We are in full Thanksgiving mode over here, and I’m so excited to share the side dish you need to have on your holiday table: caramelized brussels sprouts!
I remember back when nobody was really making brussels sprouts. Their grassy, somewhat “bitter” taste threw a lot of people off. Nowadays, it’s pretty hard to find a restaurant that doesn’t serve up their version of the little cabbages.
The trick is to simply know how to cook them properly and what flavors work with them. Your first step should always be to blanch the brussels sprouts. This is basically when they get submerged in boiling water just for a few minutes, not until they’re fully cooked, but just enough to take away some of the bitterness. Blanching also softens them and preserves their beautiful bright green color.
After blanching, it’s all about layering flavors. I went pretty traditional here with onions, bacon, honey, and mustard…because honestly it just works.
You definitely want the bacon to add a nice “fatty” bite, the honey for sweetness (you definitely need lots of sweetness…I also added prunes), and the mustard for a tangy kick. All of these flavors round out the brussels sprouts so they can be as delicious as possible.
I add a little butter and lemon juice at the end to finish off these caramelized brussels sprouts on the best possible note. The pictures don’t quite do it justice, but there’s this really syrupy, sticky sauce that is created and is just addicting.
The other key element when working with brussels sprouts is to get them extremely caramelized. I’m talking almost on the verge of being charred.
So, what I like to do is render the bacon, cook the onions, and then clear the skillet to caramelize the brussels. Mine were pretty small so I left them whole, but if you have larger brussels sprouts then definitely slice them in half. You want as much surface area to be caramelizing in the hot skillet as possible.
I used a 12” Lodge cast-iron skillet, so in order to get the brussels to caramelize well, I cooked the brussels in two batches. Main takeaway: you don’t want to overcrowd the pan or else they won’t get the color and texture you’re looking for…which is golden brown, tender, and really crisp on the edges.
Alright, that is all I’ve got on these caramelized brussels sprouts! I hope you love them.
Stay tuned for lots more Thanksgiving ideas that will keep your menu exciting and completely delicious, like this roasted pumpkin bacon soup with popcorn granola!
addicting caramelized brussels sprouts with bacon, honey, mustard, and dried plums
serves: 6
Author:Kayla Howey
Ingredients
Scale
24 oz brussels sprouts
6 oz bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
safflower oil, as needed
4 oz prunes, chopped (or any other dried fruit)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
Instructions
Trim the ends off each brussels sprout, only taking off a sliver and still leaving some of the root intact so the brussels sprouts stay together. Remove any dark, thicker leaves. In a pot of boiling, salted water, blanch the brussels sprouts for 4 minutes. Drain the brussels sprouts and transfer them to an ice bath (a big bowl of ice water). Let them cool in the ice bath for 1 minute. Transfer them to a sheet pan lined with paper towels to fully dry.
In a cast-iron skillet (I used my 12” Lodge skillet), add the bacon over medium heat. Let the bacon render until crispy, stirring occasionally. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
In the same skillet over medium heat, add the onions to the bacon fat. Let them sauté for a few minutes until caramelized. Remove the onions from the pan and reserve.
Raise the heat to medium-high and add enough oil to the skillet (most of the bacon fat should be absorbed) to coat the bottom. When the oil is sizzling hot, add half of the brussels sprouts. Let caramelize and char slightly in the pan on all sides, about 6 minutes or as long as they need. Remove the brussels sprouts and repeat with the remaining ones. Once the remaining brussels sprouts are caramelized, add the first batch of brussels back into the skillet. Add the onions, prunes, Dijon mustard, and honey. Let cook and reduce for about 3 minutes. Lower the heat to low. Add the lemon juice and butter. Let the butter melt. Stir in the bacon at the end. Season with salt to taste.
In the late 1990s scientists identified specific chemicals, called glucosinolates, that made Brussels sprouts taste bitter. Plant breeders started growing old seeds, previously discarded for producing paltry harvests, to identify tastier versions with lower levels of these compounds.
The combination of techniques, searing then roasting, is what gives restaurant Brussel Sprouts the upper hand on the until-now pathetic homemade variety. Eureka! Avoid using a glass baking dish with very high sides, as this will trap moisture inside the pan, causing the sprouts to steam rather than roast.
The soak time tenderizes the sprouts so the middles are softer. Don't worry, they won't be soggy! I would never do that to you. If, like me, you don't mind some chew to your sprouts, you don't need to soak the Brussels sprouts prior to cooking.
One technique for mitigating bitterness in Brussels sprouts is to blanch them. (This technique also works for making collard greens less bitter, as well as other greens.) Blanching involves adding your veg to boiling water for a brief period, then plunging it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.
A Dutch scientist named Hans van Doorn, who worked at a seed and chemical company, figured out exactly which chemical compounds in Brussels sprouts made them bitter. The next step was to plant sprouts with the least amount of these chemicals and eventually cross-pollinate the chemicals out.
Well, burning (or charring if you prefer) intensifies flavor. It's a lot of the same reason we brown vegetables. Heat creates reactions with sugars, amino acids, and proteins to create new flavor molecules and aromas. You end up with a depth of flavor you'll never have when a vegetable is raw.
Steaming Brussels sprouts preserves more of the nutrients and antioxidants than any other cooking method. And they turn out tasting like crisp-tender, sweet little nuggets. Plus they're just about the quickest veggie side dish you can cook.
While broccoli may have a higher count of calories, fat, and carbs, it is richer in calcium, iron, and pantothenic acid (a B vitamin that does wonders for healthy hair), and has a bit more potassium. Brussels sprouts, on the other hand, are lower in sodium.
To maximize the flat areas, which get the most crispy surface area, cut your Brussels sprouts in half. If your Brussels sprouts are very small, you can leave them whole (and if they are very large, quarter them).
Place them face down and resist the urge to move them around. A searing hot baking sheet with the brussels cut side down is the key to crispy brussel perfection.
Unlike other vegetables, Brussels sprouts can be parboiled (even a day ahead) to reduce the roasting time without hurting their texture. That means the sprouts can be popped in the oven while the meat is resting before carving. Of course, if the main course is grilled or pan-cooked, the oven will be free for roasting.
A slow-growing, long-bearing crop, Brussels sprouts should be planted in early spring, or mid- to late summer for a crop that matures in the fall. The small heads mature best in cool and even in light frosty weather. Spring planting is also fine in cooler climates.
Let me start by saying that many restaurants deep fry Brussels sprouts, and that's certainly a delicious (albeit sometimes greasy) option, but in my opinion, you can get equally tasty results from the oven.
We like to use olive oil, but plain vegetable oil is great too. If the sprouts are well-coated, they'll caramelize and char instead of simply softening in the oven. Follow this tip: For every 1 pound of Brussels sprouts, you'll want to use 2 tablespoons of oil.
Because PTC is prevalent in Brussels sprouts, these so-called "Supertasters" perceive them as intensely bitter. This is all connected to a taste-related gene called TAS2R38, which has a variant called AVI and one called PAV.
After the sprouts are roasted and caramelized, drizzle honey (or hot honey), soy or balsamic glaze, or go sweet and savory with sweet chili or maple syrup. Sub in other cheeses while you're at it, like Gruyère, feta, or blue, depending on your mood.
Some people cut a cross in the base to make sure they cook evenly, but with smaller ones it's not necessary, as it can cause them to go mushy. Larger ones can be cut in half. To boil, put into a pan with some salt, cover with boiling water, bring back to the boil and cook, covered, for 5-10 mins.
Introduction: My name is Jonah Leffler, I am a determined, faithful, outstanding, inexpensive, cheerful, determined, smiling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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