For Tender Brussels Sprouts, There's One Simple Tip You Need (2024)

FAQs

For Tender Brussels Sprouts, There's One Simple Tip You Need? ›

For best results, soak your Brussels sprouts in salt water. Not only does salt act to tenderize the dense sprouts, but it will also help to season them all the way through. It won't take a lot -- just add 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 quart of water and toss in trimmed and halved Brussels sprouts.

Not using enough oil.

We like to use olive oil, but plain vegetable oil is great too. If the sprouts are well-coated, they'll caramelize and char instead of simply softening in the oven. Follow this tip: For every 1 pound of Brussels sprouts, you'll want to use 2 tablespoons of oil.

Soaking Brussels sprouts in water is a terrific way to prep them to have a soft, juicy center that cooks to the perfect doneness in the same amount of time it takes those outer leaves to get nice and crispy.

Like soggy steamed Brussels, Brussels sprouts that are dry and chewy are no good either. This could be caused by using too little oil for roasting. You need a nice coating of oil—enough to make the heads shiny or if they're cut, enough oil to get inside the folds of some of the leaves.

If you do find that you've overcooked your sprouts, you can easily make them crispy again! Just drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil and make sure they are completely coated.

Halve, quarter or shred sprouts to minimise the cooking time. If the sprouts are larger than average and you want them to remain whole, you can of course cook them for longer. They will probably need 7-8 minutes to cook through. Don't cut a cross in the base of your sprouts.

Place them face down and resist the urge to move them around. A searing hot baking sheet with the brussels cut side down is the key to crispy brussel perfection.

To boil, put into a pan with some salt, cover with boiling water, bring back to the boil and cook, covered, for 5-10 mins. They take 5-10 mins to steam. A sharp knife should easily go through the base then they are done, but with a little resistance. They should still feel firm to the touch.

Halved sprouts should simply be cut in two even hemispheres lengthwise through the core. If you were to make the mistake of cutting the sprouts longitudinally, you'd end up with the core entirely within one half, and loose leaf tops falling apart on the other.

Steaming Brussels sprouts preserves more of the nutrients and antioxidants than any other cooking method. And they turn out tasting like crisp-tender, sweet little nuggets. Plus they're just about the quickest veggie side dish you can cook.

What's a good marinade for Brussels sprouts? ›

Slice the brussels sprouts in half, discarding the ends. In a mixing bowl or ziploc bag, add the sliced brussels sprouts, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, and give it a good mix. If using a bowl, cover and refrigerate or if using a ziploc bag, seal removing as much air as possible.

In the late 1990s scientists identified specific chemicals, called glucosinolates, that made Brussels sprouts taste bitter. Plant breeders started growing old seeds, previously discarded for producing paltry harvests, to identify tastier versions with lower levels of these compounds.

One technique for mitigating bitterness in Brussels sprouts is to blanch them. (This technique also works for making collard greens less bitter, as well as other greens.) Blanching involves adding your veg to boiling water for a brief period, then plunging it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

Like all cabbages, Brussels are unavoidably fibrous and dense. You must overcome this by either cooking them in salty water until fork tender (blanching), or by roasting at a high (over 425F) temperature for upwards of 20 minutes. To guarantee great texture, do both!

Using too low of an oven temperature. You want that baby hot, hot, hot. Lower temperatures do a great job of softening and cooking vegetables without caramelizing. Higher temps bring out those sugars and help the sprouts cook more quickly (again, to avoid the activation of too much sulphur).

Avoid mushy Brussels sprouts by making the most of your heat

Cooking your Brussels sprouts quickly will prevent them from releasing their characteristically foul odor and also ensure that they crisp up instead of turning mushy (via Kitchn). One way to do this is to also preheat your baking tray.

The key to super crispy restaurant-style brussels sprouts is fourfold. Use a high temperature! These oven roasted brussels sprouts are cooked at 450 F which is hot enough to give them that slight char on the flat side but will also cook the sprout through so it's soft. Use brussels Sprout halves.

Mushy or slimy texture Brussel sprouts feel firm and dry to the touch while they're fresh, but bacteria that cause spoilage will break down and soften the leaves.