January 17, 2014 by · 51 Comments
Our family has long been a fan of the often maligned, little brussel sprout! I remember how my kids when they were just little, would beg me to make brussel sprouts for all of those special meals. Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Easter and Christmas; really??…what kids want brussel sprouts for their birthday dinner…lol.
When I began cooking brussel sprouts I knew very little about them, in fact, I am certain the first time we had them, they were frozen and from a bag. I guess I must have spied them in the frozen grocery section and decided they would be a nice change from peas! (I have not had good luck with the frozen version and prefer fresh.)
Did you know that brussel sprouts are actually the edible buds found on thestalk of the brussels sprout plant? I have only seen them in the form below at the Farmer’s Market. I usually buy them bulk in the produce aisle of the supermarket or in a bag from Costco.
{Photo attribution:Captmondo (CC)}
I wasn’t sure what to do with this somewhat foreign (to me) vegetable so I just followed the directions on the bag and either steamed or boiled them, with less than stellar results. Cooked either of these ways, I found them to be rather bland with a strong cabbage-like taste. But, they were a change from the regular vegetables, and for some unknown reason, my kids just loved them.
Over the years, my daughter and I have often experimented with the cooking of this vegetable and have finally come up with a winning recipe. My daughter, Shannon, is actually the author of this delicious recipe for Caramelized Brussel Sprouts. As much as I would like to claim this recipe and the accompanying photos as mine, they are all hers.
How to Cook Brussel Sprouts
When time permits, I have always found itmuch simpler to prepare a dish when you gather your ingredients and do all the prep work before beginning to cook. You may have heard French chefs refer to this process as,“mise en place” or “put in place”.
Caramelizing the shallots. If you don’t have shallots you could use a red or white onion, however, the onion flavour will be a bit stronger.
The brussel sprouts are beginning to caramelize, this process makes them taste a bit sweeter.
The tasty finished product!
4.7 from 10 reviews
How to Cook Brussel Sprouts (w/Recipe}
Ingredients
- 1½ - 2 pounds brussel sprouts
- 5 slices bacon, diced
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 shallot, diced
- ⅓ cup hot water (if needed)
- juice from ½ lemon
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash and remove the outer leaves from brussel sprouts, trim stem end and cut in half. If brussel sprout is smaller, you can leave whole & just cut an X in the bottom to allow heat to penetrate.
- In a large skillet, cook bacon until evenly browned, remove bacon from skillet, drain excess grease leaving a couple tablespoons of grease behind.
- Stir butter and olive oil into the bacon grease, add shallots and cook until translucent.
- Add the halved brussel sprouts and pan fry, stirring frequently until the brussel sprouts are golden and tender, yet still slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn them or they will taste bitter. Add ⅓ cup hot water if pan is getting dry and sprouts aren't cooking).
- To re-heat bacon, add it back to the pan for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
- Squeeze lemon juice over cooked brussel sprouts and season with salt and pepper.
If you have never had them, I hope you will give the little brussel sprout a try, they are actually quite delicious and a different taste from our regular green vegetables.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask and I or my daughter will do our best to answer them.
Do you like to eat brussel sprouts? Do your kids like them?
How do you cook them?
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