History

The cathead biscuit takes its name from its size, allegedly as big as a cat's head. Scots-Irish settlers brought the biscuit tradition to the Western North Carolina mountains in the 1800s; Asheville's modern revival starts at Biscuit Head, opened by Jason and Carolyn Roy on Haywood Road in 2013, with a jam bar of house preserves, hot honeys and fruit butters as the defining innovation. Sunny Point Café's biscuit-and-gravy version anchors the West Asheville brunch crawl; Tupelo Honey on College Street downtown serves the touristy-but-canonical fried-chicken-biscuit format. Country ham, sausage gravy, sweet potato butter and apple butter are the four classic toppings.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 20 minTotal 35 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g self-rising soft-wheat flour (White Lily if you can get it)
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 120g cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 60g cold lard or shortening, cubed
  • 360ml cold buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp melted butter for brushing
  • Country ham slices, sausage gravy, sorghum syrup or jam to serve

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 230C/450F. Line a heavy baking tray with parchment.
  2. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a wide bowl.
  3. Cut the cold butter and lard into the flour with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal with pea-size pieces.
  4. Pour the cold buttermilk in and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined; the dough should be shaggy and sticky, not smooth.
  5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, pat to a 3 cm thick round, fold over twice, then pat back to 3 cm.
  6. Cut six 9 cm rounds with a sharp biscuit cutter; do not twist or the rise stalls. Place close together on the tray.
  7. Brush with melted butter and bake 12 to 15 minutes until tall, golden and the bottoms snap when tapped.

Tip from the editors. Cold ingredients are the whole game. If your butter softens between the bowl and the oven, chill the dough 10 minutes before baking, or you lose the rise.

Where to eat cathead biscuit and gravy

Cathead biscuit and gravy in Asheville

Biscuit Head ★ 4.5

$$ $12-18BrunchCathead biscuit jam barWest Asheville

Biscuit Head's Haywood Road brunch in West Asheville pairs cathead biscuits with a jam bar of house preserves, hot honeys and fruit butters.

OrderThe Mimosa Fried Chicken biscuit (sweet potato butter, sriracha slaw, poached egg) with a jam-bar plate.

TipWalk-in only. Arrive before 09:30 weekends to beat the line. Order at the counter, snag a patio table.

Directions

Sunny Point Café ★ 4.6

$$ $14-22BrunchUpscale comfort, breakfast and lunchWest Asheville

Sunny Point Café on Haywood Road in West Asheville has run upscale Southern comfort breakfast and lunch since 2003. Recommended in the Michelin Guide 2025;.

OrderHuevos rancheros, or the buttermilk biscuit with sausage gravy.

TipOn-site production garden feeds the daily specials. Weekend waits 60-90 minutes; the patio takes the queue first.

Directions

Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen and Bar ★ 4.2

$$ $14-24BrunchSouthern brunch, all-dayDowntown

Tupelo Honey on College Street in downtown Asheville opened in 2000 as an eclectic Southern brunch room. The flagship original of the regional chain.

OrderThe fried chicken biscuit, plus the sweet potato pancakes.

TipReservations are essential for weekend brunch; walk-in waits run 60-90 minutes after 10:00.

Directions

Early Girl Eatery ★ 4.5

$$ $14-22BrunchSouthern farm-to-table breakfast and brunchDowntown

Early Girl Eatery on Wall Street in downtown Asheville opened in 2001 as the Southern farm-to-table breakfast benchmark, walk-in only daily until 15:00.

OrderSweet potato hash with two eggs and a side of stone-ground grits.

TipWalk-in only. Arrive at 08:00 or after 14:00 to skip the weekend queue.

Directions

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