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Saute Brussels Sprouts
Wash and drain 1 pound of sprouts; put them into boiling water for fifteen minutes, with 1/2 an ounce of salt to each gallon, and when done, dry them on a clean cloth. Dissolve 1/2 an ounce of butter in a pan, and shake the sprouts in it over the fire for a minute or two; season them with pepper, salt, and a little nutmeg, and serve very hot. Sprouts about the size of a walnut have the most delicate flavor. Sufficient for two or three persons.
A two-stage method — blanch, then finish in butter — that still gives the best texture, provided the first stage is cut short. The hinge is drying the sprouts thoroughly before they hit the fat, or they steam instead of browning.
- Cut the boiling timeFifteen minutes in boiling water will leave 1-inch sprouts grey and sulphurous. Five to seven minutes, until a knife slips into the base with slight resistance, is enough; they finish cooking in the butter.
- Trim and scorePull off any loose outer leaves and trim the stem flush. A shallow cross cut in the base helps the dense core cook at the same rate as the leaves, which matters more at short boiling times.
- The salt ratioHalf an ounce of salt to a gallon is roughly 2 1/2 teaspoons to 4 quarts — lighter than vegetable water is often salted today. Use a tablespoon per gallon if you want the sprouts seasoned through.
- Half an ounce of butterThat is 1 tablespoon, enough to gloss a pound of sprouts but not to brown them. Two tablespoons, or butter with a little oil, gives colour on the cut faces.
- Dry them properlyThe cloth is not fussiness. Surface water drops the pan temperature and the sprouts will sit and sweat rather than take on any caramelisation.
- A minute or two is shortIf you want browned edges rather than simply hot buttered sprouts, halve them, lay them cut side down in the pan and give them three or four minutes before shaking.
- NutmegGrate it fresh and use very little — the pre-ground kind reads as musty against cabbage flavours. A grating over the pan at the end is the intended proportion.
- YieldA pound serving two or three is generous by modern standards; treat it as three to four side portions.