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How to Make Biscuits Without an Oven (Two Simple Methods)

How to Make Biscuits Without an Oven (Two Simple Methods)

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One thing that nobody really anticipates happening is having his or her oven stop working or be out of commission for a period of time. Whether your oven needs repairs or you simply just need to fix something inside of it, there will come a time when you cannot use your oven.

What this means is that you will eventually have to figure out how to cook your favorite foods without using said oven.

While many foods have a clear alternative that you can go to, there are many foods that do not. Take biscuits, for example. Do you cook them in the microwave or can you manage with a skillet? Does the skillet have to be covered or do you have to leave it to the open air?

The truth is that there are actually a couple of different ways that you can go about cooking your biscuits when you are left without an oven.

Which option works for you will depend entirely on what kind of biscuits you are making, what pots and pans you have, and what you are most comfortable doing.

How Much Do Different Biscuits Matter?

Making biscuit batter

Of course, many people know that there are several different types of biscuits out there. There are the biscuits that come in a can and you simply separate the dough. There are biscuits that you make entirely from scratch and then there are the biscuits that are a mix of both, often utilizing a premade biscuit mix.

You might begin to wonder how much this will matter in terms of cooking the biscuits. The truth is that it doesn’t really make that big of a difference. The texture and taste will be slightly different but this is to be expected when you are cooking the biscuits in something that is not an oven.

Is One Method Better Than the Others?

Try to never use a microwave to cook biscuits

Unfortunately, there really isn’t a clear-cut answer of one method being significantly better than all of the others. The only thing that you should keep in mind is that utilizing the microwave is the worst option that you can choose.

The microwave will not smoothly or evenly cook the biscuits and the biscuits will become too hard to eat, meaning that you cannot make multiple biscuits in the microwave even if you wanted to.

Method One: Baking in a Cast Iron Pan

Cooking biscuits in cast iron pan

This method is one of the most efficient methods that you can choose, assuming that you have a cast iron pan to use. Generally it will take about 20 minutes to properly cook all of the biscuits.

You are only going to need something to grease the bottom of the pan with and something to completely cover the pan with. You won’t need a lot of extra materials.

First things first; you will want to grease the pan and any sides that the biscuits might touch. This ensures that the biscuits aren’t going to completely burn and it also makes sure that the biscuits will be easier to get out of the pan when you are done baking them.

Once you have done this, you will want to preheat the pan over a medium-high flame. You will want to wait for a little bit of time to make sure that the pan is thoroughly heated up by the time you are ready to put the biscuits into the pan.

Keep in mind that the pan and its sides are going to be quite hot when it comes time to put the biscuits in.

Speaking of putting the biscuits in the pan, you will want to place them in the bottom of the pan and you will need to be very careful not to burn your arm on the edges of the pan. You won’t have to be too worried about the biscuits sticking together, although if you are worried, you can always spread them apart a little bit first.

Next, you will want to place something on top of the cast iron pan to completely cover it up. This could be the lid designed for the pan or it could be a sheet of tinfoil. What matters is making sure that whatever you place on top of it can handle the heat and can make a good seal.

Now that everything is ready to go, you will want to place a timer for 20 minutes. As much as you might want to peek at the pan, you this would be a bad decision.

Peeking at the pan would release the heat from the makeshift seal, preventing the tops of the biscuits from fully browning.

However, once those 20 minutes are up, you will have fully cooked, somewhat fluffy biscuits that you can enjoy. When it comes to the oven-less methods, using a cast iron pan and a cover is thought to result in the tastiest biscuits since it can disperse the heat evenly.

Method Two: Pan-Frying the Biscuits

Pan frying or deep frying biscuits

This method employs similar ideas to the cast iron pot method; however, rather than cooking with a closed lid, you pan-fry the biscuits in butter or a similar substitute. These will end up being crispier on the outside while still retaining that soft texture on the inside that many people like.

With this, you will want to coat a skillet in butter or oil — your choice which one you choose — and you will want to turn the heat of the stove to a medium-low. The lower temperature is to ensure that the outside doesn’t burn before the inside has finished cooking fully.

Take some two-inch mounds of biscuit dough, either from a can or homemade, and put them in the pre-heated oil or butter. You can flatten them with a spatula to be half an inch high but you shouldn’t make them any flatter than this.

At this heat, it should take approximately 10 minutes before the outside turns the classic golden-brown color of biscuits. When it reaches this color, you should flip them around and let the underside cook thoroughly, which should be a similar 10 minutes.

Once the full 20 minutes have passed, you should have some beautiful biscuits for you and your family to eat while you wait for your oven to become functional again.

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