Good variations include sliced oranges and/or star anise.

Yields 3/4 cup.

Serves 4 to 6
The amount of bacon you can cook at one time will vary depending on the size of the bacon slices and the size of your baking sheet.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
No breakfast is complete without a side of crispy, salty bacon, but to easily cook a whole pound at once (and salvage our stovetop), we decided to make use of the oven. Low heat rendered the fat but didn’t crisp the bacon strips, and they burned before rendering if the oven was too hot. 400 degreed turned out to be the sweet spot. Lining the baking sheet with aluminum foil before cooking makes for easy cleanup.

Serves 6
The toasted flour in step 1 should be slightly paler than a brown paper bag. You can find fish sauce with the other Asian products at most grocery stores. Since the salt content of fish sauce varies from brand to brand, taste the finished gumbo before seasoning it with salt. Serve with rice.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Cajun food isn’t known for its healthfulness, and gumbo is no exception. Toasting flour in a dry pan and mixing it with the aromatics allowed us to slash the amount of fat needed for the “roux” while keeping the deep, toasty flavor. Lean breast meat replaces chicken thighs, but we use bone in to maximize the flavor while reducing the calories and fat. Fish sauce enhances the seafood flavor of lean shrimp, and just 4 ounces of andouille adds meaty richness and spice.

Serves 4
To minimize flare-ups, trim excess fat and gristle from the steaks before grilling.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
In order to achieve a respectable crust, the exterior of our Char-Grilled Steaks had to be dry. After trying numerous drying-out methods, including salting and aging, we considered the freezer. The freezer’s intensely dry environment sufficiently dehydrated the steaks’ exteriors, and since we were only freezing them for a short time, the interiors remained tender and juicy.

We rubbed the steaks with a mixture of salt and cornstarch before freezing. The salt assured they were well-seasoned, and cornstarch—a champ at absorbing moisture—allowed us to cut the freezing time in half.

Serves 4
We skewer the onion slices with a toothpick to keep them from falling apart on the grill. You won’t need an entire red onion for this recipe; you can use the remainder to make Pico de Gallo (see related content).

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
This chain-restaurant favorite combines honey-mustard chicken breasts, bacon, and melted Monterey Jack cheese. For a grilled version, we butterfly boneless, skinless chicken breasts to provide more surface area for tasty char, and we marinate them in a simple mixture of honey, Dijon, salt, and pepper. While the chicken cooks on the hotter side of the grill, we let red onion slices—basted with the reserved fat from cooking the bacon—soften on the cooler side of the grill. To finish, we slide the chicken away from the fire and top it with the smoky onions and a mixture of cooked diced bacon and spicy shredded pepper Jack cheese.

SERVES 4
This chicken can be served with a simply prepared vegetable for a light dinner. It can also be used in a sandwich or tossed with greens for a salad. The chicken should be marinated no less than 30 minutes and no more than 1 hour.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Our perfectly grilled chicken breast recipe had to produce moist, tender chicken whose flavor could stand on its own. We discovered that placing the breasts on the cooler side of the grill and covering them with a disposable pan trapped the heat and kept the breasts moist while cooking. To finish our grilled chicken breast recipe, we gave the breasts a quick sear afterward on the hot part of the grill for color and true grilled flavor.

Serves 4
Straight from the grill, the cheesy center of the Jucy Lucy will be molten hot. Be sure to let the burgers rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Minneapolis taverns are famous for serving a sandwich called the Jucy Lucy, a moist beef burger stuffed with American cheese. Replicating the Jucy Lucy recipe seemed easy enough—simply seal a slice of American cheese between two beef patties and throw it on the grill. But our burgers, cooked to well-done to melt the cheese inside, were dry and tough. Or worse, the cheese melted through the meat, leaving an empty cavern where the cheese had been. We wanted to figure out how to keep the Lucy juicy and hold the cheese inside. To keep the cheesy center of our recipe in place, we created a double-sealed pocket by wrapping a chunk of cheese inside a small beef patty and then molding a second patty around the first. Grilling the burgers over medium heat fully cooked the burgers and melted the cheese inside. Adding a panade—a mixture of bread and milk mashed into a paste—to the ground beef kept the burgers moist and juicy.

Serves 8 to 10
This Devil’s Food-style cake is packed with chocolate flavor. For an accurate measurement of boiling water, bring a full kettle of water to a boil, then measure out the desired amount.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For this Chocolate Layer Cake recipe, we recommend Dutch-processed cocoa, which has a better flavor. “Blooming” the cocoa powder and unsweetened chocolate with hot water and instant espresso produced the strongest chocolate flavor. Sour cream added moisture and tangy flavor, while baking powder and baking soda united to create the greatest rise. This Chocolate Layer Cake recipe can be combined with many frostings and fillings for a different result every time.