Kentucky Bramble Recipes

KENTUCKY BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in the buttermilk. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 2 minutes. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet, roll into a 6x6 inch square, and cut into 12 even sections. Do not separate.
• Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center of the square comes out clean. Separate into biscuits, and serve hot.

THE BRAMBLE

Steps:

• In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake together the first three ingredients and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice (see below), mounded high. Drizzle crème de mûre over the top and garnish with a slice of lemon, two blackberries and a short straw.
• And, to make simple syrup, stir together equal measures of hot water and sugar, cool to room temperature and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

THE BRAMBLE

Steps:

• In a cocktail shaker, add gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Fill with with ice cubes. Cover and shake briefly, about 10 seconds. Uncover and use a strainer to pour the cocktail into a rocks glass. Fill glass to the top with crushed ice. Drizzle blackberry liqueur over the ice, creating a "bramble" effect. Garnish with a lemon wheel and blackberries skewered with a cocktail toothpick. Serve immediately.

THE ULTIMATE BERRY CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Grate in the frozen butter, stopping occasionally to toss the butter into the flour mixture until coated. Drizzle in vanilla extract; add egg yolks. Stir with a fork until egg is mostly absorbed. Add vinegar; mix briefly. Use your hands to finish mixing, squeezing until clumps but mixture remains mostly dry. Add 1 teaspoon vinegar if needed.
• Combine blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries in another bowl. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch. Sprinkle in cayenne pepper. Mix until sugar and cornstarch are mostly dissolved.
• Place about 1/2 of the crumble mixture into the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Press mixture down using a flat cup until well compacted. Spread the berries over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture on top, squeezing some of it into clumps.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is beautifully browned and berry syrup bubbles on the surface, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

BRAMBLE

Steps:

• Shake the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup in a cocktail shaker with a good handful of ice cubes then strain into a rocks glass full of crushed ice. Drizzle the crème de mure over the top so it 'bleeds' into the drink. Garnish with the lemon slice and blackberry, if using.3 TWISTSFresh fruit brambleThis drink is one to make when the hedgerows are groaning with ripe fruit. Start by muddling 6 blackberries in a rocks glass. Add 50ml gin, 25ml lemon juice, 25ml sugar syrup and fill the glass two thirds full with crushed ice. Mix with a long-handled spoon. Top with more crushed ice, a garnish and paper straws.Bramble royaleGo glam with your bramble by adding a splash of champagne to the mix. Just make the drink as normal but reduce the amount of crushed ice by about a third to leave room for the fizz. Then top with 25-50ml of champagne, mix gently, add a bit more crushed ice, garnish and serve.Peach sourThe classic 'sour' formula that the bramble sticks to is easy to adapt by switching out the liqueur. Try 12.5ml of crème de peche instead of crème de mure - it might not look quite as eye-catching as the bloodshot bramble but it will taste just as delicious.

KENTUCKY FARMHOUSE SCRAMBLE

Steps:

• Heat a nonstick 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Add butter and oil and swirl around the pan until melted. Add the country ham and saute until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Turn heat to low. Stir in roasted red peppers and beaten eggs. After the eggs begin to set, stir slowly from edge to edge with a heat-resistant rubber spatula until large curds form. This will take 5 minutes or so. When eggs are still moist and slightly runny, fold in the grated cheese and season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the pan from the heat and serve with fried green tomatoes and buttermilk biscuits with sorghum butter.

KENTUCKY BRAMBLE

Steps:

• To prepare simple syrup: Bring to boil 1 cup sugar, 1 cup of water and a large bunch of mint. Lower temperature and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Cool and store in fridge. Can last for 2 weeks.