"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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In a large bowl gently toss the sprouts and shallots together with the glaze and diced bacon.
- 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.
- Combine the cold sprouts and cold fat together in your Dutch oven or heavy pot.
- Move to the stove and heat over high heat.
- 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!