Red Lobster might be known for the seafood fare but their extra special bread is what
makes the brand ultra famous.
What makes the Cheddar Bay Biscuits so on-another-level delish?
We dug deep to give you the lowdown.
What's the real magic behind these cheddar biscuits, which didn't officially appear on
the Red Lobster menu until the early '90s?
Red Lobster's head chef back then, Kurt Hankins, replaced the traditional sugar in your standard
biscuit recipe with garlic powder.
Then he added in the cheddar.
It was completely crazy.
But it worked.
"You've done some crazy s--t in the past, but this one takes the biscuit."
The garlic isn't just in the dough, though.
A self-described former Red Lobster employee revealed on Reddit that they also coat the
biscuits with garlic butter.
"Basically, we have a guy whose sole duty is to mix the mix with water, roll the mixture
into little balls, put them on a tray in an oven, take them out, and brush them with garlic
butter."
So just what kind of cheddar does Red Lobster use?
According to a Red Lobster redditor, what Red Lobster calls, quote, "quality-aged Cheddar
cheese" is specifically "medium cheddar."
As the name suggests, medium cheddar is sharper than mild, but not as sharp as longer aged
cheeses like sharp or extra sharp cheddar.
It's not just about taste, though: because it isn't aged as long as sharp cheddar, medium
cheddar melts easier and at a lower temperature, making it perfect for baking in a biscuit.
While "drop" and "roll out" might sound like interchangeable terms for releasing a new
album, they are actually two different techniques for baking biscuits.
Those lighter than air Cheddar Bay Biscuits you devour every time you hit Red Lobster
are dropped, not rolled out.
Beside the airy consistency, dropped biscuits also have that wavy, homemade look, as compared
rounder biscuits like the ones McDnoald's offers.
Part of why the biscuits at Red Lobster are so darn tasty is because they are pretty much
always super fresh and piping hot when they land on your table.
According to the chain, Cheddar Bay Biscuits are mixed by hand and
going into the oven every 15 to 20 minutes.
Red Lobster says that means that across the country they're cranking out about a million
biscuits a day!
Looks like the only real guarantees in life are death, taxes and fresh Cheddar Bay Biscuits
during operating hours at your local Red Lobster.
The brushed on garlic butter definitely gives the Cheddar Bay Biscuits their zing.
But they're also delicious without it.
In fact, if you're watching your fat and salt intake, eating them without the garlic butter
might be your best bet.
A supposed current Red Lobster worker reported to Quora that he enjoys them just as much
without the added garlic butter.
He wrote,
"My favorite way to eat a biscuit is right from the oven without any garlic topping,
and you can have them this way too.
If you're concerned about the salt and fat content, just ask your server if you can have
your biscuits without the garlic bread topping.
You'll get the very next batch out of the oven, still steaming and almost too hot to
eat."
We hate to break it to you, but there is no such thing as Cheddar Bay.
It's not real.
The closest you're likely to get in the real world is maybe Lambeau Field.
However, Cheddar Bay" is a great marketing tactic.
Until 1993, Red Lobster simply offered Cheese Garlic Bread.
But then-head chef Kurt Hankins said the new name was
"...created to bring the biscuits to life, embody the seaside theme, and emphasize that
these are not your typical biscuits."
Amen to that!
Part of what Cheddar Bay Biscuits so good is that you can only get them at Red Lobster.
But you can come pretty darn close at home, as the restaurant has begun selling boxed
baking mixes with the Cheddar Bay label, which you can buy in stores, or online.
"Oh good news, your biscuits arrived.
'Ey?"
It's not quite the same, though.
You have to add your own butter and cheese, for instance, and figuring out the exact type
of butter and cheese Red Lobster uses is basically impossible.
Still, they do include a pouch of their signature "Garlic Herb Blend" to add to the butter supplied
by you.
Is it the same?
No.
But any Cheddar Bay Biscuit is a lot better than none at all.
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