Spicy Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Bacon and Pecans
As a victim of bad childhood dinners, I grew up eating and HATING Cabbage and Brussels Sprouts. It was a terrible upbringing (food-wise). Irish\American cooking in the 1980’s was not really the epicenter of flavor and innovation. When I was a kid, most home-cooked meals were a mix of… boiled, mushy, and stinky garbage……and if cabbage wasn’t bad enough, let’s just introduce the Brussels Sprout. Once I got older I came to appreciate my parent’s\grandparent’s food. Corned beef became cool again. Cabbage showed up on hip menus, and damn, Brussels Sprouts are awesome…again (not sure if they were ever awesome before). I now admit that I love these Sprouts. They are cheap, easy to cook, and go withjust about any meat. I don’t cook them much in the warmer months…this recipe is really a staple for me in the winter….not sure why….it just feels right. Anyway, good luck, and leave a comment if you can.
- 1 lb brussel sprouts washed, stems cut off (the thick part on the bottom…don’t cut too high….!.) and chopped in half. If sprouts are large, cut them in quarters.
- Garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon to taste)
- Salt and pepper
- Hot sauce (use what you want here. Texas Pete is great. I like to use Cholula. Tabasco is good but can be a bit hot…..watch out.. Your call….)
- 2 tbsp butter
- Pecans – handful diced
- 4 slices of cooked bacon chopped
- 3 tablespoons of bacon fat (or olive oil if you don’t have any bacon fat)
First, toast chopped pecans at about 350 degrees for about 5 minutes….careful, they can burn quickly. Put them aside.
Cook bacon and chop\dice, save the bacon fat.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees!!! Take the pan you plan on cooking with, and put it in the oven. You want that pan blazing hot when you put the sprouts in.
In a bowl or big zip-lock, put the warmed bacon fat (or olive oil if you are skipping the bacon), salt, pepper, garlic powder, toss and coat all Brussels sprouts. Don’t skimp on the seasoning here…..
When oven hits 500 degrees, pull the pan out, add the sprouts…sizzle…..and put back in for 18-20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take out, add the hot sauce, butter, chopped pecans, and chopped bacon. Make sure they get mixed well, put back in oven for 5 minutes. Watch your oven here. You want them crispy and charred…not burnt and inedible. Total cooking time should be between 20 and 25 minutes….
If you need extra help in getting a good char, you can use the broil setting for a few minutes at the end…. (Careful here if you are not comfortable with this kind of thing.)
Take pan out of the oven and shake some hot sauce over everything ( to your taste…) mix around well, and there you go. Spicy Brussels Sprouts. If you feel up to it….look up an Aioli recipe or mayonnaise based dipping sauce..we have an AWESOME homemade Ranch Dressing recipe here that is great for dipping….you wont be sorry.
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