I just had some Brussels sprouts I bought from the prepared foods section of Giant Eagle. They were astonishingly good.
They were labeled as “caramelized.” They seemed to have been roasted, quite crispy and black on the outside. The sauce definitely included soy sauce and there were bits of what looked like pepper seeds but it wasn’t spicy at all.
The effect was a little sweet, but mostly zingy and savory.
Do I start with just looking for sprout recipes that include soy sauce or does anyone have a better starting place for me?
Were they perhaps sesame seeds? I usually keep a jar of thison hand…it sounds similar to what you’re describing.
Our favorite way of making Brussels sprouts starts with frying up some bacon, then cooking the sprouts in the bacon fat and then crumbling the bacon back after they’re mostly cooked. The sprouts get a nice char on them from the bacon fat. I suspect that yours started out in the same way, and then had the sauce added after primary cooking for flavor.
I don’t think there was a bacon flavor at all, though there was a fat involved at some point. I am a pariah at the dope because I tend not to be a huge fan of bacon, so I really notice it when it’s there.
Those sauces are unfortunately named but they sound really good.
I have a roasted brussel sprout recipe from low-carb chef George Stella. It’s seasonings and olive oil drizzled on cut-in-half sprouts and broiled in an oven.
To match your description, I’d try drizzling on the soy sauce, too. I second the sesame seed vote, and perhaps use sesame oil instead of olive oil.
There have been a number of recipes on the Dope for ‘Roasted Brussels Sprouts’ but google would probably turn up a fair number of them.
Personally? I get fresh raw not prefrozen sprouts, split them in half or quarters if they are really huge. Set them in a bowl of ice cold salt water for a few minutes. Saute up some good streaky bacon to get the fat and remove and reserve the bacon bits. Toss the sprouts in, and flip them around to coat with the bacon fat, and then pour into a shallow pan like a jelly roll pan. Spread evenly around. pop into a preheated 400 degree fahrenheit oven for a bit, I usually tell when it is time to remove when they start smelling really nice and nutty/toasty. Pull out, sprinkle with sea salt, some freshly ground pepper and pour into a serving bowl. Drizzle the cooking pan with some balsamic vinegar to deglaze, pour over the sprouts and garnish with the abcon bits.
I have seen recipes that involve bacon, but I’m really not at all interested in using bacon. I want to try to replicate the sprouts I had today. They didn’t involve bacon. I’m not that big a fan of bacon.
I don’t think so, though I’m no balsamic vinegar expert. I’m thinking Suburban Plankton was on the right track with the teriyaki sauce and sesame. It wasn’t as sweet as I’m used to teriyaki being, but that could be because a lot of the sugar was charred.
And bacon lovers should just see this as more bacon for them!
Parboil fresh sprouts for 1 minute, remove from boiling water and run under cold water to stop them cooking. Cut them in half.
Caramelize them in butter on med-high heat (can use olive oil or other oil, but butter gives them a great taste!). After 2 minutes, throw in a handful of chopped nuts (peanuts/almonds work well). Cook until sprouts are browned well.
If the nuts are salted, you don’t need to add anything else. If unsalted, salt to taste.
This is an awesome recipe, takes about 10 minutes and is good for you (the little bit of butter not withstanding). I used to think I hated Brussel sprouts, but that is because my mother bought them frozen and then cooked them to death into a sad, soggy bitter mess. Now I make them at least once a week.
One of my favorite ways to cook sprouts is to cut them in half lengthwise, then fry them cut side down in olive oil for about 10 minutes, until nicely browned on the cut side and just cooked through, so maybe you could try that - maybe add some soy sauce at the end.
I can give you a good, non-bacon technique that I don’t see why wouldn’t work with a bit of soy sauce.
For 1 pound of Brussels Sprouts:
Clean the sprouts by removing any brown or icky-looking leaves, and cutting a bit off the stem end
In a large saute pan, add 3 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Allow it to melt, but not at all brown.
Add the sprouts to the pan
add 3/4 cup of liquid to the pan. I typically use white wine because I like the soft acidity they give to the sprouts. Based on the OP’s post, I’d put a tablespoon of Soy Sauce and fill the rest up with white wine, chicken stock, or any liquid that sounds good. You want a little bit of acidity in there, so if you don’t use wine, throw a squeeze of lemon or lime in with whatever you put. I like the maple syrup idea, but I’d go light on it if you use it because you don’t want it to overwhelm the sprouts.
Toss the sprouts with the butter and liquid. You want 'em covered, so give 'em a nice good stir or two.
Turn the heat down to low and cover the pan. You want the liquid slightly simmer, not boiling. Cook for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the sprouts. Give 'em a shake every once in a while. They’re done when you can stick a knife into one and it’s still slightly resistant. Or use the taste test - pop one in your mouth and decide if it’s cooked enough for you.
Remove the cover, turn the heat up to medium high. Let any remaining liquid boil off. Not a crazy boil, just a little boil. Do NOT stir or toss the sprouts - you want the bottoms to being gooey and brown/black and caramelized. That’s the best part.
Put gooey delicious sprouts in a bowl. Eat with your fingers long before the rest of the meal is ready because they’re JUST SO GOOD.
Thanks, TommD, for reviving this thread. I just put Brussels sprouts on the grocery list - we haven’t had 'em in a while, and this is the right time of year. (Right?) So, jsgoddess, did you manage to re-create the originals?
