Why You Shouldn’t Snap the Ends Off Asparagus and Why You Should Overcook It | What's Eating Dan?

We've been growing Asparagus for 30 years and my favorite recipe is wrapping the largest spears w/ bacon and baking.

When I was 7 or 8 living in rural Michigan, I stumbled across a large field of asparagus on a hillside near our farmhouse. I used to cut some for supper almost every day. One thing I discovered that intrigued me was how fast asparagus will grow. I used to lie down and watch the movement of an asparagus spear as it grew! I'd never seen anything like that before and I'm surprised no one has mentioned it. What a wild experience for a young boy to stumble on in amazement.

I have been peeling the stalks and cooking them in a frying pan with a small amount of water. When they are almost tender and the water is gone I add butter, garlic and parmesan cheese. So tender and tastes amazing.

We have a 100+ year old asparagus patch on our Wisconsin farm. The yield is very generous every year. To keep the spears thicker, I pick every one or two days depending on the weather. I pick the asparagus from mid May through early August when I let the plants go to seed. The spears tend to get thinner towards the end of the season, but I still harvest them. I prefer cutting the asparagus with a sharp knife close to the soil to prevent the stalks going to seed early. Steaming the asparagus is the healthy way (low in calories), but we do like to grill them with olive oil, salt, plus garlic and onion powder, too.

For those of you contemplating planting asparagus to eat this summer, know that if started from seed, asparagus will take about 3 years to become productive. One-year-old asparagus crowns will need two years of growth prior to harvesting and two-year-old crowns, just one year. But as other commenters have typed, once started it doesn't stop!

I used to snap, but now I cut. My favorite way to make asparagus is to lay them out on a baking sheet, brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake until they smell done (about 10-15 minutes). Yummy

When we were house shopping, we looked at our present house and learned it had a big garden. I said to the realtor, "If there is an established asparagus bed in that garden, then we will take this house." There was and we did and we are STILL harvesting asparagus! I snap the stalks and have never peeled them but might give it a try after watching your video. Tonight I made macaroni and cheese with portabella mushrooms and asparagus....YUMMY!!

My name is Joyce. I planted 1 year old asparagus roots and the next spring I had asparagus popping up and I was able to cut it and grilled it. It was great. I purchased the roots at Tractor supply (TSC). They are available in March. I live in middle Tennessee. I planted them in early spring and the next year I had a lot of asparagus. Last year my husband made our bed twice as big. It’s worth growing your own.

My 6 year old and I love watching ATK and “What’s Eating Dan.” He wants to be a chef one day, just like Dan. At dinner he likes to take a bite and say “this is how to eat (whatever we are eating).”

Roasted with olive oil, garlic, ginger, shaved onions and cherry tomatoes. Then serve sprinkled with feta cheese, and a squeeze of lemon.

I grew up in Germany with white asparagus. Restaurants have special asparagus menus during the season (April/May). Love the green one that we can buy in the USA all year round. I always snapped it but won't do it anymore after watching this video. Thank you for being informative and fun!

I cut the tougher ends off & put them in my food processor, then use it in soups or other dishes-no waste at all!😊

Roasted. Olive oil, salt, maybe a touch of garlic powder, cayenne. When done, sprinkled with lemon juice. At a restaurant, we once had them deep fried in panko as a munchie. Yum!

Dan is great at providing commentary and humor, in addition to being a culinary expert. The trifecta!!! I ❤ him here!

I never even thought about peeling the ends of the stalks to eliminate those bites where you find yourself chewing forever and end up spitting it out because it's too tough. Great tips! I will be trying the brazing this week.

As a former snapper, I now only cut the smallest bit off the end. To cook, I cut each stem in half, steam the bottom halves for 5 minutes, then add the top halves for another 5 minutes. Remove from the pot onto kitchen towel to dry a bit, then quickly put onto the plate and drizzle melted butter seasoned with Real Salt (from Utah). Yummmm!

Actually, braising asaparagus is the traditional way of preparing it here in germany. We mostly use white asparagus and cook it in a braising liquid made of water, butter, salt and sugar. Serve it with hollandaise, potatoes and a nice piece of fish or a steak. And there you have a beautiful dinner! Also, white asparagus is usually peeled and the peel is used to make a flavorful broth which we use to make the most amazing asparagus cream soup! Man i just love asparagus but it is so expensive

My favorite way so far has been tossing with olive oil, lemon pepper (and lemon zest if you're up for it), and salt, then baking at high temp, like 400 F for 20-25 minutes until dark and slightly shriveled. They're like asparagus fries and my wife and I love them.

Summary: Shouldn't snap off because you can break off too much - suggested replacement technique is to cut off 1 inch and peel (w/ a peeler) around the bottom edges of the stalk. Overcook it because it lets the seasoning permeate into the asparagus.

I snap, but have been suspicious that I was wasting some asparagus in the process. Thank you for this wonderful, entertaining tutorial!