This article first appeared in Traverse Northern Michigan. Find this story and more when you explore our magazine library. Want Traverse delivered to your door or inbox monthly? View our print subscription and digital subscription options.
Gilchrist Farm feels like home. Tucked into a blue house on M-22, the Suttons Bay winery and restaurant is intimate, welcoming—a place where friends sit by a crackling fire sharing bites of dark chocolate cake, and a couple cozies up on the couch clinking glasses of bubbly.
That homey comfort is celebrated in our November issue of Traverse Northern Michigan magazine with hearty farm-to-table recipes—from the rich bison gumbo with flaky buttermilk biscuits (find the recipe below), to a shepherd’s pie with golden brown raclette potatoes (you’ll have to buy a copy of the magazine for this one).
Tuck in, and enjoy.
Photo by Tim Hussey
Bison Gumbo and Buttermilk Biscuits
Local Farms: Second Spring, Great Lakes Garlic, Oleson’s Bison
Gumbo
Yields 8-10 servings
- 1 cup peanut oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large green pepper, diced
- 2 large onions, diced
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- Pinch of salt
- 3 quarts stock (we use bison)
- 4 pounds game meat, cut into chunks (we use bison)
- Vinegar-based hot sauce (like Crystal), to taste
- Fresh minced parsley and thinly sliced green onions to garnish
Photo by Tim Hussey
- Combine peanut oil and flour over low heat, stirring regularly; do not let it scorch. Cook until the color has deepened to look like the color of medium-roast coffee (about 45 minutes). This is your dark roux.
- In a separate pot, over medium heat, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Once the pot has warmed up, add in your green pepper, onions, celery, garlic and andouille sausage. Add a good pinch of salt, and cook down until the vegetables are fragrant, softer and more translucent.
- Add in your dark roux and cook down another 10 minutes to meld the flavors.
- Add in the stock, game meat and hot sauce. Cover and let cook down for 2–3 hours, periodically stirring, while maintaining a simmer.
- When ready to serve, sprinkle with fresh minced parsley, thinly sliced green onions, hot sauce and a warm biscuit.
Buttermilk Biscuits
Yields 8-10 biscuits
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1–1 ⅓ cup buttermilk
- Pinch of flaky sea salt
Directions:
- Freeze your sticks of butter until solid, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.
- On the bigger section of a box grater, grate your frozen butter directly into the dry ingredients. Mix/toss well. You must work fast; you don’t want the butter to melt into the flour.
- Add in your buttermilk and mix until desired consistency—a slightly shaggy dough that holds together. You do not want to knead or pack down the dough.
- Once just combined, pour the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and form into a 1- to 2-inch-thick rectangle. Fold the dough onto itself “hamburger style”/along the horizontal center of your rectangle.
- Roll your dough out to the same sized rectangle as before and fold again. Repeat this step a few times, at least three in total, until you’ve reached your desired consistency and lamination.
- Cut out your biscuits using a sharp circular cutter or knife; place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of each biscuit with buttermilk and then sprinkle a pinch of a flaky sea salt like Maldon.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes; enjoy.