Cut Open Tough Brussels Sprouts With a Little Salt
While I never get tired of fried Brussels sprouts, I am always looking for new ways to eat small, cabbage-like balls. Shredded sprouts can make a good salad base, but they are too strong. To keep the salad tender and crunchy, you need a salt shaker.
Daniel Gritzer of Serious Eats discovered the softening power of salt while perfecting his Brussels sprouts salad . As Gritzer explains in the article below, this approach makes a lot of sense, especially if you’ve ever cooked sauerkraut:
However, it just so happens that I just worked on a sauerkraut how-to. The method begins with mixing chopped cabbage with salt, which withers it due to the power of osmosis (salt draws moisture from cabbage cells, destroying them) and mechanically grinding cells by kneading itself.
But don’t salt the whole portion of the salad sprouts – you don’t want your salad to be too soft and moist. Instead, sprinkle salt on half of the (crushed) sprouts, stir to coat, massage and squeeze until you feel a little softened. Toss the salted chunks with the regular chunks and top with all sorts of goodies. (I recommend the aforementioned Gritzer salad recipe and there is a pretty bomb.)
Brussels sprouts grated in salt makes the salad tender and crispy | Serious food