THE PERFECT, EASY SAUTEED BRUSSEL SPROUTS RECIPE!

So there are really two camps out there: those who love brussels sprouts and those who really, really, really hate them.  I have always been in the first camp, loving just about anything you can do with a brussels sprout.  Shred them, steam them, bake them- you choose the cooking style and I'll figure out a way to make them.  Over the years I have been trying to get Caroline (my wife) to eat them.  Each time she would give them a try and I would walk away with a broken heart and a full plate.  The good news is that I got to eat a lot of brussels sprouts and I could keep trying new ways of making them to see if one day I might break her.

Well, that day came.  This sauteed brussel sprouts recipe was created really by accident.  I didn't have enough time to bake the brussel sprouts that evening and needed to get them done quickly.  Looking around the kitchen, I saw some bacon fat and thought that it might help out in a pinch.  Next thing you know, these little beauties were caramelized to perfection and ready to eat.  Absolutely delicious!

HOW TO COOK BRUSSEL SPROUTS

Learning to cook brussel sprouts is relatively easy. I say this because brussel sprouts are a very forgiving vegetable. It really takes some work to screw them up. I'll give you an example: last week we had company over and I was making sauteed brussel sprouts as the side dish. I was also cooking everything else at the same time and completely forgot about the sprouts. When I opened the pan, they were a little more toasty than I had expected... but they turned out really delicious with just a quick dash of balsamic vinegar. With any other vegetable I most likely would have had to toss them in the trash.

The hardest part of cooking brussel sprouts is the preparation. To prepare the sprout, cut off a very thin slice off the stem. Then remove any leaves that look damaged, spotted or soiled. Next, go ahead and slice them in half. Now we have a bunch of brussel sprouts that are ready to be cooked.

You can cook brussel sprouts many different ways. You can saute them (like we will do in this recipe). You can braise them in stock or wine. Brussel sprouts love to be roasted in the oven as well. Although you can steam the little green orbs, I find that this method leads to limp, relatively tasteless sprouts. I have boiled brussel sprouts in the past, but definitely don't recommend boiling if you are looking for a tasty side dish.

QUICK COOKING TIP: If you have bacon fat in the house, you don't need to refrigerate it.  It will stay on the counter for weeks at a time.  I keep it right next to the avocado and extra virgin olive oils.  When a dish is missing "something," a little bit of bacon fat might be the ticket!

The next thing you know, you'll be pulling off the outer layers, slicing off a bit of the stem and slicing the brussels in half.  Get out your trusty cast iron skillet... warm it nicely on the stove with some bacon fat melting, releasing the most delicious aroma into the kitchen.  Next up, swish the bacon fat around in the pan to coat the bottom and then sprinkle salt and pepper across the whole pan, just into the liquid fat.  Place the brussels face down, turn the heat up to medium-high and cover the pan.  You're about to experience something wonderful!