Not Your Momma's Glazed Carrots

I cannot express what a fan of Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen I am.  They appeal to both halves of my brain, I think. I absolutely love the way they intellectually pick apart each recipe logically and then reconstruct it with the passion of true food artists.  I cannot recommend highly enough "The New Best Recipe" Cookbook as a general cookbook either. I replaced my old Better Homes & Gardens general cookbook (wedding gift) that was literally falling apart with the NBR from Cook's Illustrated and now I keep wondering why I didn't break open my wallet years ago. I enjoy reading it just for the sake of reading all the comparisons and background on their recipe testing and there hasn't been a recipe I've used so far that I haven't said "Wow, that really IS the best."

I had a wild craving for glazed carrots the other day which surprised me because as a child I loved my mother's glazed carrots but when I made them years later as an adult they seemed like squishy orange yuck drowned in maple syrup. Don't get me wrong. My mom was a fantastic cook. It's just that everyone used to make glazed carrots basically the same way: cook the carrots and add butter and brown sugar.  Fini.   

Not good enough.

Along came Cook's Illustrated to the rescue.  Their search for the perfect recipe included:

"Chicken broth as a cooking liquid lent the carrots savory backbone and a full, round flavor, whearas water left them hollow and wine turned them sour and astringent. We tried swapping the sugar for more compelling sweeteners but found brown sugar too muddy-flavored, maple syrup too assertive, and honey too floral...  We moved on to finessing the glaze..."

Yes, they did.  The cookbook contains the original, straightforward "Glazed Carrots" recipe but I went a leap forward to one of their two variations on that theme and made the "Glazed carrots with Bacon and Pecans"  (which does have brown sugar in it, by the way,  they found it to work best with the bacon and nuts) substituting walnuts for pecans just because I felt like it.

They are absolutely right. This recipe has lots of savory backbone, full round flavor, and just enough sweet to make your mouth water and keep your fork digging in for more.  This recipe will definitely be on my hit list parade of veggies. 

Also seasoned with thyme, this recipe is my addition to Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen's wonderful Weekend Herb Blogging event, this week hosted by Ed of Tomato. Check out his blog and his round up later in the week.

Glazed Carrots with Bacon and Pecans

from The New Best Recipe from the Editors of Cook's Illustrated

3 slices bacon, crumbled

1/3 cup pecans, chopped

1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced on the bias

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp light brown sugar

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 tsps juice from 1 lemon

Ground black pepper to taste

1.  Cook the bacon in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

2.  Remove all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon drippings from the pan. Add the pecans and cook until fragrant and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to plate with bacon.

3.  Add the carrots, salt, 1 Tsp of the brown sugar, the broth, and thyme to the skillet. Bring to a boil, covered, over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are almost tender when poked with the tip of a paring knife, about 5 minutes.  Uncover, increase the heat to high, and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to about 2 Tbsp, 1 to 2 minutes.

4.  Add the butter and remaining 2 Tbsps of brown sugar to the skillet.  Toss the carrots to coat and cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots are completely tender, about 3 minutes. Off the heat, add the reserved bacon/pecan mixtue, lemon juice, and black pepper, and toss to coat.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Comments

[Jeff]

Any recipe that STARTS with bacon is good with me :D

[Alanna]

Yikes those sound good. YIKES they have enough calories to be called dessert. If you want to know, I'll say, otherwise, just Cook Beware!

[sher]

I also have that cookbook and have already made 4 recipes from it and will make another one tomorrow. It's a great resource. I love the way the carrots look--what a great picture! I hated carrots when I was a kid--unless they were raw. But, now I love the little devils! Thanks for that.

[Ed]

This must be the most appealing way I have ever heard of for cooing carrots. Not just the flavour of (addictive bacon) but the nuts and chicken stock. Wow! Thanks for herb blogging with me. Cheers.

[Kate]

I too am a huge fan of that cookbook, it's my 'go to' book when I need something basic and delicious. Big, yes...and chock full of useful stuff, but never, ever disappointing.

We love glazed carrots, but if I made this recipe Mike wouldn't touch them....bacon is a no-no. This does look caloric, and we use minimal butter and brown sugar and it's fine. Maybe for a treat....

[gattina]

Cook's Illustrated sounds wonderful, I got to check it out!

[Glenna]

Jeff--I agree with you and Emeril--pork fat rules!

Alanna--some but not terrible when you take into account it's over a lb of carrots and a real serving is actually pretty small. And anyway, believe me, one bite and you won't care what the calorie count is! :-)

Sher and Kate--Yay, kindred spirits! I've never been disappointed with anything they've put out from their books to the individual recipes to the magazine.

Ed--thanks so much!

Gattina--Oh do! You won't regret it. It's a fun book to read just for the background about recipes and ingredients. They really delve into each thing. I love reading the whole section on cornbread. It's like a history lesson.

[Sue (coffeepot)]

Glenna that looks fab. The bacon and pecans..yum

[Kalyn]

The carrots look just fantastic. Yum.

[Glenna]

Sue--Thanks! Oh yeah, can't go wrong with bacon and pecans or any nuts, for that matter.

Kalyn--Thank you! They are really good, I'm so glad I read that cookbook for the recipe!

[Katie]

Lemon juice and pecans - that's what mine have been missing...and the bacon. Sounds wonderful!

[Glenna]

Katie--It is! Give it a try. Thanks for commenting!

[mom]

enjoy

[mom]

enjoy