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Bizcochitos de grasa
Savoury beef fat biscuits
Bizcochitos de grasa: small, flaky savoury biscuits made with beef fat, Argentina's companion to mate
ArgentinianA paper bag of bizcochitos de grasa sits next to the mate gourd in kitchens, offices and roadside service stations across Argentina, from Buenos Aires to the Andes. These little rounds, a couple of bites each, are layered with beef fat, so they flake and crumble, salty and plain enough to eat by the dozen with bitter mate in the afternoon. The fat is rendered beef fat (grasa vacuna), so they are not vegetarian; ask your butcher for dripping or render suet yourself. A dough worked too warm is the mistake that robs them of their layers; the fat melts into it instead of staying in sheets. Chef's tip: chill the dough for 10 minutes between folds whenever it starts to feel greasy, and prick each round right through so it puffs in flakes rather than domes.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ⅛ lb plain flour
- ⅛ oz dried yeast
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 ⅝ oz beef drippingsoft, at room temperature
- 1 cup warm water
For the layering
- 2 ⅝ oz beef drippingsoft
- 2 tbsp plain flour
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, ⅛ oz dried yeast and 2 tsp salt in a bowl. Add 2 ⅝ oz beef dripping and 1 cup warm water and knead for 8 minutes into a smooth, firm dough. Cover and leave in a warm place until slightly puffy.
30 minStep 2: Beat 2 ⅝ oz beef dripping with 2 tbsp plain flour into a smooth paste.
Step 3: Roll the dough into a rectangle about 5 mm thick. Spread the fat paste over two-thirds of it, fold the bare third over, then fold again like a letter.
Step 4: Turn the dough 90°, roll out again to 5 mm and fold in three. Repeat once more, chilling for 10 minutes whenever the fat starts to feel soft.
Step 5: Heat the oven to 400°F. Roll the dough to 1 cm thick and cut 4 cm rounds. Set on lined trays and prick each one right through with a fork.
Step 6: Leave the rounds to rest for 15 minutes so they relax and puff slightly.
15 minStep 7: Bake until the tops are pale gold and the bases lightly browned; they should sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a rack before storing in an airtight tin.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bizcochitos de grasa take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
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