Years ago I shared a food stand with close friends at a large fairground. Our families worked the booth on the weekends and it was a lot of fun.
I often came in early to prepare five or six soups... Spicy Vegetarian Black Bean, Chicken & Macaroni, Beef Barley, Tomato etc...
We served salads and sandwiches as well; the most popular sandwich was sliced roast beef on a toasted roll with gravy, onion rings, and provolone, we frequently ended up with extra rolls at the end of a shift. Naturally… croutons.
At the time, I typically served croutons only with certain soups—styles that truly benefited from that added texture and richness. But the rest of the team had a different idea. They started offering croutons on every soup, no matter the style, and the customers absolutely loved it. It became one of those small, unexpected touches that kept people coming back.
Croutons for Beginner's
The Craft of Croutons: Elevating Soups & Salad
Croutons are undeniably delicious—after all, delicious bread fried in flavorful fat is one of life’s simple pleasures. Yet what often gets overlooked is the various global styles of croutons which exist, each shaped by regional ingredients preferences and culinary traditions. Thoughtfully prepared, a crouton does far more than add crunch; it enhances the character of the dish it accompanies.
For hearty, split pea soup, I gravitate toward crustless cubes of white bread gently fried in lard or butter—rich, tender, and deeply traditional. In Mediterranean cooking, I take a different approach, tossing rustic chunks of Italian bread with olive oil and baking it until crisp, keeping the crust on for texture and flavor. Sometimes I go even further and grill slices of bread for a crostini-style crouton, perfect for hearty broths (Onion Soup, Gratinee) or vibrant vegetable dishes.
Croutons may be simple, but when prepared with intention, they become an expression of culinary technique—and a small but meaningful way to elevate any bowl or plate.
Croutons
Prep Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 20 min
Yield: 4 ea
Ingredients
1 Cup Bread cubed-(crust on or off )
1 Cup Clarified Butter or Oil (I love Olive Oil)
tt Salt and Pepper
Spices and/or grated cheese (optional)
How to prepare Croutons
Step 1 Mise en place
Dice the bread; you can save the trim for breadcrumbs.
Gather a skimmer; set up a plate with napkin to place the fried croutons onto.
Heat the clarified butter or oil in a small pot.
Step 2 Frying the Croutons (350° F oil)
Place some of the croutons carefully into the hot fat, the croutons will float and the fat should bubble immediately. If you are unsure of how to determine if the fat is the correct temperature for frying, you may choose to use a thermometer or simply place one crouton in the fat to see if it's bubbling and hot.
Baking the Croutons (350° F oven)
Place the croutons into a bowl and toss with fat (or place croutons onto a sheet tray and drizzle the fat) and bake at 350° F until golden brown).
I like to add fresh herbs and garlic to infuse delicious flavors when preparing croutons for salads.
Croutons continue to brown after you've taken them from the hot fat so I scoop them out with a slotted spoon when the croutons are golden brown and sprinkle salt and pepper on for flavor. You can sprinkle grated cheese or spices on at this time as well.
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Years ago I traveled around the south for a few weeks researching some of the amazing foods of each region. In Charleston, I was introduced to a local pig farmer, Tank Jackson who manages Holy City Hogs. Tank and his wife raise heritage breed pigs and distribute the pigs around the country. He offers on-site cooking whole pig roasts, primal cuts and sausages, and I believe he produces the best pork in the country.
Years ago, while working as a chef in a busy continental restaurant, we featured grilled, fresh swordfish on the menu—finished with a generous spoonful of herbed compound butter and capers. It was popular and delicious. One afternoon, a seafood purveyor stopped by with a sample of frozen swordfish steaks, fully thawed and ready for evaluation. Curious, we grilled it side by side with the “fresh” swordfish we had been serving—fish we believed to be of high quality. The result was surprising. The frozen swordfish was superior—firmer, cleaner in flavor, and more consistent in texture. In contrast, our “fresh” fish, likely several days out of the water, lacked the same integrity. It was a defining moment and an important reminder: in many cases, properly handled and quickly frozen seafood can offer better quality than fish labeled as fresh. For chefs, understanding sourcing and handling is just as critical as technique—especially with a product as prized as swordfish.