Just 90 minutes southwest of Houston, beneath sprawling live oaks and surrounded by 5,500 acres of prairie, Spread Oaks Ranch in Markham, Texas, offers the sort of place that feels far away and remarkably familiar at the same time. There are early mornings outdoors, long tables set for memorable meals and a particular kind of hospitality Southerners tend to recognize immediately.
There is history here, too—dating back to the earliest days of Texas settlement. Portions of what is now Spread Oaks were originally granted to Hosea H. League and John Crier, two members of Stephen F. Austin’s famed “Old Three Hundred,” the colonists who settled his Texas colony in the 1820s. A deed to ranch land bearing Austin’s signature survives as part of that remarkable history.
Today, owners Forrest and Audrey Wylie have brought those historic tracts together as Spread Oaks Ranch, where conservation, agriculture, sporting traditions and hospitality converge. Guests come for waterfowl and upland hunting, fishing and retreats, but the lodge’s culinary experience is an equally compelling reason to make the trip.
At the Ranch Table
Chef Ric Rosser is a Texas native, lifelong outdoorsman and formally trained chef whose approach to cooking seems particularly suited to this patch of Texas. I first met Rosser and his wife, Becky, at a Garden & Gun gathering during Charleston’s Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE), where our conversation made its way from the sporting life to Spread Oaks—and, as good Southern conversations often do, to food.
A graduate of the Art Institute of Houston, Rosser spent years in the restaurant and hospitality industry before arriving at Spread Oaks in 2019. Here, his pantry extends considerably beyond the kitchen walls.
The ranch raises Angus beef, Katahdin lamb, chickens and ducks; vegetables and herbs are grown on the property; wild dewberries, elderberries and mustang grapes become jams and preserves; and Rosser cures meats and makes sausages in-house. His cooking follows the seasons and the landscape—a decidedly Texas expression of the farm- and field-to-table philosophy.
And then there are the biscuits.
Memphis hardly needs to travel to Texas for an introduction to a good Southern biscuit. But we are always willing to compare notes—particularly when someone is willing to share the recipe.
At Spread Oaks, Rosser’s buttermilk biscuits arrive warm and flaky, brushed with butter and served with honey harvested from the ranch’s own hives. They have become a lodge favorite and, at this time of year, seem especially at home on a Thanksgiving table.
So, consider this a little culinary reconnaissance from Texas: Chef Rosser has graciously shared his recipe with River City Lifestyle readers.
Make a batch at home this Thanksgiving and judge for yourself. Or file the recipe away as advance research for a future trip to Spread Oaks, where you can taste the original beneath the live oaks.
Chef Ric Rosser’s Buttermilk Biscuits
INGREDIENTS:
- 7 cups all-purpose flour or “00” flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ½ [VERIFY UNIT] cold butter, grated
- 3 ½ cups buttermilk
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Mix on low until well combined.
- With the mixer on low, add the grated cold butter. Watch as the butter flakes become coated with flour. You want the butter to maintain some structure, so do not overmix.
- Add the buttermilk and mix slowly until a “shaggy dough” forms. Let the mixture just come together.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly roll into a rectangle. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Remove dough from refrigerator, fold into thirds (as you would Danish dough) and roll into a rectangle. Refrigerate for another 20 minutes.
- Remove dough from refrigerator, fold into thirds and roll into a rectangle once more.
- Cut biscuits to desired size and bake for 12 minutes.
Note: Trust me on the rolling, folding and resting.