YPDIW: Brussels Sprouts
Every year during the holidays, these little green balls show up on the dinner table, and the kids typically hide them under their mashed potatoes to make it seem like they got eaten so they may receive a slice of pie. Even adults seem to have a strong dislike of these cruciferous vegetables.
So why is it that Brussels Sprouts receive so much global hatred? Well, I believe that the reason is simple: it is because people often don’t cook them the right way and they boil them. In fact, this boiling craze just might be part of the reason why kids grow up hating vegetables in general; adults wouldn’t want to eat vegetables that are mushy and bland, so why do we expect kids to eat them?
My guess is that this craze for boiling sprouts stems from a trend in the last century where boiling just about everything was ‘in the now.’ While boiling is certainly a fast way of cooking Brussels sprouts, I’m afraid that this is a case where speed does not exactly equal quality. The truth is that boiling is the worst way you can possibly cook Brussels sprouts.
When you boil sprouts, you often run the risk of overcooking them to the point where they become gray, have the texture of baby food, and taste the way old cabbage smells, almost smelling like old farts. You definitely don’t want these mushy, smelly bombs at your dinner table, especially during Thanksgiving and the holidays.
Now, I’m going to share the right way to prepare and cook Brussels sprouts in a way that might change your mind about them and make them your new favorite vegetable. It’s what happened to me.
To prepare Brussels sprouts, there are a few simple steps you’ll need to do. First, you will want to peel away some of the outer leaves, these outer leaves are a bit chewier and tend to collect some of the dirt that builds up as the sprouts grow, so you definitely want to get rid of them. It’s very easy to do, just grab the first 2-3 leaves and peel them away like peeling a banana; right away, you’ll notice the bright green insides of the sprouts.
It’s this reason why I generally don’t wash my Brussels sprouts before cooking them, removing those leaves tends to remove the dirt as well, but if you still wish to wash them, then that’s fine by me.
You’ll then want to trim off the very bottom stem, which is also a bit chewy, but don’t cut the stem away completely, as that keeps the leaves intact while the sprouts cook. Just cut a very thin piece away from each sprout. From there, you want to cut each Brussels sprout in half to promote even cooking. If any of your sprouts happen to be larger than a golf ball, then I’d suggest cutting them into quarters instead.
Ok, now your sprouts are prepared, now comes the big question: how do you cook them?
What you need to know about Brussels sprouts is that, like a lot of vegetables, Brussels Sprouts contain a good amount of sugar, so when introduced to dry forms of heat such as roasting, sautéing, or air frying that sugar tends to caramelize a bit and open up a ton of flavor for the sprouts themselves.
That being said, here’s a great way to get some caramelization on your sprouts while also ensuring that they cook through.
Start by placing your Brussels sprouts cut-side down into a large, cold frying pan with a thin layer of a high smoke point oil such as vegetable or canola. You’ll then want to turn the heat on to medium-high and leave the sprouts alone for at least 5 minutes, this is what’s going to slowly get that nice caramelization going to make the sprouts taste like nothing you’ve had before. You will want to have either a lid for the pan or a sheet of foil nearby for the next step.
After about 5 minutes, jab at one of the sprouts in the middle of the pan and have a look at it. If you can see a layer of that golden-brown goodness, you can move on; if not, give them another minute or two.
From there, you’ll want to add some form of liquid, I am using marsala wine for this as I like the flavor but you can also use dry sherry or even just water. You don’t need a lot of liquid at this stage as, again, we are not boiling the sprouts, but about 2 tablespoons or a good splash of your liquid will do just fine. Once that liquid is added, you’ll want to immediately cover the sprouts and let them start to steam for about 5 minutes.
Yes, this is wet heat now, but we are not actually boiling the sprouts here, we are technically steaming them which will help get the leaves nice and tender without losing any of the sprouts’ natural flavor or color.
Once the liquid has evaporated, check the sprouts again, and now you should start to see a really nice golden brown, slightly crisp edge underneath those tender sprouts. From there, you’ll want to turn off the heat and add a glug of some form of sweetener, I’m using maple syrup because I like the flavor, but you can also use honey, brown sugar, or agave nectar. You will want to take the pan off the heat at this point, as that sugar can burn very easily.
You’ll want to toss the sprouts in that sweetener just until it thickens into a nice glaze and coats each sprout. You’ll also want to give the sprouts some seasoning, a bit of salt and pepper will do, and…that’s it. Now those look more like Brussels sprouts you’d actually want to eat, don’t they?
When cooked right, Brussels sprouts have a nice firm texture with a decent amount of flavor backed up by that wonderful caramelization of the natural sugars in the sprouts, plus the marsala and maple syrup come together to form a wonderfully sticky glaze.
Want to take them to another level? Fine, instead of the oil, place the sprouts into a pan that was just used to cook bacon and let those salty bacon drippings season the sprouts as they cook them. You can also then toss the bacon with the sprouts at the end for a bit of texture.
I’m telling you, your world is going to change once you’ve tried making brussels sprouts this way.
