Most people who say they don't like sprouts have only had them boiled: soft, grey and sulphurous. This was me before I tried these. Pan seared cut side down in bacon fat until deeply golden, they become a different vegetable entirely, sweet and nutty with crisp edges and a little bite left in the middle. Garlic butter and crispy smoked bacon finish the job.
Ingredients
- 500 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 80 g Smoked streaky bacon, diced
- 20 g Neutral oil
- 30 g Butter
- 2 Garlic cloves, minced
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
Cut a thin slice off the base of each sprout. This loosens the outer leaves — peel them away and discard them, leaving a clean, compact sprout with no loose leaves.
Halve each sprout from top to base, cutting straight through the stem so both halves keep a piece of it and hold together in the pan.
Put the bacon in a large, cold frying pan and set it over a medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered out and the bacon is crisp and deep golden — about 8–10 minutes.
Lift the bacon out with a slotted spoon and set it aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
Add the neutral oil to the bacon fat and keep the pan over a medium heat until the oil shimmers. Place the sprouts in the pan one at a time, cut side down, starting at one side of the pan and working across to the other. They should sizzle on contact.
Keep them in a single layer and leave them undisturbed while you finish placing the rest.
Check the first sprouts you placed. When the cut sides are deep golden brown and crisp, start flipping them, working across the pan in the same order you placed them. Flipping takes about as long as placing did, so every half gets an equal time to brown.
Push the sprouts to one side to clear a small space in the pan. Add the butter and let it melt and foam, then add the garlic to the butter and stir until fragrant and the raw smell has gone — about 30 seconds. Do not let it colour.
Season the whole pan with salt and pepper and stir the garlic butter through the sprouts.
Return the crispy bacon to the pan and toss everything together. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then transfer to a warm dish and serve straight away.
Notes & Substitutions
Choosing sprouts: Pick small, tight sprouts of a similar size. Even halves brown at the same rate, so the whole pan is ready at once. Large, loose sprouts take longer to cook through, and their outer leaves tend to burn before the centre is tender.
Make ahead: The sprouts can be trimmed and halved earlier in the day and kept covered in the fridge. Cook them just before serving.
Serving: A natural side for Christmas dinner or a Sunday roast. It cooks in roughly the time a joint takes to rest, so start the bacon when the meat comes out of the oven.
Reheating: Best eaten straight away. The cut faces soften as the sprouts sit, and reheating does not bring the crispness back.
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Sprouts with Crispy Bacon and Garlic
COOKED
PROPERLY
Ingredients
- 500 g Brussels sprouts (trimmed and halved)
- 80 g Smoked streaky bacon (diced)
- 20 g Neutral oil
- 30 g Butter
- 2 Garlic cloves (minced)
- Fine sea salt (to taste)
- Black pepper (freshly ground, to taste)
Method
Trim the sprouts
500 g Brussels sprouts
Cut a thin slice off the base of each sprout. This loosens the outer leaves — peel them away and discard them, leaving a clean, compact sprout with no loose leaves.
Halve each sprout from top to base, cutting straight through the stem so both halves keep a piece of it and hold together in the pan.
Render the bacon
80 g Smoked streaky bacon
Put the bacon in a large, cold frying pan and set it over a medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered out and the bacon is crisp and deep golden — about 8–10 minutes.
Lift the bacon out with a slotted spoon and set it aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
Sear the sprouts
20 g Neutral oil
Add the neutral oil to the bacon fat and keep the pan over a medium heat until the oil shimmers. Place the sprouts in the pan one at a time, cut side down, starting at one side of the pan and working across to the other. They should sizzle on contact.
Keep them in a single layer and leave them undisturbed while you finish placing the rest.
Placing the sprouts in order is what makes the timing work. The first halves in, are the first to brown, so you always know where to start checking and flipping, and every half ends up with roughly the same time on its cut face.
Flip the sprouts
Check the first sprouts you placed. When the cut sides are deep golden brown and crisp, start flipping them, working across the pan in the same order you placed them. Flipping takes about as long as placing did, so every half gets an equal time to brown.
Add the garlic butter
Push the sprouts to one side to clear a small space in the pan. Add the butter and let it melt and foam, then add the garlic to the butter and stir until fragrant and the raw smell has gone — about 30 seconds. Do not let it colour.
Season the whole pan with salt and pepper and stir the garlic butter through the sprouts.
If the butter browns the moment it hits the pan, pull the heat down before the garlic goes in. Minced garlic goes from fragrant to bitter in seconds if the pan is too hot.
Finish and serve
Return the crispy bacon to the pan and toss everything together. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then transfer to a warm dish and serve straight away.
Taste a sprout with a piece of bacon before adding more salt. The bacon is salty, and the seasoning added with the garlic may already be enough once everything is together.
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The wok costs £25. The heat underneath it is what you're really paying for.
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The wok costs £25. The heat underneath it is what you're really paying for.
£10-£25
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