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"Wow. These are delicious. And all this time, I thought I hated Brussels sprouts!"

Yeah, we hear that a lot.  

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 cup cooked bacon, diced
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• sea salt
• fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan combine syrup, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to simmer and cook for 1-3 minutes until sugar is fully dissolved and mixture is not grainy. Set aside.
2. Heat approximately 2" of fat (peanut and/or canola work well or try beef tallow for a real treat) in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot on your stove to 375 degrees.
3. Add Brussels sprouts to the hot oil and immediately cover. The sprouts have a lot of moisture and will splatter intensely during the early cooking stage.
4. Fry Brussels sprouts until they reach a dark golden brown - about 6 minutes, adding the shallots about half way through the cook time. You may need to work in 2-3 batches depending on the size of your pot.
5. Using an oil skimmer, slotted spoon, or wire basket, remove Brussels sprouts and shallots from the fryer and move to a cooling rack to drain. Lightly blot with paper towels.
6. In a large bowl gently toss the sprouts and shallots together with the glaze and diced bacon.
7. Lightly season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. You can add or substitute red pepper flakes, cayenne, sesame seeds, green onions, etc. as desired.

Alternative preparation:

If you have no way to safely avoid the splattering of the cold sprouts when they hit the hot oil, you can try this optional cooking method.

1. Combine the cold sprouts and cold fat together in your Dutch oven or heavy pot.
2. Move to the stove and heat over high heat.
3. Cook the sprouts until dark golden brown - about 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally during cooking, but take care not to over agitate which will cause the leaves to separate.

Enjoy!