Roasted Brussels Sprouts (Just in Time for Thanksgiving)

The Two Guys have enjoyed Brussels Sprouts steamed, fried, baked, roasted, you name it, for as long as they can remember. But it seems these vegetables have only recently come into vogue. Even mainstream steakhouses are in on the game, some offering very well-prepared versions of roasted or fried Brussels Sprouts. It seems not so long ago that these guys were the distant cousin of the family that no one remembered to invite to get-togethers. Not any longer. And this recipe is very easy, doesn’t take long (other than the roasting part – which doesn’t require a whole lot of supervision), and makes the house smell positively yummy. Even though this is a side dish, we confess to having devoured an entire pan of the stuff just between the two of us.  Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

2-3 pounds of Brussels Sprouts, rinsed
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped roughly
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 TBSP olive oil
½ pound bacon (smoked, not the maple cured)

If necessary, trim any noticeably discoloration from the stems of the Sprouts. If the Sprouts are larger than one inch in diameter, slice in half. Toss the Sprouts with the onions, red pepper and olive oil:

Lay out on a baking pan:

The reason we say “two or three pounds of Brussels Sprouts” is because it depends upon how much you like the things and the size of your baking pan. You want enough “stuff” so that the entire pan is covered, but not so much that the heat can’t caramelize all of the “stuff” in the oven. In other words, the Sprouts mixture should be laid out so that every part of it is exposed. Dice the bacon and carefully spread it over the Sprouts mixture:

Resist the urge to use a food processor to pulverize the bacon. You want pieces, not mush. Chilling the bacon in the freezer for 10-15 minutes can make the chopping easier. Chopping room temperature bacon is no fun. Put into a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for thirty minutes and it will look something like this:

Stir it up and then put back into the oven for ten minutes, then stir again, and then ten more minutes, and then stir again, and then ten more minutes. If all goes as planned, it should emerge transformed:

Look at those wonderfully crisp pieces of bacon next to caramelized bits of onion and Brussels Sprouts:

Tonight, we pan-fried some Tilapia and served it with the roasted Brussels Sprouts:

But they also go very well on the Thanksgiving table.