The Real Reason Cracker Barrel Biscuits Are So Good
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In a world of get-up-and-go fast-food grease joints and cheap, sometimes unfulfilling, burgers and fries, there comes a time when you just want to sit down in a place that isn't the stuffy interior of your car and enjoy an old-fashioned, home-cooked meal. In a world of clowns, kings, red-haired girls, and jack-in-the-boxes, Cracker Barrel offers customers a place of rustic charm and hot homemade meals. From the lattice interior walls festooned with turn-of-the-century farm tools and Coca-Cola advertisements to the modest general-store styled lobby selling boxes of candy and Christmas ornaments, to those little wooden peg games at almost every table, Cracker Barrels feels worlds away from the modern high-paced empire of quick, easy, flash-fried foods.
Yet, just as the Colonel has his 11 herbs and spices and Burger King has the Whopper, Cracker Barrel also boasts its own trademark delicacy. Something so small, yet so temptingly delicious that guests consume more than 300 million of them annually (via Cracker Barrel) and 825,000 of them are pulled from steaming hot ovens each day, ready to be slathered in jellies and savory apple butter. We are talking, of course, about that old classic Southern staple: the buttermilk biscuits.
What makes CB biscuits so good?
When one hears fast-food style biscuits, some reactions may be that they will be served a tough, flavorless, hard piece of dough that they are better off eating the plate it is served on. At Cracker Barrel, those fears can be left by the doorstep.
At 650 locations in the United States, Cracker Barrel crafts each buttery flaky biscuit by hand, with their only tools being custom-made biscuit cutters and rolling pins developed at the restaurant chain many years ago. Such is the dedication to the humble biscuit that there is even a designated "biscuit oven" in each Cracker Barrel kitchen. "We're rolling, cutting, and putting biscuits in the oven every 15-20 minutes, so they're always coming out fresh," noted Cammie Spillyards-Schaefer, Cracker Barrel's Vice President of Culinary and Menu Strategy (via Today). No worry about getting a soggy lump of biscuit pulled from a microwave here, folks. But perhaps the best part about these little doughy guys is that they are unlimited and free. Well, free with purchase, so do not just sit down at a table and demand free biscuits like an animal, just order some country fried steak and take your time eating.
But, just how good are these biscuits? "All of our food is made fresh. Biscuits are made from scratch, along with cornbread. All of our food comes off of a truck and then made-to-order," Reddit user Sanguine, an employee at one of the top 10 Cracker Barrels (allegedly), stated in response to a comment.
People all over like CB Biscuits
Of course, if such an enormous amount of Cracker Barrel biscuits are made each day, surely there has to be a good deal of people who enjoy a nice, piping hot biscuit, right? As it appears, many people see the humble biscuits as under-represented and, in a particularly colorful remark, "absolutely divine" when served with Cracker Barrel's sweet apple butter (via NeoGAF).
Cracker Barrel biscuits are so popular that you can actually purchase officially licensed biscuit and dumpling mix on Amazon, with 65% of those who purchased it giving five stars and rave reviews.
"I wish Amazon had automatic monthly purchases for this," lamented one Amazon customer. "I love this stuff so much, I use it for more than dumplings and biscuits."
"Every bit as good as the restaurant biscuits!" raved one anonymous Amazon user. "Super easy to make (just add water!) and they are better than any biscuits I've ever made!!"
"What can be wrong with cracker barrel biscuits?" stated customer Joan Ellis Devine on her purchase of the dumpling mix.
In a world where everything is fast, from the food to the service that you get, perhaps the reason why Cracker Barrel fans love their biscuits so much is that for a brief moment they can sit down and enjoy a simple, fresh, warm, flaky biscuit with friends and family.