No Stupid Questions

Honestly I’ve never had broccoli do that on me.

Preheat to 425. Just do bite-sized florets on a baking sheet, drizzle (or spray) with a bit of oil (I use avocado), and dust with salt + pepper + whatever else you want. Roast them for 12 mins; add a bit of time if you want more of a char, and/or less crispness. There’s a sweet spot of balance you’re looking for. Remove; optionally spritz with lemon.

Under no circumstances should you boil or steam broccoli (or any vegetable, unless it’s a blanche/par-boil). That’s disgusting. We want to experience the texture and flavor of the vegetable. We are not feeding an infant incapable of consuming solid food.

My grandmother may or may not have murdered more than her fair share of vegetables when I was a wee lad.

Edit: derp, of course: I assume your partner is a super-sensory person? I’ve got a good friend whose husband is a super-taster. It honestly sounds like a pain - like you’re so hypersensitive to that sense that almost everything is just an overload :(

Baked didn't work?

We do that as the default, and the smell is never there.

Here's our process.

First, defrost if frozen. Otherwise you're essentially steaming it as it thaws in the oven, which means that instead of browning up and getting sweeter, you end up with the sulfur compounds forming before that can happen.

If not frozen, you should be fine to start.

If you're working from whole heads of broccoli, break it down into roughly even sized florettes, with the stems being cut down to maybe a half inch or so.

Make sure it's well oiled. It helps the heat transfer, which reduces the end smell. A big bowl helps get it evenk drizzling really isn't great for roast veggies imo.

Season after oiling; the salt, pepper and optionals will stick better and not burn. Now, here's an optional, but it really is highly recommended. Acid. Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white wine or champagne vinegar, even balsamic. It helps break up the chemicals as they form and get released. Sliced lemons work too, though definitely keep the juices and add them too.

Preheat to 400 or 425. No lower, you want the heat to be high enough that it cooks fast, fifteen to twenty minutes, checking at 15 and staying close after. If you have a convection oven, go with 400 for sure, and check at about 12 minutes and keep a close eye on it.

You want the broccoli browned, and fork tender. Once it hits that, pull it.

Over cooking is where the smell comes from. So if you get the first hint of that sulfur smell, pull it immediately, even if it isn't done, since you don't want the smell. Carry over cooking can finish the job, it just won't be as yummy without that deep browning.

Roasting is the least "smelly" option.

Steaming, the window is short between perfectly cooked and smelly. Maybe as little as a minute. Lots of lemon slices over the top helps though.

Boiling, you gotta parboil, blanche, then repeat. It keeps the sulfur compounds from taking over before it's cooked through.

Deep fried works, but it really seems like a bad idea to me. Why eat something as healthy as broccoli and dump it into hot oil? It adds unnecessary calories even if you drain it well, and breaded broccoli ia similar, plus you don't taste the broccoli as much.

You might be overcooking it. Once the cell walls rupture too much, the sulfur compounds spread out and start to overpower the rest of the vegetable. It should still be somewhat firm/crisp when you bite into it.

You might also be using broccoli that's had too many of the cell walls ruptured from processing before cooking. If you're cutting with a dull knife, especially into small pieces, or smashing it somehow before cooking, those smells will leak out a bit faster.

Or, if you're cooking from frozen, the ice crystals might have mushed up the vegetable.

Here's the two main ways I cook broccoli:

Blanched: cut broccoli into big florets, big enough to constitute two big bites. Boil a lot of water, salted to about 2% salinity. Once it's a rolling boil, put the broccoli in, and set a timer for 4 minutes. As soon as the timer goes off, dump the broccoli into a strainer and run cold water over it, or dunk it in ice water, to stop the cooking process. Serve and eat.

Roasted: cut broccoli into big florets. Toss in oil, and season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven with a sheet pan in it, to 450°F. Once preheated, take the broccoli and place it in a single layer on the sheet pan. It should sizzle. Roast for about 15-20 minutes, optionally flipping once (better char if you don't flip it, but it's only on one side).

Optional seasonings: garlic, pepper, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, honey, bread crumbs, pine nuts, any combination of the above. Works with either blanched or roasted.

Fascinating thread. Is there some genetic component that makes broccoli stinky to some people and not others? Is this why some people are averse to broccoli? I'm surprised to see everyone just accepting the premise of the question. I love boiling broccoli precisely because it smells amazing.

Where do you live that broccoli smells like anything unappetizing? This is absolutely insane. Maybe wash your vegetables before cooking them?

0 minutes in the instant pot comes out perfect every time

I've never noticed a bad smell, but instant pot for 1 minute high pressure is quickest way to cook.

Man, I used broccoli all the time. Just chuck it in the over for a bit, or stir fry it. No stink, delicious, crisp, bright, crunchy.

These days I don't cook as often and people who do just insist on boiling it or steaming it into mush, which is like dropping a stink bomb in the kitchen and turns it into puree. Broccoli is meant to be green, not brown, you guys.

On the plus side you can recycle that absolutely gross overdone broccoli into vegan burger patties and it's actually good like that. Still, you have to get through the stinkbomb part first.

Have you tried blanching? I never noticed a strong smell that way.

Deep fried in tempura.

Outside on the BBQ lol

I love it in the air fryer, similar to baked broccoli, just a bit more crispy

Honestly, broccoli is wonderful microwaved. Put it in a covered dish with just a little water. For a couple servings, I do on high like 2.5 minutes. Easy to adjust the time to get it just the way you want it. You can't get it crispy that way, but it's basically like perfectly steamed.

Broccoli is probably the least offensive of the Brassicas but they all stink when cooking. Baking in a casserole or something that covers the broccoli completely might work. I imagine the only stink free way would be raw or possibly suis vide.