That's generally because your mother cooked them until they were dead and gray.
This week, I decided to deep fry the leaves, a process that requires a bit of precision work. First you must chop off the stem and remove the discolored outer leaves. The best Brussels sprouts have inner leaves that cling tightly to the layer of leaves beneath them, so you've got to exercise a bit of care to loosen the leaf enough to peel it off and have a whole specimen to plunge into hot oil.
As you'll hear in the video, I suggest that you keep the inner parts of the sprouts you've peeled to make another of my "turn the Brussels sprout hater into a Brussels sprout lover" dish. I was referring to the one that aired a few weeks ago that I call "Brussels Sprout Hash."
And now I can add a disclaimer or an admission of error in calling that dish "Hash." It has no potatoes. It does have bacon. But no potatoes. So it's technically not a hash. Does anyone, except the Culinary Institute of America really care?
The dipping sauce for this week's dish is quite spicy and if I could change one thing, I might add some extra honey to thicken it a bit more so it could cling to the leaves that turn into "chips" once they've been deep fried.
There's also a caution for you in my dialogue and that regards the high water content of the leaves and what happens when you drop them into a pot of oil that's at 350 degrees. They splatter and that hurts when it splatters on you. So you can use a pot lid as a shield of sorts until the splattering settles down.
I bought one of those home deep fryers a while ago and it actually allows you to close a lid at the same time you lower the fry basket into the oil. That certainly would take care of the splattering.
So here's the video followed by the recipe. And I promise: no more Brussels sprout recipes for at least a year.
1/2 lb Brussels sprouts
3 tsp honey
1 tsp Sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp Thai sweet chili paste
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
canola oil for frying
Trim off the bottoms of the sprouts and discard the outermost discolored leaves. Pull off and set aside the next two layers of leaves, reserving the hearts for another use.
Make the sauce: whisk together honey, Sriracha, chili paste, lemon juice, sesame oil and sesame seeds in a small bowl and set aside.
Meanwhile, pour about 2 inches of oil in a pot and heat to 350ยบ. Fry the sprouts in three batches, using the lid of the pot to protect your hands and face from popping oil. Cook for about 30 seconds or until the leaves are brown and risk. Drian on paper towels and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Once all of the batches are fried, transfer the chips to a bowl and drizzle some of the sauce over them. Toss lightly to coat and add more sauce if needed. Or pass the chips and let every one dip their own.
3 tsp honey
1 tsp Sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp Thai sweet chili paste
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
canola oil for frying
Trim off the bottoms of the sprouts and discard the outermost discolored leaves. Pull off and set aside the next two layers of leaves, reserving the hearts for another use.
Make the sauce: whisk together honey, Sriracha, chili paste, lemon juice, sesame oil and sesame seeds in a small bowl and set aside.
Meanwhile, pour about 2 inches of oil in a pot and heat to 350ยบ. Fry the sprouts in three batches, using the lid of the pot to protect your hands and face from popping oil. Cook for about 30 seconds or until the leaves are brown and risk. Drian on paper towels and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Once all of the batches are fried, transfer the chips to a bowl and drizzle some of the sauce over them. Toss lightly to coat and add more sauce if needed. Or pass the chips and let every one dip their own.
