven to 425°F. On a grill, use indirect heat. On a smoker, keep the smoke down.
2| Mix. With a fork, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
3| Divide the butter into a 5 tablespoons chunk and a 3 tablespoons chunk. Keep the paper butter wrapper on the 5 ounce chunk so you can hold it without melting it all over your hands. Roll the paper back and grate the 5 ounce chunk with the large holes on a box grater right into a bowl, then mix in the flour with a fork, a handful at a time, until all the grated butter is coated. This is a brilliant trick that we discovered reading every recipe we could find. So fast and easy.