J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the managing culinary director of Serious Eats, shows readers how to make the best fried chicken, French fries and other fare in the The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science (Norton, Sept.), a 900-plus page guide to the best techniques and recipes. PW spent some time with Lopez-Alt to discuss the book’s heft, and the importance of embracing all good food, from foie gras to Velveeta.

Did you set out to write a book close to 1,000 pages?

I was first contracted to write a 380 page book, but it just kind of grew. The first draft was 800 pages. I was afraid that my editor would want to cut it down, but instead she suggested we make it even bigger and asked for another 800 pages. We were thinking of releasing it as a two-volume box set, but that seemed too unwieldy.

What do you make of comparisons to authors like Alton Brown, and the decidedly more academic Cook’s Illustrated?

I worked at Cook’s Illustrated for a number of years and I really enjoyed working there. A lot of the things I learned there, such as a more methodical approach [to recipe development], I tried to bring to this book.

The thing I always found lacking in their writing, and it’s a conscious choice, is that individual writers don’t have a voice. That’s fine, but this is a personal book. My goal with the book was to give the reader enough information to adapt the recipe to come up with a way to make your steak the way you like it. That’s where the science of knowing what goes into a recipe and how the ingredients interact into play. The goal is to teach people how to cook for themselves and develop recipes they like.

Your approach to recipe development involves a lot of testing. Are there any dishes you never want to make or eat again?

(Laughs) No. To be honest, most of the time my wife and I stick to a fairly vegetarian diet and there’s a lot of meat recipes in the book. That said, if I am in the mood for a steak, that’s the recipe I’m going to be using.

That’s really what the book is about. It’s not the healthiest stuff, but if you’re going to make stovetop macaroni and cheese or a steak, this is the way to get the best result.

Speaking of meat, you tell readers it’s totally fine to flip your steaks or burgers frequently on the grill. Have you gotten a lot of flack for that?

There are a few things I’ve gotten flack for, but it’s pretty easy to defend yourself when you have evidence on your side. And if you have doubts you can test that theory yourself. Anyone who’s cooking a steak for themselves and a friend can buy two steaks and cook one of them one way and the other the other way and see whose steak tastes the best.

The book is remarkably egalitarian. One minute you’re touting the benefits of Velveeta and another you’re showing readers how to make a DIY sous vide cooker.

That’s a philosophy we take very seriously at Serious Eats. Good food is good food, whether it’s high or low. If you can tell when someone cooks foie gras properly you should also be able to tell the difference between a good hot dog and a bad hot dog. I think most real world people are like that. They like fancy things but they also like their comfort food.

Are there any recipes that took so long you’re sick of them?

Not really. The onion rings and French fries took a while. The Bolognese recipe in the book is something I’ve been working on for years. I probably shouldn’t tell people this, but at this point the one in the book isn’t the way I make it at home. But I think that happens with every recipe. You’re always tweaking and modifying.