“You can’t go wrong with Brussels sprouts and bacon!”, was my husband’s reply when I asked him what he thought of this week’s Everyday Dorie recipe, Maple-Syrup-and-Mustard Brussels Sprouts. Indeed, this was a delicious recipe. It might even be my new favorite way to prepare Brussels sprouts.
The technique used to prepare the Brussels sprouts was genius: steam the sprouts, garlic, and shallot until the sprouts are almost cooked, then sear them in a hot pan until charred a bit and fully cooked through. This allows for some advance preparation and perfectly-cooked Brussels sprouts.
What makes this recipe shine is the salty-sweet glaze, which is simply a mix of maple syrup and mustard (I did a mix of Dijon and grainy). Combined with the sprouts and bacon, it creates a wonderful sweet, salty, savory balance of flavors.
Can you tell I liked this recipe?
I would change one thing though. I served this as a side dish with roast chicken and delicata squash, and I thought there was a little too much bacon (I can’t believe I’m saying that!). Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every bite of that bacon, but if I serve this again as a side dish, I might reduce the bacon slightly (maybe 4 slices instead of 6).
If you would like to try this recipe, run to the bookstore and pick up a copy of Dorie Greenspan’s new (and so far wonderful!) book Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook.
From Scratch 
I have to agree on the bacon comment. When I read six slices of bacon, it looked like too much for a pound of Brussels sprouts. If I had used regular bacon I would have cut it to half… E and I ate the whole pound of sprouts by ourselves.
We love the bacon! My son would pick a piece with every brussel sprout! We love this dish too and would be making this again!
This was so good, I loved every thing about it. I only made half the recipe but that was more than enough for two meals for one person.
I can see that about the bacon. I think ours was a bit off as well in terms of the bacon ratio. Gorgeous dish and that glaze!
I halved the recipe and used less than half the bacon, myself, and it was just right. It doesn’t take much bacon to amp up the flavour in a dish like this, does it?
While all the ingredients were there, I eye-balled the quantities, and ate some of the bacon while standing at the stove waiting for the sprouts! So good, the results!
Isn’t this just the best recipe? So happy you enjoyed them – they look great!!!
Your hubby speaks the truth lol ! I also agree with you on the bacon reduction. I could not believe I was thinking it myself since I can stand at the counter eating cooling off bacon more quickly than I care to admit. I was using a local bacon and figured that I had been pretty off in adjusting to what a typical brand’s slice would have been. That said, make no mistake that I loved this recipe and I’ll also be using that mustard/maple glaze on other veggies- genius !!
haha! to ever say there is too much bacon! though, it might depend on the size of your sprouts. Maybe with bigger sprouts than the ratio of bacon and sprouts ends up being a bit off. Or the brand of bacon? Either way, I have to make ths recipe again as it was so good!I love the mustard & maple glaze! more maple syrup for sure in my case as that would help.
I usually roast my Brussels sprouts, but Dorie’s steaming technique was genius. I was surprised how much the flavors infused the sprouts.