Name: Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts; 3 tablespoons good olive oil; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Discover > Texas Recipes > Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts are a seasonal favorite eaten around the world during Christmas. It’s easy to see why they may not be on everyone’s top list of veggies. However, with this recipe, we’ll show you that these brussel sprouts can be more than tolerated, and actually top your list of side dishes! This recipe offsets the bitterness brussel sprouts are infamous for, with a sweet and savory candied bacon (how long does bacon last?). What’s not to like?

How to Make Candied Bacon

Candied bacon, also referred to as “pig candy”, can be made with two simple ingredients: bacon and brown sugar. We’re not going to stop there though. Here we add maple syrup (how long does maple syrup last?) and balsamic vinegar (how long does balsamic vinegar last?) for an all-in-one flavor explosion.

You can use sliced bacon for this but it works far better with pancetta. They’re bigger, more defined pieces blend and cook much better. Place the cubes into a cold frying pan and place it over medium heat. Adding them to the pan when they’re cold will help the fat to render properly.

Fry the pancetta until the fat is completely rendered followed by the brown sugar, maple syrup, and balsamic vinegar.

Toss in the pan until all the liquid is gone then transfer to a bowl and set aside.

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How to Roast Brussel Sprouts

Most often people roast sprouts whole using the cross on the bottom method to ‘keep them from going soggy’. The truth is nobody likes them whole, it’s just too much brussel sprout. On top of that trying to pin one down and cut it into pieces yourself is a pain in itself.

All that sounds over top but cooking is just as much about making the eating experience pleasurable. So before you do anything: remove the hard part of the stem (leaving some of it so they stay intact), and halve them.

Preheat your oven to 430ºF. This sounds like a lot, but quick and high heat will give them color, texture, and less time to go mushy.

Add the halved sprouts to a large bowl and toss with some olive oil and black pepper. Avoid adding salt to them until the end as it pulls water from the plant’s cells.

Evenly distribute them onto a baking tray and place them in the oven to roast for around 25 minutes. The outsides should be browned and crispy and the inside should be tender.

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Serving Brussels Sprouts

Once the sprouts come out of the oven, season them with a few pinches of flaky sea salt (how long does sea salt last?) and add the candied bacon. There shouldn’t be any free-flowing liquid with the bacon. This will just coat everything in thick syrup and render it inedible.

Yield: 6

Author: Bea Padilla