Brittle Battle

After my failure with the almond brittle in Christie Matheson’s Salty Sweets (see post on May 10, 2010), I decided to look at some other recipes to find out where I might have gone so wrong. Alton Brown of Food Network’s Good Eats is usually a good go-to man – a food nerd who's entertaining. Sure enough he had a brittle recipe (traditional peanut instead of almond) with the added bonus of cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit.

Wouldn’t you know, based on reader comments, many of them had the same problems with Alton’s brittle that I had with Matheson’s. Following the directions, they ended up with “a gritty, cloudy praline-like mixture” (I feel your pain, sister!). But expect those results with Alton’s brittle only if you follow the printed recipe that appears on the website. If you watch the video, he has a few more clues that became the turning point for me in the battle for great brittle

The web recipe doesn’t say anything about the desired temperature of the sugar mixture but he does mention it in the video (350 degrees give or take 10 degrees). And he also offers a nifty tip on using a cast iron pan to diffuse the heat for even cooking. In neither case does he mention the amount of estimated time to reach stage of the cooking process – and it took a while.

Here’s Alton Brown’s recipe as it appears online with my note about the use of the candy thermometer to reach the right temperature and therefore the right hue of amber.

Peanut Brittle (from FoodNetwork.com)
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups lightly salted, roasted peanuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
Vegetable oil, for coating the saucepan
Softened butter for spatula

Directions

In a small bowl combine peanuts, cinnamon, and cayenne. Set aside.

Brush the inside of a medium sized heavy saucepan with vegetable oil. Add the sugar and water to the saucepan, cook over high heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until it comes to a boil. Stop stirring, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover, (NOTE: Here’s where you insert the candy thermometer, careful to not rock the boat) reduce heat to medium, and cook until the sugar is a light amber color (NOTE: Or until it reaches 350 degrees +/- 10 degrees, which took me almost an hour). Stir in peanuts. This will greatly reduce the temperature of the sugar so work quickly. Once evenly mixed, pour mixture onto a sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat or buttered parchment paper. Using a buttered spatula, spread thin. You will have to work quickly when pouring out and spreading the mixture in the pan. If necessary, in order to achieve single layer of peanuts, top with second sheet pan whose underside has been buttered. Cool completely and then break into pieces.

How did it taste? Pretty awesome. A nice peppery bite without being overwhelming. Makes me think about trying other variations, such as curry or cracked pepper, or maybe try it with cashews.