Brussel sprouts

[don4l]

We always have a traditional Christmas dinner which includes brussel sprouts. However, we always get baby sprouts as I cannot stand the taste of the big ones.

This 6ear we cannot find any baby sprouts. In fact, they are all bloody enormous. I've read somewhere that all the growers are using a new bigger variety. Has anyone tasted them? Do they taste the same as the old ones?

[PositronicRay]

Delicious, best put them on now though.

[calibrax]

After boiling, drain them in a colander and let them just sit there while you bung a decent sized knob of butter in the pan along with some chopped bacon or lardons. Add back the sprouts once the bacon has crisped up a bit, and make sure they get a good coating of the butter/bacon. Makes any sprouts tasty, small or large

[thebraketester]

Just don't other.

[marshalla]

calibrax said:

After boiling, drain them in a colander and let them just sit there while you bung a decent sized knob of butter in the pan along with some chopped bacon or lardons. Add back the sprouts once the bacon has crisped up a bit, and make sure they get a good coating of the butter/bacon.

Then place directly in the bin.

[cornet]

Hate boiled sprouts (especially large ones). Roasting them or pan frying with bacon them is by far better.

Fry off bacon to render out the fat. Halve the sprouts and coat them in the fat, reserving the bacon. Roast in hot oven for ~20-30min. Toss the bacon through and serve.

or if you have a large frying pan - similar procedure but cook in pan for around 5-6 min on high heat, possibly with some garlic too.

However both these can be tricky if cooking for a lot of people so I'd probably go for one of the following as they take less time and can get away with a much smaller frying pan.

• 1/2 the sprouts and blanch for 2-3 min, cool quickly in cold water
• Then render out bacon fat as before and fry with some garlic for 2-3min until warm

or

• Shred sprouts and blanch for 30seconds - 1min, cool quickly in cold water
• Render out bacon fat and fry some garlic for for 1-2min

[fttm]

they're good , saute with bacon and walnuts what's not to like ?

[V8mate]

don4l said:

This 6ear we cannot find any baby sprouts. In fact, they are all bloody enormous. I've read somewhere that all the growers are using a new bigger variety.

Nope. It's the weather. The mild, wet season has made them all 'over-grow'.

[don4l]

thelittleegg said:

It's Brussels, not Brussel.

I had typed it with the 's', but I deleted it before posting.


Thanks for all the answers. The OH has just been out to collect the turkey and she has returned with some hand selected sprouts. She picked the smallest ones and they are the size of golf balls!

We might try doing them with bacon to see if we can hide the taste.

Next year I think that we will break with tradition and do some cauliflower cheese instead.

[crossy67]

Steam not boil so they don't become water logged and Baby, since when have sprouts given birth?

[BoRED S2upid]

We have small ones on a stalk big at the bottom which will be going on the compost small at the top. Will be served shredded stir fried with bacon.

[condor]

I managed to get a bag of mainly small sprouts from Tescos at 39p

[NormalWisdom]

Par-boil, then drain
crisp up some lardons with onion and garlic (season to taste)
cut sprouts into 1/2 or 1/4 and add to garlic, onions and lardons
fry for 5 minutes and serve

I like to keep some crunch in my sprouts and have grown to really like them.

They are much larger this year due to the unusually warm Autumn, for 89p, Lidl are selling on the stem - Very good indeed.

[All that jazz]

marshalla said:

calibrax said:

After boiling, drain them in a colander and let them just sit there while you bung a decent sized knob of butter in the pan along with some chopped bacon or lardons. Add back the sprouts once the bacon has crisped up a bit, and make sure they get a good coating of the butter/bacon.

Then place directly in the bin.

All these people boiling them and performing all manner of torture on the poor little blighters are DOING IT WRONG . That's what wrecks the taste and makes them taste acidic. You should be STEAMING them but still be careful not to overcook them as you'll get that acidic taste if they're over done. I eat them all year round as I love them. I get the washed ones already in a bag from Sainsburys and they're not bad at all. No need to do anything with them, the odd bit of stalk you can see softens right up when you cook them. Chuck them in a steamer with a cupful of water in the bottom and then micro them on high power (900W micro) for 5 mins, give them a shake, then another 3 mins and done. Leave them to stand for a min or so while you sort out the rest of your meal and bang them on. Perfect .

[Hoofy]

Just boil them to death and they won't taste of anything. You'll know you've boiled them enough when you can cut them with a spoon. Or just let others have them.

[PositronicRay]

You need to do plenty whether you want them or not. Essential in bubble and squeak for Boxing Day.

[Speed 3]

I love them steamed and sauted with bacon but I cringe at the thought of how my mum used to cook them in the 70's.....in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes with the rest of the veg. I do now know what astronaut "toothpaste tube" food is like though. I guess it was her way of reducing the cooking time down from 3 hours

[All that jazz]

Speed 3 said:

I love them steamed and sauted with bacon but I cringe at the thought of how my mum used to cook them in the 70's.....in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes with the rest of the veg. I do now know what astronaut "toothpaste tube" food is like though. I guess it was her way of reducing the cooking time down from 3 hours

Same nightmares here too. Those damned pressure cookers!!! Anything you did in them was nuked to the some disgusting mush!

[Speed 3]

All that jazz said:

Speed 3 said:

I love them steamed and sauted with bacon but I cringe at the thought of how my mum used to cook them in the 70's.....in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes with the rest of the veg. I do now know what astronaut "toothpaste tube" food is like though. I guess it was her way of reducing the cooking time down from 3 hours

Same nightmares here too. Those damned pressure cookers!!! Anything you did in them was nuked to the some disgusting mush!

To be fair I still use the one she had but for what they were intended - tenderising cheap cuts of meat. They're awesome for Goulash. Plus they make good steamers if you keep the weight off which brings us back nicely to the original post.

[soad]

fttm said:

they're good , saute with bacon and walnuts what's not to like ?

Prefer mine with chestnuts.