America's Test Kitchen

-Today on "America's Test Kitchen," Erin makes Bridget maple pork chops with sweet potato bacon hash, Adam reviews enameled cast iron skillets, Lan explains how to defrost food quickly, and Aran makes Julia leek, fennel, and squash soup with sausage.

It's all coming up right here on "America's Test Kitchen."

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-A good seasoned home cook knows that it's a great idea to keep a few recipes on hand up here in order to get dinner to the table fast.

But I don't have to store 'em up here because I'm going to store 'em right up there in Erin McMurrer's fabulous brain.

She's going to make a meal for us using a couple of key ingredients that I love.

-I am.

I'm going to show you one of my favorite recipes ever.

Uh, pork chops with sweet potatoes.

-Gorgeous.

-And we're basically going to cook the main entre and the side dish in one pan in less than one hour.

-She's so smart.

-And we're not going to sacrifice -- -No.

-...on anything.

-Nothing.

-Okay?

Alright.

So we're going to start with our sweet potatoes.

-Love it.

-So I have 1 1/4 pounds of sweet potatoes.

And I'm going to peel this.

And I'm just going to cut this into 3/4-inch pieces.

And I like to always have a flat surface.

-Yes.

-So now because we want this in less than one hour, I'm going to kick start these potatoes and cook them in the microwave.

So I have 1 1/4 pounds of sweet potatoes cut into 3/4-inch pieces.

And I'm just going to microwave until they're tender.

This should take about five minutes.

So while that is going we are going to move on to our bacon.

-Oh, good.

-Okay.

So I have 6 slices of bacon, and I'm going to finely chop it.

-Okay.

-So I'm just cutting them into strips, cutting this crosswise.

I'm going to transfer this to our 12-inch nonstick skillet.

So now we're going to just cook the bacon over medium heat.

-Mm-hmm.

-And we're going to cook it until the fat renders out and the bacon becomes crispy.

It's going to take about five minutes.

-Okay.

Got it.

-Okay, so our sweet potatoes have just come out of the microwave and I'm just going to test them.

-Okay.

-We want them to be just tender.

-Oh, you get a facial with your dinner.

-Yeah.

I love it.

Sweet potato facials.

Um, and that's perfect.

You don't want them to be falling apart, but you want them to be tender.

-So it goes in, but it stays on the knife.

Okay.

-Exactly.

Back to our bacon.

A lot of fat is rendered out, which is a beautiful thing.

-Yes.

-And we have -- And our bacon bits are nice and golden brown.

And you can tell when the fat is kind of all rendered out because the sizzling really kind of quiets down.

-Yes.

-Just going to scoop out the bacon.

-Okay.

-Using a slotted spoon, and I'm going to put it onto a paper towel lined bowl.

Now I'm just going to pour off all the fat into this bowl.

And we're going to use that fat.

I'm going to take 1 tablespoon of our bacon fat and add it back to the pan.

And we'll come back to that.

Okay, so now we're moving on to our pork number two.

Um, so we have four 12-ounce bone in pork rib chops.

-They are beautiful.

-Aren't they gorgeous?

Uh, the thickness is really important for this recipe.

You want them to be between 1 and 1 1/2 inches thick.

So the pork chop is wrapped with a little bit of fat cap.

And under the fat cap there is tissue.

And we call that silverskin.

And, uh, when this hits the pan and that silverskin feels the heat, it starts to tighten up and -- causing the pork chop to buckle.

-Yeah.

You get a pork cup.

-A pork cup.

Yes.

And it messes with your browning.

And I don't like anything to mess with my browning.

-No.

-Okay.

Um, so to avoid that, we're just going to make a couple of slits.

I'm not cutting into the meat.

I'm just going to cut about every two inches through the fat just until I get through that silverskin.

Alright.

Bridget, can you turn the pan on to medium high heat?

-You got it.

-We're going to start preheating our pan -- -Alright.

-...until it just starts to shimmer and wisps of smoke come out.

-Okay, great.

Alright, so as with all proteins, before you cook it, you want to pat them dry.

Moisture is your enemy when you're sauting.

If you want, like, a nice sear, you want to, um, start with dry meat.

I like to have all the bones going the same way.

-Yes.

-Now I'm going to season this with salt and pepper.

So now I'm going to cook these.

[ Sizzling ] Just going to kind of nestle them.

So it's going to be a crowded pan.

But as they cook they are going to fit beautifully.

Alright, so now we're just going to cook these for about eight minutes.

As you can see I nestled them in a nice pinwheel formation.

And it helps so that they all fit nicely.

Alright, Bridget, we are beautifully browned.

-[ Whistles ] -Isn't that gorgeous?

-Oh, gorgeous.

-So now it's time to flip.

And as I flip, I'm going to kind of recreate that pinwheel.

Alright, so now we're going to cook them on the other side for about five minutes.

So our chops have nicely browned on both sides.

-Oh, my goodness.

-Isn't that gorgeous?

And they're not finished cooking right now.

Um, this is actually really cool.

So I'm going to pull these out.

Okay.

So we're going to take the temperature of these guys.

So we have 126.

-Okay.

-That is undercooked, right?

We don't want to cook -- We don't want to eat this right now.

But the beauty of this recipe is that it's undercooked, but it's going to partially carry over cook.

And then there's going to be, like, one more step at the end of the recipe that is going to bring them to the 140 temperature.

-Okay.

Got it.

-Okay, so let's move back to our sweet potatoes.

-Okay.

-So our sweet potatoes have had a kick start in the microwave.

-Yes.

-And now we're going to finish them in the skillet.

As you can see, there's some fat that's left over from the pork chop.

[ Sizzling ] Alright, now I'm going to add 3/4 of a teaspoon of dried thyme.

So now we're just going to let these, um, cook.

Um, I'm going to stir them occasionally.

And they're going to cook for about 5 to 7 minutes.

-Okay.

-And we want them to be nice golden brown all over.

-Sounds fantastic.

-Alright?

Okay.

Alright.

Aren't they beautiful?

-They're stunning.

-Now I'm going to add our bacon bits back to the pan.

-Now it's hash.

-Now it's hash.

I'm gonna give that to you.

And I'm just going to add a little bit of salt and pepper.

You don't need a ton because there's so much bacon in there.

But those potatoes could use a little.

And just toss it.

Okay, so I'm just going to pour these into our serving bowl.

-Okay.

-And we're going to go back to our chops.

So now we're going on to a glaze.

-Okay.

-It's a bonus for our dinner.

-It's dessert, too.

-It's dessert, too.

Yes.

So our dish for being so simple is really complex.

It has, like, a nice richness from the bacon.

It has smokiness, saltiness.

And now we're going to add a little sweet.

So I'm going to add 1/2 a cup of maple syrup to our pan.

-Holy moly.

It got even better.

-1 tablespoon of cider vinegar.

-A little sweet sour action there.

-And 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard.

So this adds a little bit of tang.

-Mm-hmm.

-And now we're just going to cook this over medium high heat just so that all the ingredients combine and it starts to become nice and thickened.

It's going to take a couple of minutes.

-Alright.

-Okay.

So that is nice and thickened, leaving a little trail.

-Yes.

-I'm going to give that to you.

-Thank you.

-And now we're going back to our pork chops.

And, um, they've rested a few minutes, and now I'm just going to put them back into the pan.

These pork juices are valuable.

So I'm going to add those back to the pan as well.

And what I'm going to do is basically continue to cook the pork just until it's at that 140 stage.

It's going to take another couple of minutes, and I'm just going to rotate them.

I'm going to do our little nestling trick here just to kind of get them all in there.

Okay, so Bridget, I am temping each of them as I go and I'm going to pull them out as they're ready.

-Okay.

-Okay.

No chop is identical.

We're just going to top each pork chop off with the remaining glaze.

-Yes, please.

-Would you like some hash?

-I mean, this is the bonus, right?

-Isn't this gorgeous?

-Yep.

Pork chops are everything.

But right out of the same pan came that beautiful sweet potato hash.

-Alright.

Is that enough?

-Well... -For now.

-For now.

-For now.

-Yes.

What should I tuck into first here, Erin?

-I'm going to go for the potatoes.

-Okay, then I am also going to go for the potatoes.

-Alright.

-Look at that beautiful color covered with little bits of bacon.

-Mm-hmm.

-Sweet potatoes and bacon were made for each other.

-Absolutely.

-No doubt.

-Absolutely.

These are delicious.

You can taste the bacon.

You can taste the thyme.

-Let me take a bite here.

Now, you did not brine these chops.

-No.

-But this pork is still lovely and juicy.

Sop up some of that gorgeous glaze.

-Mm-hmm.

-Mmm.

-It's so delicious.

And the glaze, I mean, it just pulls it all together.

It's like a nice little bow.

-One pan, one hour, one stellar dish... -Mm-hmm.

-...with one really good friend.

-Aw, I love that.

Yes.

-Thanks for cooking this for us.

-Cheers.

-Cheers to you, Erin.

-Thanks for eating.

-Well, you got to try Erin's favorite recipe.

It starts off with jumpstarting the cooking of the sweet potatoes in the microwave.

Fry the bacon, and then use the rendered fat to brown the pork chops and the potatoes.

Then finish cooking the chops in a glazy sauce.

So from "America's Test Kitchen," an excellent weeknight option for you to try at home.

It's maple pork chops with sweet potato hash.

And Erin.

-[ Chuckles ] -I love enameled cast iron skillets because they have all the benefits of cast iron without all that fussy seasoning, and they come in pretty colors.

And who better to tell us which brands are worth the money than himself?

-I think we should just stop at pretty colors.

[ Laughs ] -They are.

They're beautiful.

-They are so beautiful.

You know, we love cast iron for so many different reasons.

Heat retention -- it's a champ.

-Mm-hmm.

-Durability.

These things are almost indestructible.

-Yes.

-They can go into the oven at high temperatures.

And for uncoated cast iron with proper seasoning, they'll develop that nice non-stick quality over time.

You lose that with enameled cast iron.

-I'm okay with that.

-You don't get the non-stick quality.

Enameled cast iron has a hard, glassy coating both inside and outside.

-Mm-hmm.

-And the benefits there are that it takes care of all of those maintenance issues.

You don't have to season it.

You can wash it with soap and let it soak if you want to.

You can't do that with regular cast iron.

You can cook acidic foods for a long time because the coating makes it not only rustproof, but non-reactive.

And like regular cast iron, you can slip these into a hot oven if you need to.

We tested seven different pans here.

They are 11 to 12 inches in diameter.

The price range was 60 to $270.

-Wow.

-The cooking tests included pan searing, making a pan sauce -- -Mm-hmm.

-...shallow frying fritters in some oil, and making a one-pan pasta dish that had to slide under the broiler to brown the cheese at the end.

And the good news is, all of the pans did a fantastic job at the cooking test.

-Yay!

-They all did a great job.

They all cleaned up easily.

So it was really some design characteristics that led us to our winners.

First is the size of the cooking area.

Some of them, like this one, has a nine-inch cooking surface.

Some of them had ten inches.

And bigger was better, more space we liked.

Some of them even had about 10 1/2 inches, like this one.

-That's nice and big.

-The size of the handle made a difference to our testers.

Why don't you put on those oven mitts and lift one of these things up?

-Oh, yeah.

That's easy.

-[ Chuckles ] These things are not light, are they?

-No.

-Yeah.

-But no, there's a lot to grip here.

-These things weigh 6 to 8 pounds, empty.

-[ Laughs ] -So you want to have a generously sized handle that's going to give you a little more leverage.

You also want to have a generously sized helper handle which is opposite the primary handle.

This is the primary handle.

Here's a helper handle.

Why don't you try lifting that one up.

See what you think.

Imagine it's hot coming out of the oven.

-It's -- There's not a lot there.

-Exactly.

-I might as well just put my hand right on the bottom.

-You want a generously sized helper handle, something like the orange one next to you.

That's a loop design, that's bigger, that gives you more stability while you're moving the pan.

-Yeah.

-Another thing that made a difference to testers were the walls of the pan.

This one has two-inch high walls.

That helped contain some of the splattering of the fritter test and cooking the pasta in the tomato sauce.

-Mm-hmm.

-However, testers liked when the walls were angled.

That orange one in front of you, you can see the walls are angled out a little bit, and that made it easier to get in there with utensils and other implements.

Um, the last thing were the pour spouts.

Again, right in front of you, the orange one, that has pretty generously sized pour spouts.

Made it easy to pour neatly.

Some of them had much smaller pour spouts like that.

-That is barely visible.

-Some of them had no pour spouts.

And that just made pouring a little bit sloppier.

In the end, the winning pan is the orange one right in front of you.

That's the Le Creuset's 11 3/4-inch Signature Skillet.

It is about $250, so it's not cheap.

-Okay.

-But it's got all the right design, features.

It's got ten inches of cooking space.

It's got a great handle, a great helper handle, the right kind of sides, good pour spouts.

It browned food deeply.

It retained heat steadily.

But as I said, it's not cheap, at $250.

So testers also named a best buy.

This is the Viking enameled cast iron 12-inch fry pan.

It's $160.

It also did a good job on all the cooking tests.

Testers were a little bit worried about it's oven safe temperature, which is 400 degrees.

A lot of the other ones go to higher.

But with the blessing of a company representative, we were able to slide this under the broiler to brown the cheese on top of our pasta without incident.

It was fine.

-Okay.

So there you have it.

If you're in the market for a new enameled cast iron skillet, check out the Le Creuset 11 3/4-inch Signature Skillet at $250.

And if you want the best buy, that's the Viking enameled cast iron fry pan at $160.

-Defrosting is no big deal if you remember to move your food from the freezer to the fridge.

But if you forgot or need to defrost something really quickly, I've got a technique for you.

The fridge is great for defrosting because it keeps your food at a safe temperature.

That low temperature, it's not the only reason defrosting in the fridge takes time, though.

The other reason is that air is not a good conductor of heat.

Think about it like this.

When you put a chicken in a pot of simmering water, it cooks through in maybe 20 minutes, 30 minutes.

And that water, it's between 190 and 200 degrees.

Pop a chicken in a 200-degree oven, and it's going to take well over an hour to cook through.

Water is a lot better at conducting heat than air, and that's true whether you're cooking or defrosting.

There are a couple of things you should remember when you're defrosting.

First, air is an insulator, And so to speed defrosting, you want to get as much of the air out of the bag as possible.

I've got some frozen shrimp here, and I'm just going to open this bag up and just roll it to press out as much air as I can before resealing.

Then you can drop it in some water, and if you can, turn on your tap and let it run at a slow trickle, it doesn't have to go fast.

You just want some movement in there to speed defrosting.

Now, if you're in a drought-prone area and you can't leave the water to trickle, that's okay.

Turn it off and just come by every half hour or so and change out that water.

As it cools down, it's going to need to be replaced so it can effectively thaw.

Finally, you want to keep your food submerged.

The more contact it makes with the water, the faster it'll defrost.

-When someone mentions squash soup, I usually think of something creamy and pured and flavored in a classic New England way with apples or maple syrup.

But today, Aran's going to show me something totally new.

And you mentioned that it's based on your Basque heritage.

-That's right, Julia.

Today, I'm going to teach you how to make a squash, fennel, leek soup with sausage that is based on a Basque recipe called porrusalda... -Porrusalda.

-Porrusalda.

...that I grew up eating.

And it's a one-pot meal.

Super flavorful, nourishing, and really easy to make.

Let's get started.

-Okay.

-For this recipe, we're going to use kabocha squash.

You could use butternut squash, but kabocha is sweeter, starchier, creamier, so it's going to thicken the soup and really make it flavorful.

-Okay.

-You could also not peel it.

We're going to peel it today.

But when you peel the squash, it really allows for it to break down, which is going to actually make the soup super thick and creamy.

You can see the flesh is really, really orange.

-Gorgeous.

-Sometimes the skin is a little bit blue, green.

I feel like it used to be kind of a specialty thing that you had to find at the farmer's market, but nowadays you can find it in regular supermarkets.

-That's very true.

-So we're going to use a spoon to take the seeds out.

We only need 1 1/2 pounds.

-So that's about half of a squash.

-Exactly.

I'm just going to go right into it and just use your knife to peel it.

-Hey, you're kind of using a shaving method.

-Exactly.

Shaving.

And then we're going to cut it into 1-inch pieces.

-I noticed you left a little peel here and there.

That's fine.

-That's okay.

I just feel like it breaks down easier in the soup if it's mostly peeled.

-That makes sense.

-Our squash is diced, and now we're going to move on to prepping our fennel.

So we have one fennel bulb that we're going to remove the fronds and all the stems.

And then we're going to cut the fennel in half.

And we're going to remove the tough core that's in the middle.

And then we're going to chop it into 1/4-inch pieces.

Our fennel is ready.

We're going to prep our leeks.

-Okay.

-And to do that, as you know, leeks can be very, very dirty.

-Indeed.

-So this is my favorite way, cutting the top.

1 1/2 pounds of leeks.

-Okay.

-And we're going to keep only the white part and the very light green part.

-Okay.

-And we're going to cut the leek in half lengthwise and then chop it into 1/2 an inch pieces.

Okay.

We have a total of 1 1/2 pounds of leeks, chopped.

-Okay.

-And we're going to wash them in a salad spinner.

That's going to allow us to really get the water into every little layer of leek.

We're going to wash them in abundant cold water.

We drain them, and then we're going to spin it.

There we go.

Our vegetables are prepped, and we're going to start making the soup.

-Great.

-Julia, it's time to cook the soup.

And we're going to begin with 1 pound of hot Italian sausage.

It isn't traditionally Basque to have sausage in the porrusalda, but we're going to add it for extra flavor and a little bit of fat.

-Nice.

-Um, and just like that meat umami flavor.

-Yeah.

-We're going to cook it for about 5 to 7 minutes at medium high heat.

Julia, the sausage is ready and you can see all the little bits, brown bits, the fond that's on the bottom.

We want to keep that and we don't want to burn it.

I'm going to use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a plate.

-Yeah, that fond is key for making a soup have a really deep flavor, especially if it's a one-pot meal.

-Exactly.

And we're going to lower the heat to medium.

-Okay.

-And we're going to add our vegetables.

So we're going to start with the leeks that we chopped and washed.

And then we have fennel, 4 cloves of garlic, sliced, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and then one bay leaf and some thyme.

And we're going to stir everything together and cook it for seven minutes over medium heat.

And we're going to sweat the vegetables.

We don't really want them to be brown or crispy.

Just sweat them.

Julia, our vegetables are soft and sweated, as I like to call them.

We're going to add the squash and stock, 6 cups of chicken stock, and a can of rinsed cannellini beans.

And then we're going to add the brown sausage.

With all the leftover fat.

-Oh, that looks good.

-We're going to cover the pot, increase heat to high.

And then when it comes to a vigorous simmer, we're going to reduce it to about medium to keep the simmer going.

And we're going to cook it for about 20 to 25 minutes.

-Oh, ho-ho-ho.

-Nice.

Okay.

Let's turn the heat off.

And first I'm going to show you the squash.

You see how it falls apart.

-Yeah.

-You see how it's almost like a sweet potato rather than a butternut squash.

That's just the kabocha.

So it's ready to go.

We're going to scoop out the little bay leaf and the thyme sprigs.

I'm going to make sure that it's good on salt and pepper.

I actually think it needs a tiny bit of salt.

And then we're going to stir in 1/2 cup of chopped parsley.

-Oh, that's a lot.

-That is a lot.

but it's going to add some freshness and beautiful color.

-Mm-hmm.

-But I do think it brightens the soup.

And we're ready to eat it.

-Okay.

-So let's dish it.

Look how beautiful that is.

-That is gorgeous.

-And you can feed a lot of people with this.

And you will have leftovers.

-And the leftovers hold pretty well?

-It's actually probably even better the next day.

And would you like some bread?

-[ Gasps ] Yes.

This right here is the ultimate winter meal.

A nice hearty bowl of soup.

Some good bread.

Yeah.

I'm going right in for the squash.

-Yes.

Me, too.

-I'm really impressed how it held its shape during that simmering time.

-Mmm.

-They're very creamy and sweet.

-Mm-hmm.

It has a lightly buttery and nutty flavor to it.

Perfect with the sausage.

-It's a little bit, like, chestnut-y.

-Yes, that's exactly it.

It is chestnut-y.

And the broth has so much flavor.

I think it's because of the sausage.

-And the beans also thicken the soup.

-Mm-hmm.

-So it's full of protein and vegetables.

-Mm-hmm.

-So it's really nourishing.

-The leeks add a really nice backbone to the broth.

Aran, this is absolutely delicious.

Thank you for showing me how to make it.

-Thank you.

-If you'd like to make Aran's very own squash soup, start by peeling and cutting up kabocha squash.

Build a hearty soup with Italian sausage and white beans, and simmer the soup just until the squash is tender.

From "America's Test Kitchen," a delicious recipe for leek, fennel, and squash soup with sausage.

You can find this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with our product reviews and select episodes at our website, americastestkitchen.com/tv.

This is going to be a huge hit in my house.

-It is at my house also.

-Want more from "ATK"?

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-GreenPan Frost, the frozen treat maker that makes ice cream, sorbet, slushies, and more with a built-in chiller that goes from fresh to frozen.

GreenPan Frost.

-On an American Cruise Lines journey, travelers can experience the maritime heritage of the Maine coast and New England islands.

Our fleet of small cruise ships explore seaside villages, private harbors, and historic lighthouses while experiencing the local customs and cuisine that define New England.

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-Smithey Ironware, polished for performance.

Naturally nonstick, clear of chemical coatings.

Made in America.

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Use it well.