Brussels Sprouts: The Unexpected Culinary Swan

Some kind of "Brussels sprouts" website ^ | It was some time ago | Dani Lind (Girl, I suppose)

[SamAdams76]

All my life I’ve had a thing for the underdog. Be it the passed over toy as a little girl or the loser boyfriend as a teenager, I guess I took the ugly duckling fairy tale to heart. Now in my adulthood, I have taken the poor, rejected, locally grown vegetables under my wing—the underutilized, the newly-trendy, the formerly beloved fallen out of modern favor, or the just plain weird.

In the case of Brussels sprouts, they are a vegetable all too often cooked very wrong and, hence, tend to carry a bad rap. Who wouldn’t hate Brussels sprouts if all you’ve ever experienced were boiled, slimy, sulphurous mush-balls? To appreciate these poor, abused little sprouts, you first have to know not to over-boil them. You then need to be willing to experiment. And it helps to get them fresh from a local grower right after a nice fall frost.

Like fall-harvested carrots and overwintered parsnips and spinach, freezing temperatures cause the sugar content of Brussels sprouts to shoot up, acting as anti-freeze—what a tasty survival mechanism! Not only is this the cheapest time of year to buy Brussels sprouts, but it’s by far the tastiest. Look at your farmers market for whole stalks with their little sprouts still attached, and you’ll get to walk around feeling really cool with this bizarre, knobby, green club sticking out of your bag (please don’t use it as a weapon, no matter how tempting).

If you think those harvested stalks at the market look rad, you should see a field of Brussels sprouts at maturity. Resembling exotic, Jurassic-park-like, mini palm trees, the three- to four-foot tall plants have a single stem covered in Brussels sprout “buttons” spiraling up from its base to the umbrella-like leaves. (If you crawled around on the ground between the rows you could pretty easily pretend you’re a dinosaur.)

If you simply must have off-season sprouts, you can buy them almost year-round if you look hard enough—central California, with its perfect-for-brassicas long, cool, humid growing season produces them June through January, and Mexico picks up the slack from December through June. Personally, I like to get my fill of them during our local, frost-sweetened sprout season in October and November so that I’m not tempted by the nine dollar per pound, bitter, pale ones in March.

Timed right, Brussels sprouts will hold out in the field through many light frosts, extending the harvest for several weeks. If harvested on the stalk, they will keep in a 33 to 34 degree root cellar, basement or garage for a few weeks, depending on conditions. If plucked off the stem, keep them unwashed and untrimmed in plastic in the coldest part of your fridge (usually the bottom back shelf) for up to 5 weeks.

[SamAdams76]

I like the Brussels sprouts. Do you know what I do to cook them?

Well I cut the ends off and slice them in half. Then I put olive oil over them and lots of pepper and a little kosher salt. Then, I slice up some garlic cloves and then some bacon ends.

Bacon ends, you ask?

Well I get a package of bacon and slice off about 1.5 inches off each end. Right while they are still in the package! Those go in with the Brussels sprouts and the rest get cooked with my eggs for breakfast.

Then I either put them in the oven at 400 degrees or I wrap them in tin foil and put them on the grill. I cook until they are blackened. They end up tasting like candy.

Yes, Brussels sprouts can taste like candy and they have a much better nutritional value than candy. If you don't believe me, you can ask Byron Jones.

He will tell you.

[Fungi]

They are great, and I have a better recipe than that.

[SamAdams76]

Lay it on us!

[Ken H]

I used to hate Brussels Sprouts and refused to eat them. One time my parents, my older brother and I went out to eat before a big football game. And wouldn’t you know it, they served Brussels Sprouts with the meal!

My dad said flat out if I didn’t eat them, we weren’t going to the game. I put one in my mouth and started to chew half-heartdly. Then my brother slapped me in the back and I swallowed it. And guess what. It wasn’t bad at all.

I finished the meal and we went to the game.

[Eddie01]

Love Brussels Sprouts

Wife hates them, was pressured by her father to eat them at young age.

Can’t get over it.

[rexthecat]

They make me puke.

[Mears]

My DIL rolls them in oil,puts them on a baking sheet,and puts them in the oven(I don’t know time or temp.)-—they are delicious.

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[SamAdams76]

You probably had the boiled ones. I like the roasted ones with garlic and olive oil.

[Trot]

Had some flash fried with wasabi flavoring at a restaurant in Durango.

They're addictive!!

[Mears]

My husband and I always liked them——but just boiled topped with lots of butter——all of these new ways of cooking them are just awesome.

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[exDemMom]

My mother served them once, and I was all excited, because they looked like tiny cabbages. Then I tasted one. It was nothing like cabbage. I have never recovered from the trauma of that cruel joke. And no, I will not eat those horrid little cabbage impersonators.

[Truthoverpower]

Steam
Till soft
Split in half
Fry middles in olive oil till brown
Yum
Even my kids love em

[coloradan]

If they are overcooked they can take on an unpleasant taste, but if done correctly they are actually pretty good, and slightly sweet (even). Delicious with butter ... if not overcooked.

[Altura Ct.]

We love them...

Split in half. Coat/toss with equal mixture of rice vinegar, honey and sriracha. Salt and pepper. Layer on a shallow baking pan, bake about 25 minutes @ 350. Damn delicious morsels of sweet and heat.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

I love em. Roasted, steamed. I like to chop up leftovers and put in an omelet with pepper jack cheese. Yum.

[cpdiii]

Boil until tender
Saute with real butter
Remove from burner
Add sweet basil, salt and pepper
In lieu of sweet basil balsamic vinaigrette is very good.

It “aint bad” at all.

[Mears]

Oooohhh-———you are making me hungry——sounds easy,which I love.

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[Mears]

You folks are torturing me with these great cooking ideas.

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[Jane Long]

Heaven!

[Ken H]

I have to confess I lifted that story from a Leave it to Beaver episode. I told the same story at a family get together a few years back. A few moments after I finished, my sister says, “Hey wait a minute, that was from Leave it to Beaver.”

The funniest part was that as I was telling the story, my mom said she vaguely remembered the incident and even named a restaurant.