I’ve got a little confession to make. Until last week I’d never had brussels sprouts. No, this wasn’t a case of childhood resistance hanging on way too long. I’d just never had them put in front of me.
I didn’t know, until my wife said we should get some, that they were miniature cabbages. And since I recently discovered I like boiled cabbage — thanks again to the wife — that means I’ve got an easy new side dish. Wait, did I say easy? I meant drop dead simple.
Figure on four or five sprouts per person. Like full-size cabbage, brussels sprouts grow from the inside out. That means the inside will be clean. Just peel off the outside layer and they’re ready to cook.
You can roast brussels sprouts, but steaming is nearly foolproof. I’ve got an electric steamer, but decided to go with the pasta and steamer set
Two inches of water in the bottom of the pot. Give the sprouts a quick rinse and put them in the steamer basket.
Put the lid on and place over high heat until the water boils, then turn it down until the water just keeps boiling. As long as there is steam under the lid, the sprouts will cook. Turning the heat up won’t make the steam any hotter, and will just boil off all the water before they’re done. Steam for 15 minutes, until you can poke a fork all the way through without much resistance.
Add salt and butter.
And that’s it.
No, really. That’s it.
I told you it was simple, didn’t I?
36 Comments
A simple recipe indeed. Those brussels sprouts look scrumdiliumptious!
I enjoy my brussel sprouts like I enjoy my cabbage; with salt, pepper and a touch of vinegar.
Just salt for me, I love brussel sprouts! And I must admit, my helping is a lot more than 4 or 5. LOL
I was always a strange child. I would love to eat lima beans and brussel sprouts. A love that continued into adulthood and onto my kids. A little butter, salt and fresh ground pepper.
Kevin,here in the south we love these little “Darlings”!! If you,split inhalf,cook your bacon first,take it out,then stir fry the Brussel Sprouts,then put the bacon back,its great!! We also grow them all winter,after the first frost,there is no more,”little bitter”,in the center,as those you buy.Makes a great side dish!! They do look good,maybe wednesday,I will get a few pounds,we can also get them fresh.You really kicked the taste buds this morning!!
Now this is a tricky one. Brussels sprouts from the store are really iffy. They’re best if you can get them still on the stalk (and then they look like alien vegetables, but whatever), and if they’ve been touched by frost. The flavor will be sweeter that way. Also, roasting them pretty much ensures there will be none of the kind of sulfurous cabbage taste. I don’t mind that taste myself, but for someone who doesn’t like cabbage or any of its variants (like my husband), that’s enough to turn them off of Brussels sprouts for life.
Brussels Sprouts are AWESOME! i slice them in half, keeping root intact, heat up my pan with olive oil and a bit of butter and sautee them. i let them sit a bit until they get a touch of crispines, then just keep tossing and stirring until they are done. add some kosher salt and YUM! even my cabbage-hating family love my brussels sprouts!
Wow! Lots of love for the brussels sprouts. And lots of ideas, too. I’ve gotta say, I’ll be doing the bacon one first. And I’ll keep the other tips in mind.
Kandice, what kind of vinegar, plain white?
Now I know my grandmother would not have roasted brussel sprouts, but they really are quite tasty when they’re roasted. I, like you, had never tried brussel sprouts until I came across a recipe that claimed they are fabulous roasted… and they truly are!
Love burssels sprouts, hate them steamed
I’m a “split in half then pan-sauteed with a splash of balsamic vinegar near the end”. I’ll retry the steamed ones, but I’m not holding out much hope.
My husband introduced me to Brussels sprouts when we were dating. I had them a couple times growing up, but they were terrible both times (mom bought the small frozen bitter ones). But using large fresh ones made all the difference! I haven’t tried steaming them, but they boil just as easily.
Meadowlark, don’t do that! Brussels sprouts are one of those foods that kids aren’t supposed to like. That means that adults are supposed to like them. Making something that you know you don’t like, just because you think you’re “supposed to”, is not something a self-assured, well-adjusted adult does.
Self-assured and well-adjusted? You havent’ visited my house lately.
OK, I’ll stick to balsamic brussels. Forget steaming.
I can’t wait to see what you will do next with the brussel. Plain with butter is a favorite of mine but like beets there is a zillion things to do with the wee brussel.
Dirt does an awesome Brussel Sprout Casserole and when we take it to gathering it is always gone before everyone gets served, no matter how many pounds he prepares! Like his chicken. There is garlic, butter, parmesan cheese and sour cream involved.
As with steaming most vegetables, I just throw them in the microwave and cook them on high for a few minutes. Talk about easy, and even my grandmother used a microwave oven . . .
Wow–you weren’t kidding! I wonder if seasoning the water with Interesting Things would impart some extra flavors (unless you just want straightforward sprouts)?
I also just started liking brussel sprouts… we do them sauted in a little olive oil with capers and some balsamic vinegar at the end… yum!
Lanny, you can’t tease us like that. Recipe please?
Mark, that reminds me. I’ve got to share my story about my grandmother and the microwave.
Jenni, I’ve done that with a rice steamer before. But I wouldn’t think brussels sprouts would take up much flavor from the steam. Not with herbs anyway. Hmm, were you maybe thinking about liquids, like oils or liquors?
Wendy, capers sound like the missing piece here. That’s on my to-do list.
Wow, I HATE brussels sprouts! But I LOVE cabbage! They are not little cabbages, but they could just be shrunken-down versions with all the brassica fun of their larger brethren. I have tried to love brussel sprouts in so many ways and so many times, just short of putting them in mac ‘n cheese or a chocolate cake. But I finally threw up. I mean, threw in the towel. Thank you for trying, Drew.
Bunny, same advice I had for Meadowlark. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. Grown-ups don’t eat things because they’re “supposed to”.
For the record Drew, I LOVE brussels sprouts, just not steamed. But I figure I could try that again.
Peace!
I didn’t like Brussels growing up… my mom cooked vegetables to death! But I love all my veggies today, because I learned to cook them correctly and retain the flavor, texture, and integrity of the vegetable… not to mention the vitamins and minerals.
Barb, you mean cook them until you can eat them with a straw? Was your mom Irish?
And I’m betting the only seasonings in the kitchen were salt and “black dust” pepper, right?
Mom was German and Daddy had a bit o the Irish and the Scotch… and yes, salt and dush pepper was it! But we had the bacon and the lard!
Thank you for this recipe. It is super simple and very delious. I like you had never even seen Brussels Sprounts until last summer when I tried them for the first time in my life. So good.
Rebekah, I’m starting to think brussels sprouts are like twins: they skip a generation.
I love brussel sprout. Whenever I unable to get frozen artichoke hearts (my fav). I substitute brussel sprouts. After steaming, I saute them in butter, garlic, lemon pepper (with no msg – very important to stay away from if you suffer high blood pressure) and parmesan. (I also found this recipe is good for getting anyone who is not fond of or think they don’t like veggies to try them.)
They hold up really well in stews and quiches.
Oh, and finally, large ones I slice in half before sauteing or tossing in stews or quiches.
mmmmmmmmmmm Brussels Sprouts! Im not such a fan of them steamed…BUT I do love them roasted. I like to roast them with carrots and just olive oil to coat…then roast them on high heat, 425-ish for about 30-45 minutes, turning them every 15… They come out almost carmelized and so dang good,
The hubs is not a fan…so I eat them all…and regret it the next day ;( wahwah
Speaking of regretting it … I never did mention something my wife pointed out. When you steam brussels sprouts, it makes the whole house smell like farts.
ha! she’s right!
Does anyone know if I can eat the leaves? I’ve waited long enough for the “sprouts” to grow. I’ve cut off all the single leaves and they look like they could be eaten–like spinach or Swiss chard. The stalks took up too much room in my planters. Mary
Mary, that’s a really good question. I would just give one a try. As long as it isn’t bitter you should be good. Most greens that you shouldn’t eat have a very bitter flavor.
I haven't read all the comment posts, so forgive me if I'm redundant. I have a couple of wee suggestions.
I've always loved Brussels sprouts (ok, and lima beans, too) and am happy to eat them almost any way they're put in front of me. But my first and second place favorites are these:
(1.) Put your lovely Pampered Chef stoneware baking 'large bar' pan in the oven and pre-heat to 350 degrees. (I put that in for you – I know you like Pampered Chef, too. Without one, any rimmed baking sheet works just fine.) Cut a bunch of bacon crosswise into little batons. Toss them onto the baking sheet and then bake, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crispy. Remove bacon to paper towel-lined plate. While the bacon is cooking in the oven, cut the Brussels sprouts in half. Then, once the bacon is removed from the baking sheet, toss the raw sprouts onto the sheet and roll them around in the bacon fat. Into the oven they go. Stir them occasionally. When they're brown to your liking, toss the bacon bits back on top. Then sprinkle a couple of handsful of pecan halves on top of that. Back in the oven for just a few minutes. Keep an eye on it. When you're happy with what it looks like, take the yummy little things out of the oven and eat them all up.
(2.) Painstakingly peel all the little leaves off the Brussels sprout. All of them. (Children are good tools for this.) When you have a nice, big bowl of fluffy little leaves, plop a little wad of butter into a hot skillet and brown it until it's toasty brown and smells nutty. Dump the leaves in and roll them around in the browned butter to coat. Saute on high-ish heat until they start to take on a little color. Then carefully! pour in a bit of water and cover them quickly. Let the leaves steam until they're done to the extent you want. (For me, that is NEVER overly done. Bah.) Take the lid off, sprinkle w salt and pepper (Kosher and fresh, coarsely ground for me) and serve. This way takes very little time – providing you have either willing children or friends to peel the sprouts into nothingness in the first place.
As for amounts, well, just do what you like. Cooking should always be according to your own taste. One of these 'recipes' is kinda, ok, fattening and the other is not. Either way they go onto my plate makes me very, very happy.
I Stumbled into your blog yesterday, and have really enjoyed poking around here. Confession: I made the little cheese/flour/butter balls earlier today. I'll look for your recipe and leave my comments there. (I'm munching one as we speak.)
Thanks again.
Concetta, you can't go wrong with a recipe that starts with cooking a pan full of bacon.
For peeling the sprouts, could you just cut the core out with a strawberry corer?
I've never tried using a corer, but I suppose it might rid you of the harder-to-peel interior leaves. Maybe that would make it easier? Still, I'm not sure, because what you want to end up with is a bowl full of fluffy little leaves. Just leaves. For me, it's easiest just to peel the leaves off one and a time. I plunk myself in front of the tv with a bowl full of sprouts and a bowl for the peeled leaves and then just peel away. Or I find a child or a husband or a friend to do it for me. ;o)
Another confession: I've also done this by cutting the sprouts in half and then tossing them into the shredder shoot of my food processor. But as much as I love my processor, I don't like this way as much. It's easier, to be sure, but I like the look of the whole leaves browned in butter.
That said, I really do believe that in cooking – and in life – it's best to suit yourself!
Let me know if the corer works?
I've only ever had them once – when I was 7, but I loved them! I have wanted them ever since. They just always seemed a little scary to prepare. I now have no excuse not to try them.