♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Today on "America's Test Kitchen"... Lan shows Julia the secrets to making smoky pulled pork on a gas grill... Adam reveals his favorite salad spinner... and Dan makes Bridget classic braised collard greens with bacon and onion.

It's all coming up on "America's Test Kitchen."

♪♪ -When it comes to making pulled pork on the grill, few would disagree that using a charcoal grill is better than using a gas grill.

But we found through our surveys that most of you use gas grills, so we asked Lan to do the impossible, which is to make a great recipe for pulled pork using a gas grill.

-It's not impossible, but it was a little tricky because I had one rule for myself.

-What was your rule?

-No cheating.

[ Both laugh ] I wasn't allowed to use liquid smoke or other smoked products like smoked tea leaves.

-There you go.

-But it can be done, and we're going to do it now.

I'm starting with a 5-pound boneless pork butt roast, and it's pretty simple to work with.

I'm just going to trim off any of this extra fat on the outside.

I'm not going to worry about the stuff on the inside.

When we go to pull this later, we can get rid of that.

But this looks pretty great.

And, then, there's just one last bit of knife work.

When we go to shred this, we want little bite-sized pieces.

You don't want to be tearing into all the larger pieces.

So I want to cut this against the grain into three slabs.

So that's it.

-That was easy!

-Yeah.

Now we're gonna make a rub.

I've got 5 teaspoons of kosher salt... 2 1/2 teaspoons of ground black pepper... 2 teaspoons of paprika.

And, again, I'm using a sweet paprika, not a smoked one.

-[ Laughs ] No cheating.

-Right.

And last up, 2 teaspoons of light brown sugar, and that'll just sweeten it slightly.

We're just going to stir this together.

I'm gonna get in here with my hands and break up the sugar.

You don't want any big clumps of sugar in there.

So let's just sprinkle this on.

And you can see right here there's kind of a little flap here.

That's where the shoulder bone was.

You want to make sure you get all of the surfaces covered with this rub so that it's well-seasoned.

-Okay.

That's it.

-So we're just going to wrap this up in a little bit of plastic wrap.

We're going to put this in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours to let the salt penetrate.

-Okay.

-Before we head outside, we need to work on the source of our smoke because that gas grill isn't going to provide much.

So I've got 4 cups of hickory wood chips here, and you can really use almost any type of wood.

Maybe avoid mesquite because it's so intense.

-Yeah.

-I've soaked just half of them.

Soaking the chips actually prevents them from smoking.

You get all the smoke from the dry chips, and then when that starts to peter out, you get the smoke from the wet chips.

-Gotcha.

So this will smoke right away, but these will smoke a little later after these have burned out.

-Right.

-Ahh.

-So I'm just going to drain this.

-Now, how long do you have to soak the chips?

-Just 15 minutes.

It's pretty fast.

So just dump these on here.

I want to make sure these packets are 4 1/2 inches by 8 inches.

We found that that'll sit on almost any grill.

I've actually made enough that I happen to know that my hand is almost the right size.

-[ Laughs ] -That's about right.

I like to fold up both sides and then fold up the ends.

-Okay.

-We're gonna flip these guys over, and they're not getting any oxygen now, so we're gonna put in a couple of slits.

I'm going to put in two 2-inch slits.

-All right.

-That's it.

You ready to go outside?

-I am.

-Okay, Julia.

I have our chip packets in place.

Now, it doesn't really matter which one goes where, as long as they're both over the primary burner.

And right next door, I'm going to put down this disposable pan, and I'm going to add 6 cups of water.

The water's important because it keeps the grill temperature really steady, and it lowers it just slightly.

It acts as a heat sink.

-Ah.

That makes sense.

-I'm just going to set this back in place.

Okay, so, I'm just going to shut this.

We're going to let this pre-heat for about 15 minutes, and in that time, that first chip packet will start smoking and the grates will start to heat up, which will mean the meat won't stick to them.

It's been 15 minutes.

As you can see, the first packet's smoking.

Second one's nice and chill up back.

-You can smell it.

-Yeah.

I'm just going to scrape this clean.

And I'm going to oil this grill, and that's just going to pick up any soot that's hanging out on those grates.

Before I do anything, I'm going to turn all of my burners off except the primary burner.

And the primary burner I'm going to adjust to about medium, and that's going to maintain a grill temperature of about 300 degrees.

Now it's time for the pork.

We're going to put these right on top of the water pan.

And I want the meat to be about maybe 6 or so inches away from our source of smoke.

-Mm-hmm.

-So, we're gonna shut this and let this go for about 90 minutes.

That second chip packet made from the soaked chips -- it'll get going in about 20 minutes once all that water evaporates, and our total smoke time will be about 90 minutes.

-Ooh!

-It's been about 90 minutes.

No more smoke, but these guys have a ways to go.

What I'm going to do is transfer them to this pan.

It's going to catch all the fat and juices that are going to be released.

I'm going to slide this over.

-Off the heat.

-And we're gonna shut this, and we're gonna let this go another two and a half to three hours.

-We're talking about a total cook time of four to four and a half hours.

-Yeah.

So, let's say I had forgotten to check my propane tank and I notice that my temperature's dropping.

Now's the time where you can move it inside and just pop it in a 300-degree oven.

-Right.

-It's been about two and a half hours.

Let's have a look.

-Ooh!

-Doesn't that look great?

So, we're shooting for a temperature of about 200 degrees.

-Nice!

-Yeah.

-That smells delicious!

-So, let's head inside.

-All right.

Still looks good.

-Yeah.

Right?

Before we can do anything, though, this has to rest for about 20 minutes.

I'm just gonna move it onto the cutting board.

-Ohh!

Beautiful!

-So tender.

These juices are full of pork flavor and smoke flavor, so I'm going to transfer them to this fat separator, and we're just going to let that hang out for a little bit, let the fat separate out to the top.

That takes about five minutes.

And during that time, we can go make the sauce.

-Okay.

-So, I have 2 cups of apple-cider vinegar here, and that's the basis of our sauce.

So, this is 2 tablespoons of ketchup, and it just adds a little body to the sauce.

I've also got 2 teaspoons of light brown sugar... one teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

-Ooh!

-And, then, to season it, just a teaspoon of kosher salt.

And we just whisk this together, really just to dissolve the sugar and salt.

So, it's been 20 minutes.

It's time to start shredding.

-Okay.

And I see some forks here.

I suppose you want me to help.

-I'm putting you to work.

-Happy to help.

-You just kind of get in there, and you steady the meat with one fork... -Mm-hmm.

-...and use the second one to pull out the edges to make little pieces.

I'm looking for something that's bite-size, and if you run across any fat or gristle, now's the time to set it aside.

So, once we finish shredding this... -Time to eat.

-So, this is almost ready.

We're just going to dress it a little bit.

I have those juices here, and they've rested.

So I'm going to pull out about 1/3 cup.

Ooh.

And then a little bit of that sauce.

I've got just 1/2 cup.

-[ Chuckles ] -Nice little toss.

-You ready to try this?

-I am.

-Let's go.

I've got potato rolls here, and they're my favorite way to serve this.

But white sandwich bread is really great.

What do you think?

-Oh, yeah, that's perfect.

-Great.

-Pickles?

-Oh, yeah!

-Okay.

-I think three pickles would be perfection.

-Tiny bit more sauce?

-Just a drizzle.

Ohh!

That is art.

Mmm!

Mm-hmm.

-Mm-hmm.

It's just the right amount of smoke, right?

-You nailed it!

If I hadn't watched you do this, I would have never known that you did it on a gas grill.

The smoke flavor is delicate and fragrant, and you can taste the pork, and the pork is tender but still juicy because you let it go into the pan.

And just the right amount of sauce on it.

-Yeah.

-This is delicious.

Well done!

-Thank you.

-So, you heard it here first.

You can make great barbecue on a gas grill.

Start by cutting a pork butt roast into three pieces and season with salt, pepper, paprika, and brown sugar.

Prepare two packets of wood chips -- one soaked and one unsoaked -- and put them on the grill alongside a pan of water.

Once the grill is hot, turn off all but one burner and cook the pork directly on the grill for one and a half hours.

Then transfer the pork to a disposable pan and continue to cook for two and a half to three hours longer.

And last but not least, make a quick sauce.

From "America's Test Kitchen" to your kitchen, an incredible new recipe for smoky pulled pork on a gas grill.

Mmm!

♪♪ -Salad spinners are kind of like tiny little washing machines set to the spin cycle.

I wouldn't want to make a salad without one, and I wouldn't want to talk about them with anyone other than Adam Ried.

-That would be me!

Hello, Bridget!

Let's discuss salad spinners.

-Yes.

-We have this lineup of seven different spinners here.

The price range was about $16 up to almost $50.

We included a redesign of our old favorite by OXO Good Grips here.

-Okay.

-And, you know, they all have basically the same design.

There is a perforated basket that sits inside of a solid bowl.

And you put the lid on.

There's some kind of mechanism like a plunger or a crank or a pull cord or a lever that will spin the basket.

The centrifugal force drives the moisture off of the greens, collects in the solid bowl, Bob's your uncle, your greens are dry.

-That's right.

-Maybe, if it's a good salad spinner.

-Ah.

-Testers tried this with a different assortment of greens -- some tender spinach, baby spinach, chopped-up kale, spring green mix, and also leeks that had been chopped up and washed.

Those are always really heavy.

-Yes.

-It can make them wobble.

They measured the capacity of the baskets.

They evaluated the mechanisms that make the baskets spin.

And they also did measured amounts of greens and water, spun them dry, and then weighed them at the end to see how much of that water had been driven off.

-Gotcha.

-I have to admit something.

I have a little pet peeve about salad spinners.

-Really?

-I do.

I'm getting old and cranky.

And, you know, washing greens is a necessary evil in the kitchen, and if the capacity of the basket's too small and it forces more batches, that turns my crank.

Drives me crazy.

And that leads us into discussing these two.

They had the smallest baskets of all the spinners here.

They're different brands and different colors, but aside from that, they're identical twins.

-Really?

-Yeah.

And testers found not only did they have small baskets, but when they filled them up with the leeks that had been chopped and washed, the baskets were kind of flimsy.

They would sort of begin to buckle a little when they lifted them up with leeks.

This one has a central stem.

I don't know if you can see that.

-Looks like an angel food cake with a... -It does look like a tube pan.

And this one only held about 63% of what the largest baskets in this lineup held because of this center stem eating up all that space.

Now, while I have it open, why don't you put some greens in there?

Because I'm gonna have you give this one a test.

-All right.

Something I rarely do at home -- and that's touch kale.

-[ Laughs ] So sorry to make you do that, Bridget.

All right.

Lid's on.

Give her a whirl.

See what you think.

-Well, I would think that this is a plunger.

Uh...I have no idea.

-[ Laughs ] -Wait a minute.

There's a little -- little hieroglyphics here on top.

Maybe that's -- I don't know.

-Shouldn't a salad spinner be kind of a no-brainer?

This one was not a no-brainer.

You have to actually rotate the bowl.

It pops up on the stem, and then you push the whole thing down.

-Okay, well, that's kind of fun, but... -[ Laughs ] -Yeah, I don't want to have to take an IQ test before I spin my salad.

-Testers were not impressed with this, either.

This model operates with a lever that you press down.

-Like that.

-Yeah, that's not so bad.

But check this out.

We're gonna lock that back down there, like so.

Stop it.

Hit the brake.

And then, when you want to release it... Boom!

It's like a catapult.

Testers didn't love that one.

So, this guy in front of you with the black top has a pull cord.

-Ah.

It's like a lawnmower.

It's like Saturday morning.

-Exactly.

Testers were not wild about that.

They didn't really like the pulling motion.

They were afraid that if the kitchen was crowded or there was a kid running through or something, you could elbow them by mistake.

Also, they didn't like that the bowl wasn't see-through, so you couldn't really see what was going on.

This one here, what do you think of that one?

-I think it looks kind of cute.

-I'm calling that the refugee from the Dr. Seuss kitchen.

[ Both laugh ] That's got this side-mounted crank.

It actually works just fine.

-Mm-hmm.

-But the manufacturer calls this a "space saver"?

-How is that possible?

Right?

-With this weird offset crank?

This one was actually kind of awkward to store.

And that leads us back to the OXO, where we started, which has a plunger in the center and a nonskid base so that you can actually use it single-handedly, which is really nice.

-And I love the brake.

-And the brake works really well.

Now, this one also excelled at the name of the game, which is drying greens.

-Mm-hmm.

-When testers tested this with a measured amount of greens and water, spun them dry, and then weighed the liquid and the greens, this was the only spinner to get all of the liquid off every single time.

And it kept them dry because the bowl can accommodate 1 3/4 cup of liquid at the bottom -- the stuff that runs off the greens -- without touching the bottom of the basket.

So the greens stay elevated, they stay dry.

So this was, in fact, our winner.

It was the winner last time.

It's the winner this time.

It's the OXO Good Grips salad spinner.

It's about $30.

We have one minor quibble with this.

-Ohh.

-And that is that... you can see the central stem... -Yes.

-..extends down about 2 inches into the basket.

So if you overstuff it, you might end up bruising some of your more delicate greens, and it takes a little space.

But that quibble aside, this is the salad spinner to take out for a spin, Bridget.

-I love it.

Well, there you go.

Why not get the winning salad spinner?

It's the OXO Good Grips salad spinner, and it retails for $30.

♪♪ Have you eaten kale today?

I bet you have.

Maybe you blended it into a smoothie or you had a kale salad for lunch... or maybe you turned kale into chips and snacked on them.

Well, kale is everywhere these days.

There's hashtags, bumper stickers, T-shirts telling us to eat more kale.

But I'm here to do some PR for another green -- which is my favorite -- collard greens.

And Dan's here.

He's going to show us why we should be making them and a great way to eat them.

-So, I'm totally with you.

I think collards are one of the best winter greens.

They're inexpensive, they hold up really well to long cooking, they pick up tons of flavor.

-Yes.

-So we're going to flavor-pack these collards, and that always starts with bacon.

-All good things start with bacon.

-They do.

So, I have six slices of bacon that I cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips, and we're going to render them out and crisp them up here in this Dutch oven.

So I'm gonna place this over medium heat.

So this going to take about 8 to 10 minutes.

We want to go low and slow.

So, while that is happening, I'm gonna finish prepping my collards over here.

So, we're starting with 2 pounds.

It ends up looking like a lot, but it's gonna be the perfect amount when we're done.

The big thing is we just want to get rid of the stem.

So, one way I like to do it -- just kind of fold over the leaf and trace down both sides like that and pop it out.

And I'll do the same with these ones here.

And then stack them up.

Then I'm gonna cut crosswise.

We want roughly 3-inch pieces.

They seem kind of big when they're raw, but they wilt down really nicely.

Collards, like a lot of greens, can be pretty gritty, so what you want to do is cut them and then wash them, get them into a bowl of water here.

So, you want to massage them a little bit in here just to let the grit fall to the bottom, then you pull the greens out.

These happen to be really clean, but if they're dirty, you can do that in a few different changes of water.

We're not going to worry about super drying these.

They're going to go into the pot, and a little bit of water is going to help them wilt down.

-Great.

-So we're gonna leave them a little bit wet.

So we'll just keep stirring this and cooking our bacon -- probably about 8 to 10 minutes until we have a nice rendered fat and crispy bacon.

-Sounds good.

-Oh, man.

This bacon looks so good.

-Mmm.

Crispy, crispy.

-Beautiful, crispy.

And that fat is just as important.

We're gonna put that to good use here.

So, first step is, I'm going to get my bacon out with a slotted spoon.

All right.

So, I'm going to pour the fat off.

I want to see how much is in there.

We're gonna use 2 tablespoons of it in the dish.

-And, see, that's what I add to my smoothies in the morning instead of kale.

-[ Laughs ] All right.

So, there's one... and two tablespoons.

So, our next big flavor element is onion.

We're gonna use a red onion, which is a little bit sweeter.

I really like it here.

It also is kind of pretty in the final dish.

-Yes.

-We're just gonna trim the ends here, and then we are going to cut this pole to pole -- so that means going along the grain.

It means, at the end, the onion's going to hold together a little bit better.

If you went across the grain, it kind of melts in during the long cook time, which would also be fine, but it's nice to have a little more onion presence in there.

All right.

So, whenever we're cutting onions, we want a nice flat surface to work with, want nice dry hands.

We want to use our nice bear claw on here.

So these are about 1/4 inch thick.

And I always like -- When I get about halfway through and it's going to start to get a little more precarious -- I always like to knock it down.

Then you're just repeating that same task over again.

Okay.

Awesome.

So I'm going to transfer this over to my pot now, and I still have this over medium heat.

Hear a nice little sizzle.

[ Sizzling ] So, I'm going to cook this, stirring kind of frequently so we can get all that fond up off the bottom.

It's gonna take 4 to 5 minutes until they're nice and softened.

-All right.

-Okay.

These look gorgeous.

-[ Inhales deeply ] Yep.

-Smell pretty good, too.

-Yeah, they do.

-All right.

Next up is 5 cloves of garlic that is minced.

And 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

-Nice.

-A little bit of heat in there.

Gonna stir this in and cook for about a minute.

We just want really nice fragrant garlic.

Okay.

That looks great.

So we're going to start adding our greens.

So we're actually gonna start with half, put the lid on, and then let them wilt down for about a minute.

It's going to give us space to get the rest in.

-Gotcha.

-All right.

And a minute has gotten us some nice wilting going on there.

-Just a gentle wilting.

-Just enough room for us to get the rest in there.

Gotcha.

-So, the rest of our collards go in.

Then we're gonna add some liquid.

So, we've got a cup of chicken broth... and a cup of water.

And then 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

And just give this a little stir here.

Okay.

I'm gonna quickly cover it.

We want to trap all that steam that's being produced by the broth and the water that we just added in.

And now I'm going to lower this to medium low.

So we're going to cook these for about 35 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until they wilt down and become really tender but still with that nice kind of meaty bite.

-Mmm.

Yes.

-All right.

So, it's been about 40 minutes.

-Ohh!

-Ooh.

That is beautiful.

-Silky.

Oh, look at those.

-So, we're gonna cook this over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for about 8 to 12 minutes until we drive off that liquid, and then you hear a little sizzle, and that's when you know you're done.

[ Sizzling ] All right.

I don't know about you, but I hear a sizzle.

-It's singing.

-Singing, right?

Singing collards.

So, this is awesome.

This is done.

I'm gonna turn off the heat.

Slide it over here.

So, we're going to season this up a little bit.

First off, we're going to add our bacon back in.

-The most important seasoning.

-The most important seasoning.

Exactly.

I'm also adding a tablespoon each of cider vinegar and a tablespoon of olive oil.

Stir that in.

-Every stir brings up a new combination of aromas.

-I'm gonna give a quick little taste here... just seasoning.

[ Blows ] That's really good.

I'm gonna add a little bit of salt.

And I think one of the key flavors for good collards is good pepper.

-Sure.

-Put plenty of pepper on there.

I also think it could use a little more brightness, so I'm gonna add a little bit more cider vinegar.

Adjusting with salt and pepper and acid is nice for most recipes, especially important here.

Okay.

Time to serve them up.

Collards go great with everything.

But you know what?

They don't need anything else.

-They don't.

Mess o' greens.

That's all you need.

-Mess o' greens.

There we go.

-Mmm.

Silky.

Tender.

They're not mushy at all.

They're just tender.

What I love about collard greens is they make you fight for them a little bit.

-There's some bite to it.

-You got to earn it.

-Yeah.

No, I love that.

So many greens can just get completely mushed out, get really, really soft.

These have awesome texture to them, and they're coated in that liquid.

It's like a dressing on the outside of it.

This is a collard salad.

-This is my kind of collard salad.

Smoky bacon.

That sweet pork flavor.

Love the cider vinegar.

-Mmm.

-Mmm.

This reminds me of a poem called "Mama, Fix Collard Greens for Me" by Roger Swagler.

It was written in 1984.

"So, the collards arrived, and her daughter was sad as she looked at them there on the plate.

But just then, a friend tried the greens and said, 'Ooh, these are great.'"

[ Chuckles ] Like you.

-[ Chuckles ] -"And now in New York, you'll not find wine and cheese at the clearly most fashionable scenes.

Oh, no, if you're -- and you -- are upwardly mobile and hip, the smart thing to eat is... -Collard greens?

-...collard greens."

[ Both laugh ] -Well, there you go.

If you want to make collard greens at home -- and believe me, you do -- start by cooking bacon until it's crisp.

In the meantime, prep and wash collard greens.

Remove the bacon and sauté onion in that bacon fat.

Stir in half of the greens until they start to wilt.

Add the remaining greens, chicken broth, and water and cook it all covered until tender.

Remove the lid and cook off any excess liquid and then stir in the bacon, cider vinegar, and olive oil.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

So, there you have it, from "America's Test Kitchen."

Braised winter greens with bacon and onion.

[Whispering] Collard greens.

You can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with testings, tastings, and select episodes on our website.

That's americastestkitchen.com So, now knowing you can do this with collards and not kale, I mean, what is kale?

-What is -- What's kale?

-What is it?

-What is it?

-It's so last year.

-Let us help you with dinner tonight.

Visit our website anytime for free access to the newest season's recipes, taste tests, and equipment ratings or to watch current-season episodes.

Log on to americastestkitchen.com/tv.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪