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Asparagus - Thick or Thin?

post #1 of 21
3/10/11 at 12:25am
Thread Starter 
So asparagus season, the harbinger of spring, is approaching and I am looking forward to the availability of a particular producer's called "Mister Spear" that come from Stockton, California. They are jumbo sized, and extremely succulent and meaty almost. I enjoy roasting them and serving a poached egg atop as a nice breakfast or weekday dinner. The delicate and thin varieties, while appearing nice on the plate, just don't do much for me in terms of flavor and texture. So the question: do you prefer thick or thin asparagus?
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post #2 of 21
3/10/11 at 12:38am
Thick have better texture and flavor, though not too thick or the woody ends reach too high.
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post #3 of 21
3/10/11 at 12:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moss View Post
Thick have better texture and flavor, though not to thick or the woody ends reach too high.

+1. They have to be just the right amount of thickness or else they just get too tough.

Asparagus makes my pee smell.
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post #4 of 21
3/10/11 at 12:59am
Thin all the way. I find myself cutting off large sections off of the thicker asparuagus due the woodsy texture of the stem. Just cant stand that stringy, woody, texture typical of a larger, more mature asparagus. I will have to keep an eye out for this "stockton" asparagus. I may have just been eating the wrong type of thick asparagus.
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post #5 of 21
3/10/11 at 11:01am
I prefer asparagus thin.
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post #6 of 21
3/10/11 at 11:03am
both, but for different purposes. I like the thin served in broths and stuff. Grilled or pan-roasted thick white asparagus with good salt and pepper, and squeeze of lemon is awesome.
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post #7 of 21
3/10/11 at 11:20am
you guys can avoid some of the tough ends by trimming down the ends like you would a knife-sharpen a pencil. I find that most of the woodiness is in the outer parts of the ends. I trim my asparagus fully, I knock away any extra from below the bud, take off the thorns, and then trim the ends as such.
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post #8 of 21
3/10/11 at 11:29am
^^^Good point. Actually I what I do, I learned from Jacques Pepin's show, at around the 5:15-6:15 mark:

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post #9 of 21
3/10/11 at 11:47am
Depends on how you prepare...

Since you grill, I would say thin. If you braise, boil or pan-cook, I would suggest thick. In other words, the lighter, higher temperature cooking of the grill does not counteract the thicker fibers, whereas it does if you're cooking for a longer time with more moisture.
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post #10 of 21
3/10/11 at 11:49am
Thick. Always. IIRC, asparagus come out of the ground thick or thin, and the thin ones aren't young thick ones, so the thick ones will always have more meat and more flavor than the thin ones which are mainly skin. Of course, thin wild ones are another story.
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post #11 of 21
3/10/11 at 11:53am
ive always been told size doesnt matter.
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post #12 of 21
3/10/11 at 1:28pm
they've only had asparagus in this country for like 5 years (true story bro) and so basically everybody here doesn't know wtf to do with it. It enrages me to no end when you go to a restaurant and they serve you like 3 stalks of asaparagus that haven't been trimmed or cleaned up. I went to some expensive steakhouse with my people last year and they were serving Costco asparagus, just taking it out of the bag and rinsing it, and under-cooking it on the grill, dry woody ends on and everything. I was about to go into the kitchen and ask them if they wanted me to show them how to cook.
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post #13 of 21
3/10/11 at 1:43pm
Thick. For me, asparagus is the best part of spring (and the Vidalia onions from GA also).
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post #14 of 21
3/10/11 at 3:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DerekS View Post
ive always been told size doesnt matter.

Girth does though.
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post #15 of 21
3/10/11 at 3:34pm
I've been eating it three meals a day this week I generally prefer thin for ease of use.
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