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Prep time
15 minutes
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Cook time
1 hour
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Serves
8 servings
Author Notes
A blueberry grunt made with sweet-corn biscuit dough finished with a honey-butter glaze and flakey sea salt. It’s a simple and utterly delicious summer dessert that I like serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I say to make more honey butter than you’ll initially need, and that's so you have extra to drizzle over your portion.
If you’re one of the seemingly few who’s had a grunt before, you can skip over the next few sentences. But, if you’re like me and have no clue what a grunt is or how it differs from a cobbler or a “slump”, then here is what I found after some research. A grunt is essentially the same thing as a slump–which you actually may be more familiar with—but is different from a cobbler because it’s entirely cooked on the stovetop.
To make a grunt (or slump), you cook blueberries, sugar, water, lemon, and whatever other spices you add into a compote on the stovetop, then dollop dough on top and steam them into tender, fluffy, almost cake-like biscuits (similar to when making chicken and dumplings). A cobbler, on the other hand, is baked entirely in the oven and assembled all at once rather than in two steps.
Grunt vs. cobbler definitions aside, after a few failed attempts at a traditional grunt—or what I consider more of an “unaesthetic” attempt—I decided to do a little half and half. For this final version, I cook the blueberries on the stovetop until super soft and jam-like, dollop the corn biscuit dough on top, then bake the whole thing in the oven until the biscuits are perfectly golden. This gives the biscuits more of a crumbly, soft, and true biscuit-like texture which not only I, but the whole test kitchen enjoyed more. The honey butter and flakey sea salt is the cherry on top.
Tips & Tricks
• Don’t use a cast-iron skillet for this recipe unless you're confident the skillet is really well seasoned. This is because cooking with acid (lemon juice, in this case) in cast iron can erode some of the seasoning, which could alter the flavor of the dish, making it taste very metallic. I made this mistake with this recipe and can attest to this!
• If you don’t have buttermilk, use 1 cup whole milk plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Let it sit for a few minutes until it begins to thicken and curdle then stir together.
—Nea Arentzen
Watch This Recipe
Blueberry Grunt with Honey-Glazed Corn Biscuits
Ingredients
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BLUEBERRY FILLING
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6 cups
fresh blueberries
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1/2 cup
(99 grams) granulated sugar
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1 tablespoon
lemon zest (about 1 whole lemon)
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2 tablespoons
lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
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1/8 teaspoon
kosher salt
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2 tablespoons
unsalted butter
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CORN BISCUIT DOUGH
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1 cup
(162 grams) corn kernels (frozen corn is fine)
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1 cup
(227 grams) buttermilk (see tip)
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2 cups
(240 grams) all-purpose flour
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2 teaspoons
baking powder
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1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/2
kosher salt
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6 tablespoons
unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
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HONEY BUTTER
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3 tablespoons
honey
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3 tablespoons
unsalted butter
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A pinch of salt
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Flakey sea salt
Directions
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In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (see tip!!), mix together the blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice, and salt. Add the butter, then set over medium-low heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries are softened and it starts to resemble a compote, 15 to 20 minutes. (Note: If you do not have an ovenproof skillet, you can cook the compote in a pan, then pour into a 9x13-inch ovenproof casserole dish.)
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Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF with a rack in the center position.
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In a large measuring cup, use an immersion blender to puree the corn with the buttermilk until the mixture is somewhat smooth but you still have large pieces of corn.
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In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the cold butter pieces and pinch them into the flour until it resembles coarse sand. Stir in the corn and buttermilk until well combined. Use spoons to dollop it evenly over the blueberry compote, then bake until the biscuits are cooked through and golden on top, 40 to 50 minutes.
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Right before serving, melt the honey, butter, and a pinch of salt together in a small saucepan or microwavable bowl. Brush some of it over the biscuits, then sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Serve the blueberry grunt with vanilla ice cream and the remaining honey butter on the side for drizzling over.
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