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Brussels sprouts may have disappointed you in the past, but these right here are sure to change your opinion on them. These roasted brussels sprouts are cooked in bacon fat then roasted in the oven until crispy. They’re then tossed in cajun, honey, bacon bits, and plated on top of a homemade dressing.
Key ingredients for roasted brussels sprouts
Bacon
Brussels sprouts and bacon are like a match made in heaven. Bacon is a key ingredient not only for the bacon bits but also for the fat that is rendered out. SO much of the flavor comes from using the bacon fat to cook our brussels sprouts. In this recipe, I used 6 slices of bacon and all of the rendered out fat to cook the brussels sprouts.
Honey with roasted brussels sprouts?
If you have ever had plain brussels sprouts then you know how bitter they naturally are. The touch of honey really transforms the flavor and gets rid of the bitterness. Some other common ways to counteract the bitterness is by adding balsamic vinegar or lemon juice.
Homemade salad dressing
By adding a homemade salad dressing, it turns regular roasted brussels sprouts into a salad. The dressing goes perfectly with the sprouts and makes for a beautiful plate.
When mixing together the ingredients for the dressing, you can adjust the consistency to your liking using water. If you want to keep it thicker, don’t add water and if you want it more runny then add more water.
How long to cook roasted brussels sprouts?
After coating the brussels sprouts in our bacon fat, I placed them into the oven at a preheated temperature of 410F for 20 minutes. This was the perfect time and temperature for me to achieve crispy but not burnt sprouts. You may need to play with the time and temperature of the oven according to your desired crispiness.
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients
- 1 lbs brussel sprouts
- 1 cup diced pancetta
- 1 cup mayo
- 2 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp pickle juice
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Wash brussel sprouts and split them in half.1 lbs brussel sprouts
- Dice pancetta into small portions.1 cup diced pancetta
- Place pancetta into a cold cast iron pan, then turn up the heat to med-high.1 cup diced pancetta
- Continue cooking until the fat is rendered out. Remove the browned pancetta from the pan, but leave the oil in the pan.
- Add our brussel sprouts into the pan. Stir to coat in the oil then place the brussel sprouts, flat side down.1 lbs brussel sprouts
- Place pan into the oven at 420F for 20-25 minutes.
- While that is cooking in the oven, mix together, mayo, mustard, worcestershire sauce, grated parmesan, black pepper, and pickle juice. This is our dressing.1 cup mayo, 2 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup grated parmesan, 1 tsp black pepper, 2 tbsp pickle juice
- Once brussel sprouts are cooked, toss them in honey and add the pancetta back in.1 tbsp honey, 1 cup diced pancetta
- Serve crispy brussel sprouts on a plate with our dressing, and top with more parmesan.
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Any suggestions for a pickle juice substitute?