The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

(Nandana) #1

skillet—just enough to cover the bacon. If you blast the
heat, the water quickly evaporates, all the while heating the
bacon and getting the rendering process started. By the time
the water is gone, enough fat will have melted out (though I
like to add a bit of vegetable or olive oil as extra insurance)
that the bacon should be able to finish cooking quickly and
evenly, crisping up far better than it would on its own.
Once you’ve got your supply of rendered pork fat, it’s
time to cook the sprouts themselves. If you’re doing an
unusually large amount, you can always jack up the oven to
maximum temperature, toss the sprouts with the pork fat,
and roast them until charred (oven-sear them, if you will).
By splitting the sprouts in half, you increase their surface
area and also give them a stable surface to sit upon while
searing. This helps maximize the delicious charring that
gives sprouts the nuttiness and charm that makes them
worth eating.

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