Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Bacon

Several of you commented on the Brussels Sprouts from my last 365 post. They are not a fan favorite around my house but I really like them. I had high hopes for this recipe but alas it was not well received. I thought it was very good though.

Recipe courtesy Robert Irvine from the Food Network Website

 

Ingredients

• Salt
• 16 Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise
• 2 slices bacon
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided Cook’s Note: I used Olive Oil instead.
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.

Generously salt the water and add the Brussels sprouts.

Simmer the sprouts until just tender, about 5 minutes.

Do not overcook.

*Drain the sprouts well.

*Cook’s Note: This step is very important or your final result will be watery and not very good!

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the bacon until browned and crisp, stirring occasionally.

Remove the bacon from the pan to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Crumble the bacon and set aside.

Leave the bacon fat in the pan and add the red onions and 1 tablespoon of butter.

Sauté until the onions are translucent, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the cranberries and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in the red wine vinegar and brown sugar and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.

Add the sprouts to the skillet and stir to coat with the vinegar mixture.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter.

Stir in the reserved bacon.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, and transfer to a bowl to serve.

Cook’s Note: This is a bit more labor intensive than I normally do for a weeknight dinner but the last time I made the recipe I added equal parts Brussels Sprouts and Fresh Broccoli. I Blanched the broccoli on the boiling water for a few minutes before I cooked the Brussels Sprouts and set it aside until I was ready to toss everything together. The family liked the broccoli and were happy and I enjoyed my Brussels Sprouts. As you can tell from my photo the next round of serving the Brussels Sprouts all the Broccoli had been picked out so all that was left were the Brussels Sprouts……

There was an additional recipe listed on the website that served about 8 to 10 click here to get the larger recipe.

 

Blessings

R