You Should Brulee All Your Favorite Holiday Treats
Whether you’re gathering around a roaring campfire, roasting a sumptuous piece of meat, or roasting custard and cream, fire is sexy. Maybe it’s an element of danger associated with the exothermic combustion process, or maybe it’s just because it looks cool, but the flashing kitchen lamp tells me we’re about to experience something decadent, delicious and a little over the top.
Holidays are the perfect time for such antics. It’s already a time of frills, with pie, cookies, fried and booze, and I can’t think of a single reason why you shouldn’t use the raw elemental power of the Flame to create crispy sugar crusts throughout the holiday. heals.
Pie and other desserts
Let’s start with the most obvious: cream pies. Pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, cheesecake, and any pudding or custard based pie or pie are great for brulee. Sprinkle with enough plain white sugar to cover only the top, then toast over low, high heat until simmer and caramelized. Let sit for a few minutes before cracking with a spoon.
Is the cake boring? You can toast the marshmallow fluff and meringue-based frosting (like a 7-minute frosting or Italian meringue ) to give it depth, and some charcoal to balance the sweetness. (However, I would avoid buttercream. It will likely melt.)
Meat and seafood
As I mentioned earlier , simmered pork can be tricky to improve, but giving it a sweet and crisp brulee is one way to do it. I love looking at my skin for 24 hours before setting the sugar-coated skin on fire to create a crunchy caramelized shell on top of the melting pork fat. It is very good.
But the belly isn’t the only cut worth a fire, and pork isn’t the only meat. Scallops , duck liver mousse , duck breast, and even the skins of a crispy roast will all be pretty darn good with a little brulee sugar, and the method is the same every time: sprinkle heavily with sugar, then light the flame until it boils and will not brown.
Sweet potato
Whether you’re making a casserole or baking sweet potatoes, chop the sweet legs. The precedent was set by mini marshmallows, but burning a layer of plain sugar is easier, cheaper (you don’t need to buy marshmallows), and a little more elegant. Just cook the sweet potato as usual, then add the beneficial sugar dust and some flame over low heat.
Cheese
I’ve said this before , but I’ll say it again: Baked brie already ranks pretty high in terms of decadence, but a crunchy, sweet shell of caramelized sugar on top of sticky, creamy, slightly tangy cheese is literally everything. things that are good. Simply remove the top of the crust from the circle, bake at 350 ℉ until it is completely warm (10-12 minutes), then – all together – sprinkle it with a little plain white sugar and fry gently.
Once you’ve done that, try with other soft cheeses. Anything with a washed rind will work (follow the procedure for brie), but don’t sleep on ricotta or this goat cheese, cream cheese, and crème fraîche mixture . (Trader Joe also has lemon ricotta, which I think would work here.)
Citrus
Grapefruits, clementines, and tangelo are certified Christmas snacks straight from the stocking, but you can make them a little hotter by kissing a blowtorch. Again, the process is simple: cut the fruit in half, sprinkle with sugar and brown over low heat.
Christmas morning breakfast
Did you know that eggs can be brulee ? Well you can and they are delicious. I have already mentioned these beauties several times and will mention them at every opportunity. They are sweet, savory, tasty, and slightly charred, and quite easy to make. Simply boil one for six minutes, peel it, cut it in half and sprinkle each half with a pinch of salt, then dust it with sugar. Light it over low heat until simmering and caramelized, and serve with the saltiest and crunchiest bacon.
Other breakfast foods good for brulee include thick sliced bacon (grill in the oven until crispy, then sprinkle with sugar and broil or broil), sausage patties (boil, sugar, torch), and bread pudding (bake as usual then – guess what? – sugar and torch). You can also brulee donut (as is); you can even brulee cappuccino , although the latter can be too finicky for a chaotic Christmas morning.