Savory & Sour - Brussels Sprouts

Now that I have 10 bags of Brussels sprouts in the freezer, it is time to start eating some of the buggers.

There are 2 pretty straight forward ways to take care of them - stove top sauté, and oven roasting.  There is also the boil/steam method, but that's hard to get right, and even if you don't end up with slimy, mushy sprouts, the fart smell in the kitchen is unavoidable.

If you are starting with fresh sprouts, and haven't blanched them - all I have to say is, "I'm sorry, there will be stinkyness.  And that's why I blanch."  If you have questions about said blanching - check out a previous post:  The Battle of the Brussels

However once that's done, you can oven roast your sprouts, douse them in some lemon juice and apple cider vinegar to give them a "sauerkraut" tang.  This is handy when you have a meal that craves something sour, and you don't happen to be a home fermenter (what? you aren't?  Oh, and if you are... you can make Brussels sprout sauerkraut.)

This recipe uses oven roasting.  You can also do this stove top (see Classic Sprouts & Bacon)

"Sauer" Roasted Sprouts 

Ingredients:
Brussels sprouts (5 - 8 sprouts per person is typically a good number - know your diners)
oil
salt
cider vinegar - 3Tbs
lemon juice - 2 Tbs

Equipment:
baking sheet
knife & cutting board
measuring spoons
small bowl
hot pad
tongs/spatula
serving bowl

Prep:
Cut the sprouts in half.  (You can leave any teeny-tinies whole).  Heat the oven to 425˚F.  If these are thawed sprouts, let them dry out in the oven while it is heating up.  When your oven is preheated, go ahead and remove the dried sprouts from the oven.  Toss the sprouts with just enough oil to coat them.  Sprinkle with a little salt.

Cook:
Place the oiled and seasoned sprouts in the hot oven for 12 minutes.  While they are cooking, mix the vinegar and lemon juice together.  If you have lots of sprouts, double or triple the amount of dressing (6Tbs vinegar + 4 Tbs lemon juice and so on).
Flip and stir the sprouts, and pop them back in the oven for 8 more minutes.  (If you don't do this - you may get some overly burned spots)

Place the hot sprouts in the serving bowl, and pour the sour dressing over.  Stir, check for salt and add what you think it needs.

I admit - they get a bit "army green" but the sour/sauer is worth it!