This is an excellent method for using a stovetop that I regret not discovering earlier.
Alton Brown’s Pan-Steamed Broccoli
This method produces bright green, incredibly tender broccoli florets (along with their stems!), making it your new favorite way to prepare vegetables. Additionally, adding a pinch of salt and a touch of melted butter elevates the dish, transforming my typical plea-for-rescue approach to cooking broccoli into something delightful (it seems I’ve caught on at last).
I really enjoy eating broccoli; it’s my go-to vegetable, and I consume it nearly daily. However, my typical preparation technique isn’t very fancy—usually just tossing some pre-cut broccoli into a dish and microwaving until it’s practically disintegrated. This leaves me with something far from crisp and vibrant, instead yielding a warm, pungent heap that might require a ghostbusting team à la the classic movie to handle. Still, for those times when I’m whipping up a speedy solo meal, this approach gets the job done.
Luckily, Alton’s technique results in a fine-dining veggie side, with about the same effort as work-from-home sweatpants. It’s 10 minutes total from raw to ready-to-eat. And the dab of butter brings out the slightly peppery, vegetal notes in the broccoli; each bite tender, seasoned with just enough salt, and smelling like comforting home cooking—not, y’know, broccoli.
How to Create Alton Brown’s Ideal Broccoli Recipe
Everything you need includes fresh broccoli, 1/3 cup of water, a small amount of salt, two tablespoons of butter, and a medium saucepan. Strip off the outer layers from the stalks (I learned this recently and found it essential for discarding the tough exterior), then cut away the floret portions using either kitchen scissors or a knife. Chop the stalk pieces into manageable chunks, add them to your pan along with the water and salt, and position the florets above them.
Fasten the lid, bring to high heat for 3 minutes, then reduce the flame to low and continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes. Mix in the butter with the broccoli, and voila: You have perfectly cooked al dente broccoli ready to serve.
Why This Way of Preparing Broccoli Is My Favorite
I genuinely saw an improvement with the famously unpleasant broccoli stalks. (The florets are simple! You might throw them as you would a fresh bridal bouquet, and guests would jostle for the stalk first, eager to dip it into ranch dressing.)
The stalks always assure me that I am enjoying broccoli. However, although Alton’s method keeps the stem’s characteristic form intact, it simultaneously makes the inside wonderfully tender within merely six minutes of cooking. Why? I have no idea. Steaming is magical. It smoothens fabrics, clears skin pores, and restores the freshness to broccoli.
Straight talk: This technique takes 100 times longer compared to my mediocre microwave “steaming” approach, and shaping broccoli heads demands way more work than using pre-cut florets from stores—though only slightly so. Rather than being something I’d avoid serving to my worst foes, following Alton Brown’s broccoli steaming method could actually please even those friends who are least fond of broccoli.
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Alton Brown’s Steam-Cooked Broccoli Recipe
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