Farmhouse Bar-B-Que Muffins

These are basically individual BBQ beef cups baked right inside a muffin tin. Refrigerated buttermilk biscuits get flattened and pressed into greased muffin cups to form a dough shell, then filled with seasoned ground beef in a sweet-tangy ketchup sauce and topped with shredded cheese.

The sauce is dead simple: ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and chili powder. The vinegar and sugar balance each other out for a BBQ-style flavor that’s sweet up front with a slight tang on the finish. Mixed into well-drained browned beef, it holds together like a sloppy joe filling but in a tidy, handheld package.

Drain the beef thoroughly after browning. Excess grease pools in the biscuit cups and makes the bottoms soggy instead of golden and flaky.

Kitchen Tips

• Flatten each biscuit to a full 5-inch circle so it covers the bottom and sides of the muffin cup completely. Gaps mean the filling leaks through.
• Don’t overfill the cups. About ¼ cup of meat per muffin is the right amount. Too much and the filling spills over the edges.
• Cool for a full 5 minutes before removing. The biscuit dough needs that time to firm up or they’ll tear apart.

Variations

• Use ground turkey instead of beef for a lighter version.
• Swap shredded cheddar for pepper jack for a spicier kick.
• Add a spoonful of diced pickled jalapeños to the meat mixture before filling.