Pan-Roasted Asparagus - Cooks Illustrated

Published March 1, 2005.

Is it possible to get great grilled flavor from a simple stovetop recipe?

The Problem

We love the great flavor of grilled asparagus, but sometimes inclement weather keeps us indoors. Broilers can be a finicky alternative to the grill, but so can our second indoor option, the stovetop, which too often produces limp, greasy, shriveled spears.

The Goal

We wanted to develop a simple stovetop cooking method that would deliver crisp, evenly browned spears without all the fuss of having to rotate each spear individually.

The Solution

Along with the oil and asparagus, we added just a little butter to the skillet. After we covered the pan, water evaporating from the butter began steaming the asparagus, which, in turn, released enough additional moisture to finish cooking the spears to a bright green and crisp-tender stage. But we still needed to brown them before they overcooked. When we found that tasters preferred the flavor of spears browned on only one side, we realized that we could limit the additional cooking time. Our half-browned spears never had a chance to go limp.

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