Shhh… I actually made this on Saturday but if you don’t tell anyone, neither will I!
I know brussels sprouts aren’t most people’s favorites, but for some reason in the past couple of years I have fallen in love with them. They can be a little bitter, but if they’re cooked right (especially golden brown… with bacon) that harshness mellows right out and instead they taste a little caramelized and little like green-vegetable popcorn. Or maybe that’s just my imagination. In this case I shredded the brussels sprouts so they cooked through more quickly, and the lively flavor of the butter, lemon and bacon could get to all the surface area of the sprouts rather than just the outsides. Yum.
And, in theory, they’re healthy. What’s not to like about green veggies? Just don’t think about all the bacon and the butter.
Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Lemon Butter
- Brussels sprouts, say a 1-1 1/2 pounds
- Bacon, 5 slices, but eyeball it, more if you want
- Butter, several tablespoons (I always go overboard because I love butter)
- Lemon, one lemon
Pre-heat the oven to 400°F. Rinse the brussels sprouts. Trim off the bottoms and pull off any old / dirty / icky outer skins. Slice the bulb into 1/4 inch (approximately) thick slices and put aside. Put the bacon in an oven-safe pan on medium-low and render the fat from them. When most of the fat is out of the bacon but before the bacon gets hard and brown, remove the bacon from the pan. If your bacon was super fatty, you can skip the butter, but I usually throw in a couple of pieces of butter at this stage and let it melt. Squeeze in the lemon juice into the butter being careful not to get the pits into the pan. Turn up the heat to medium high and throw in the shredded brussels sprouts. Fry until the brussels sprouts begin to get brown. Cut up the bacon into small pieces and add back to the pan and stir in. Move the pan to the oven for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove when the sprouts are nice and brown. The sprouts will be soft and pliable and maybe a little bit dry. Use your own judgment here — because they are shredded they will probably be almost cooked enough even before you put them in the oven, so you’re really just going for what you like. I like ‘em nice and brown and a touch dry. Brussels sprout candy. Yum.
