From the menu of ... Local Three Kitchen and Bar, 3290 Northside Parkway, Atlanta. 404-968-2700, www.localthree.com.
Q: We had dinner at Local Three Kitchen and Bar in the former Joel space on Northside Parkway. Everything we had was outstanding, but the roasted Brussels sprouts were just amazing. All four of us at the table agreed that we would try to prepare them at home if we only had the recipe. Please see if you can get Local Three to part with it. -- Mike Coffee, Alpharetta
A: Chef Chris Hall was willing to part with Local Three’s recipe, but we’re not sure most of our readers will be duplicating the restaurant’s cooking method at home. Local Three cooks the sprouts in a fryer filled with duck fat. I’m told they serve 50 pounds of Brussels sprouts a day during the winter and it takes 10 pounds of duck fat to fill the fryers at Local Three, so you can imagine duck fat is a big item in the kitchen inventory.
If you want to reproduce the taste, you’re going to need duck fat, too. The only place I found to buy duck fat locally was in the fresh meat section of the DeKalb Farmers Market, but you can also check with your butcher. If you buy unrendered duck fat with skin, you’ll need three pounds to render down to three cups of fat.
“If you do have a fryer filled with duck fat at your house, please let me know directions to your house and what time dinner is being served on Sundays,” Hall said.
If you don’t want to use duck fat, vegetable oil will do. Alternatively, Hall also suggests you could prepare these sprouts in the oven. “If you don't have a fryer at home or just want a little easier way to cook the sprouts, simply coat them lightly in oil, about 3 tablespoons of oil per pound of sprouts, and place on a baking sheet. Roast at 425 degrees until leaves begin to crisp and turn brown. Follow the remaining steps and enjoy,” he said.
One final note from the chef about why they don’t drain all the oil off the crisped sprouts: “The combination of the warm oil and vinegar essentially creates a vinaigrette dressing for the sprouts while the oil from cooking has caramelized all their natural sugar.”
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you'd like to make at home? Tell us and we'll try to get it. We'll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can't answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put "From the menu of” and the name of restaurant in the subject line.
Local Three’s Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Serves: 8
2 pounds Brussels sprouts, rinsed
3 cups duck fat or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Sea salt and black pepper
Peel off any damaged or brown outer leaves from the sprouts, cut off the root end and cut the sprouts in half lengthwise.
In a large deep pot, bring oil to 375 degrees over high heat. Carefully drop sprouts in hot oil and cook until outer leaves begin to turn brown and crisp up, about 5 minutes. Remove sprouts from oil, allowing some, but not all, of the oil to drain off. Do not drain the sprouts on absorbent paper. Put sprouts with residual oil in a mixing bowl and add vinegar, rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine and serve hot.
Per serving: 218 calories (percent of calories from fat, 77), 3 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 19 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 143 milligrams sodium, 4 grams dietary fiber.
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