I pushed myself to go beyond boundaries. When a shared appetizer for our group came with Brussel Sprouts I tried it and they were absolutely delicious.
In my previous experience I would say that Brussel Sprouts are the nastiest things ever purported to be food.
These were much smaller than I’d seen before. So, how did the do it? Proper cooking method, or do the bigger and mature ones include the horrible taste?
IMHO boiled/steamed brussel sprouts( a la my parents )are nasty. Roasted brussel sprouts are awesome.
Easiest thing is to coat them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them for 30-45 minutes( depending on size and how crispy you like them ) at ~400 degrees. But there are a million variations on that theme. Tossed in some sort of vinaigrette afterwords or assorted glazes beforehand are also common. Bacon also pairs very, very well with them.
There are a ton of recipes on line and I’m sure folks will post some.
It isn’t hard to make Brussels Sprouts the right way(s). In fact, it is probably harder to screw them up but people have been doing it for decades. There is no secret. You just pick a better recipe and many of the good ones are dead simple. Here is one example.
Brussels Sprouts just don’t respond well to the “boil it to the inch of its life” school of 1950’s cooking.
Nothing responds well to the 1950s style of boil-until-gray-mush. Maybe Brussels sprouts respond even more poorly than most to that treatment, but I wouldn’t know, because I avoid that style of cooking as much as possible.
EDIT: Oh, and don’t forget raw. I’ve had some great coleslaw made from them.
I always trim the stem a bit because it is usually brown, then I cut them in half if they are medium sized. I try to avoid the large ones as they are a little tougher. I put them in a one gallon ziplock bag and toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Roast on a sheet pan at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until they just start to turn a little brown.
I once had great green beans roasted in a wood burning oven. I asked the chef what he added to make them so tasty. He said: “heat”.
But, you can make really tasty Brussel sprouts by steaming or boiling them. I usually do the latter. I cut them in half, and cook til crisp tender. Do it uncovered, I think that helps release the sulphur.
To make it even more awesome, heat up butter in a pan until the bubbling stops and then turn off the heat. Put in a bunch of minced shallots, lots of black pepper, and salt. Add the sprouts, mix them for a minute, and squeeze a bit of lemon on them. Delicious.
Another vote for roasting or saute for sprouts. I roast with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I saute with olive oil and a little bacon fat added. Balsamic vinegar and honey makes a good dressing.
Exactly how I do them, except I use “convection roast” setting for 30 minutes. Ideally I get some burnt and chard sprouts. I also add some crushed red pepper to spice them up.