Sage-Brown-Butter Biscuits & Seasonal Jam

Directions

• JAM
• Melt 1 tsp butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.
• Stir in the diced fruit allowing it to sizzle in the butter for 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
• Taste the fruit for sweetness. If it is very tart, add up to 1/4 cup sugar. Depending on the ripeness and variety, some fruits like pears or blueberries may be sweet enough on their own.
• Allow the fruit to simmer on very low heat on a back burner, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve the biscuits (approx. 30-40 minutes).
• SAGE-BROWN-BUTTER
• Melt the remaining butter over medium heat in a large, light-colored skillet (steel or aluminum work best). The light color allows us to see the butter as it browns to prevent burning.
• Once the butter is melted, add the chopped sage and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes. The butter will become very fragrant and foamy. You will see tiny granules of pale-yellow milk solids scooting across the bottom of the skillet. When they turn light brown, immediately remove the skillet from the heat. Don’t let the butter burn. It will taste bitter and you will have to start over.
• Pour the butter into a shallow bowl to cool. Stir in salt and honey while the butter is still liquid.
• Rinse the skillet with cold water to cool it down. Metal is an excellent conductor and will help the butter cool much faster. Once the browned butter is cool enough to touch, pour it back into the cooled skillet and place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Use a spatula to intermittently reincorporate the sage and milk solids. They will settle as the butter cools.
• When the butter becomes semi-firm, scrape it out onto parchment paper (or saved butter wrappers). Roughly shape into logs, re-wrap, and freeze until solid (another 5-10 minutes).
• BISCUITS
• Preheat the oven to 400º F. While the brown butter is in the freezer, dump the flour, baking powder, and salt onto a large cutting board or work surface and gently toss together with your hands. You can also use a large bowl. Measure out the milk in a separate cup or bowl. Add the lemon juice and stir.
• Remove the solid butter from the freezer. Set aside 1/4 cup for serving the biscuits.
• Chop the rest of the cold butter into 1/2-inch pieces and toss into the flour mixture, fully coating each piece of butter. Use your thumb and forefingers to smash the butter into flat discs, intermittently re-tossing them in the flour to keep everything coated. Continue smashing and tossing until all the butter is broken into flat, 1/2” wide shards.
• Add the milk mixture to the flour/butter, a few Tbsp at a time, lightly tossing between each addition. Eventually the dough will resemble damp sand with chunks of butter in it.
• Use your hands to press the dough together into a rough, shaggy mass. If you were using a bowl, dump the dough out onto a floured work surface and flatten the mass to about 1 inch thick. Fold it in half and flatten again, repeating this process 2-3 more times until there is very little dry flour or loose bits of dough. It will still be pretty scraggly looking and that is ok.
• Roughly shape the dough into a 1-inch thick square. Cut the square into four equal parts. Stack the parts into a small tower and smash them back down into a flat rectangle similar to the original shape. See image above, left. Repeat this step 4 times. The more you do it the more flaky layers our biscuits will have!
• Shape the dough into a final rectangle, approximately 1-inch tall and about 4-inches across by 6-inches wide. Cut the rectangle into six evenly shaped 2-inch by 2-inch squares.
• Place the cut biscuits on a sheet pan and brush with the beaten egg. Bake at 400° F for twenty (20) minutes. At both the ten- and fifteen-minute marks, take the biscuits out to apply another coating of egg wash. This will ensure a shiny, brown crust on the top.
• Remove the finished biscuits from the oven and serve with fresh jam and the reserved sage-brown-butter. Brush the tops with some of the reserved butter for an extra-indulgent treat. Cheers!