Why are junk foods so popular, so hard to resist, even when we know how bad they are for us? In a lot of cases, it comes down to one word:

Crunch.

After all, potato chips and nachos and crackers and Cheez Doodles and all those other salty snacks you can’t eat just one of all have something in common, and that’s crispiness. Compare that to boiled broccoli or steamed squash or any other mushy vegetable your mom used to force you to eat, and it’s no wonder the fried foods win out. So instead of trying to convince you that steamed Brussels sprouts are delicious, I’m going to show you how to make healthy foods tastier, sexier . . . and yes, crunchier.

I am as serious about food presentation as I am about the actual preparation. There is such a big difference between mushy, warmed-up Brussels sprouts and sprouts that are perfectly crisped and charred. There is a difference between an overcooked steak and one that melts in your mouth and still has those beautiful #hashmarks.

This chapter will teach you to turn ordinary meats and vegetables into something that tastes like it came straight from Bobby Flay’s kitchen.

Why We Crave the Crunch

When man first tamed fire, it meant he could now cook and eat the meat from the animals he hunted. (Before we learned to cook our food, all we could eat were the gross soft bits like innards, eyes, and brains!) And he could eat a wider variety of vegetation as well, since fire could break up the thick, fibrous parts of otherwise inedible foods like squash. Suddenly, an enormous amount of nutrition became available to us. So it’s no wonder we’re driven to seek out crunchy foods; when we bite into something crisp, our ancient brains are triggered to anticipate a nutritious feast (instead of just “Ugh, liver again!”).

Scientists claim that we like crunchy foods because they enhance the sensory experience of eating. A piece of meat blackened on the grill simply smells richer than one from the oven. And crispy foods not only stimulate our senses of taste and smell; they also feel more interesting in our mouths.

And don’t forget that beyond taste, smell, and feel, there’s another sense that’s stimulated by food: sound. Sizzle, pop, crunch. It’s just more interesting than the slurp of soup, no? Scientists have recently discovered proteins that influence both our sense of taste and our hearing, and speculate that certain foods excite our brains by stimulating both senses simultaneously.

From Roasting to Boasting

Scientists call it the Maillard effect: It’s what happens when the proteins and carbohydrates in our food react to intense heat to turn brown on the outside and release their full flavor and aroma. So consider these tips the keys to maximum Maillard:

RULE #1: Get your food warm before you get it hot.

Few things make me as sad as watching someone pull a gorgeous steak out of the fridge and flop it onto a grill.

Food wasn’t meant to be cooked cold. In the refrigerator, the fibers of the food tighten up. When you put cold food onto a hot grill, the fibers expand as the food is cooking, meaning that parts of the food cook more than other parts. You also have to wait for the grill, oven, or pan to heat the whole piece of meat through, so in turn you overcook the outside, making it tough and dry.

This is especially important with protein. People tell me my steak is one of the top five steaks they have ever had. It’s not because I use some special seasoning or unhealthy add-in, it is because I leave my steaks on the counter for at least an hour before I cook them. Your protein is the most important thing to warm up because it is normally very dense and thick compared to a vegetable.

RULE #2: Blot.

Water is the enemy of crispiness. Whether you’re pan-frying chicken, grilling steak, or sautéing vegetables, wetness on the surface of the food will keep the exterior from browning up. If you are roasting or sautéing something, the water needs to cook off before your food can caramelize, brown, and develop intense flavors. Some foods, such as onions or mushrooms, need to be given time to dry after they’re cut; others, such as a whole chicken, can be blotted; and shredded foods can be squeezed out.

RULE #3: Give it some space.

You are not making a casserole here, you are trying to capture that brown, caramel exterior. To do that, you want heat to circulate around your food evenly. If your food is all on top of itself, it will not brown the way you want it to.

I use multiple pans or trays to make sure all the food has contact with the cooking surface. Food cooks faster when it is touching the highest point of heat. I know, sometimes it’s tempting to squeeze everything into one pan or oven rack to save cleanup on the back end. But there’s a golden rule of doing dishes: the more delicious the meal, the less painful the cleanup. (Well, at least I wish that were the case!)

RULE #4: Be patient.

By “patient,” I don’t mean low and slow, either. I mean turn that damn timer off and use your eyes and cooking utensils to see when things are ready. If you are roasting or grilling something, check to see if you are getting char marks; meat won’t even come off the pan or grill until it has browned. If your meat sticks and gets messed, that’s okay.

Now, I know a lot of times people worry about leaving their protein undercooked, so here are some food-safety tips to make sure you’re in the clear:

Steak: Don’t cut into it! You’ll lose the essential juiciness. Instead, using your tongs, poke the meat right in the middle, on the top. If it is very squishy, it is not done. If it is very firm, it’s overcooked. You want it to be a little soft in the middle for medium-well and a little soft from edge to edge for medium-rare.

Pork and Chicken: They need to be cooked through, but they should not be totally firm, or the cuts will be very dry and overdone. You want something that squishes just a little when you poke it with your utensil.

Fish: I like to wrap fish in aluminum foil and make an enclosed package with it to keep the moisture in and eliminate the challenge of having to flip it. When you see white start to push out of the fish, it is almost overdone. That is the only visual aid I know. A fish is done perfectly when it’s no longer opaque in the middle.

People are always blown away when I don’t set a timer for anything I am cooking. I am sure you too have been there when you are cooking a recipe according to what’s stated in the directions, but when that time is up, you’re convinced that it’s not done. Well, you’re right. Trust your instincts!

There are too many variables that go into cooking for you not to be patient and wait for the food to be what you want it to be. That recipe might not be accurate: Who knows what temperature the food was when it went into the pan or oven or on the grill? Who knows how your cooking appliance puts off heat, or what kind of pan you are using, or if you are the type who keeps opening the oven to “check on dinner”? These are all variables that never make it into the cookbooks. So, in the recipe section of this book, I have given you estimated cooking times, but they are just suggestions. Only you can determine when something is “done.”

HOW TO PREPARE ANY VEGETABLE

THE VEGGIE	THE TIME	THE METHOD
ZUCCHINI OR SUMMER SQUASH	6 to 8 minutes each side	Grill	Don’t try to cut your squash into little circles or they’ll all wind up as little charcoal hockey pucks at the bottom of the grate. Cut them lengthwise, about ¼ inch thick.
ONIONS	12 to 15 minutes each side	Grill or sauté	Another vegetable that’s famous for turning into burnt offerings at the bottom of the grill. Instead, peel the onion, slice it into ¼-inch-thick pieces, and skewer them together with toothpicks. Grill for 3 to 5 minutes and then flip them over. If you want the onion to really caramelize, cook it at a lower temperature for at least 30 minutes.
EGGPLANT	6 to 8 minutes each side	Grill	Eggplant is a very dry vegetable, so make sure you rub it with olive oil or avocado oil first.
CARROTS	40 to 60 minutes	Roast	If the carrots are thick, cut them in half lengthwise. Try spicing them up with some Middle Eastern spices like cumin or coriander, as well as salt and pepper. I have always found carrots to take a long time to caramelize and brown. I roast them for up to 1 hour.
BROCCOLI OR CAULIFLOWER	10 to 15 minutes	Roast	Roasting these vegetables offers so much potential for extra crunch because of all the edges on them!
ASPARAGUS	15 to 20 minutes	Grill	Make sure you line up the asparagus perpendicular to the grill grates so they don’t slip through. Did I really need to say that?!
BELL PEPPERS	8 to 10 minutes	Grill	Cut the pepper so there is as much surface as possible touching the grill. Remove the seeds and stems. I usually end up with about four chunks per pepper.

General Guideline Temperatures for Each Preparation Technique: Grill: 350–400°F • Oven: 375–425°F • Pan: Low to medium