Name: Brussels Sprouts with Sorghum and Bacon
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon table salt; ¾ teaspoon pepper; 1½ pounds brussels sprouts; 5 slices thick-cut bacon , cut crosswise into ½-inch strips; ¼ cup sorghum syrup; ¼ cup pecans , toasted and chopped; 1½ tablespoons lemon juice

Why This Recipe Works

Inspired by the sorghum-glazed brussels sprouts with lardons at Brennan's in Houston, we created a dish of crispy brussels sprouts cloaked in a sorghum glaze and studded with crisp-chewy bacon and crunchy pecans. Traditionally, we call for keeping the brussels sprouts' leaves intact by trimming just a small amount from the stem before halving the sprouts. For this recipe, we wanted to mimic crispy fried brussels sprouts. To get there, we maximized the number of loose leaves by trimming away more of the bottom of the sprouts. We found that preheating the baking sheet before roasting in a hot oven created crispy leaves and tender halves. To keep the brussels sprouts crispy once glazed, we let them cool slightly before tossing them with a mixture of sorghum syrup, thick-cut bacon, and toasted pecans.

Before You Begin

This recipe moves quickly; be sure to have all the ingredients prepped before you begin cooking.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Whisk oil, salt, and pepper together in large bowl.

Trim off about ½ inch from bottom of each brussels sprout; discardbottoms and any blemished leaves. Peel off loose leaves and transfer to bowl with oil mixture. (After trimming, you should have 4 to 5 cups loosely packed leaves.) Quarter any brussels sprouts larger than 1¾ inches in diameter and halve remaining sprouts. Add brussels sprouts to bowl with leaves and toss until evenly coated with oil mixture.

Working quickly and carefully, remove hot sheet from oven and place on heatproof surface. Add brussels sprout mixture and spread into even layer. Return sheet to oven and roast until sprouts are well browned and leaves are crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and let sprouts cool on sheet for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in sorghum syrup, pecans, and lemon juice and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Drizzle sorghum glaze over brussels sprouts on sheet and toss untilevenly combined. Transfer brussels sprout mixture to platter. Serve.