Do, again? Yes!
Thank you, Anna and "Utah Mommy" for the helpful hints you left in the comment section of the first "Roasted Brussels Sprouts" post. (Click here to see it). And thank you Aunt Terri for the variation -- I'll be trying that, too, now that I think I have the basic recipe down.
"Utah Mommy" tried my suggestion to cut the sprouts in half and shared her results:
"We tried this tonight. I cut them in half like you suggested and thought that made a big difference. I also probably cut off a little more of the stem then what should've been, but I think that's the part that makes them bitter.
Anyway, we did have to "stir" instead of roll, and I probably only stirred them every 10 minutes instead of every 5. I think they ended up cooking for about 45 minutes, but I think they would've been fine at about 35 minutes. Two people in our family thought they were a bit over-cooked.
Anyway, I think this one is a keeper. It's the only way I've found so far where everyone said that they would eat them again, even though our 8-year old wasn't completely sold. The 18-month old ate them though!!!"
Anyway, we did have to "stir" instead of roll, and I probably only stirred them every 10 minutes instead of every 5. I think they ended up cooking for about 45 minutes, but I think they would've been fine at about 35 minutes. Two people in our family thought they were a bit over-cooked.
Anyway, I think this one is a keeper. It's the only way I've found so far where everyone said that they would eat them again, even though our 8-year old wasn't completely sold. The 18-month old ate them though!!!"
Trimmed stem off sprouts and removed yellow leaves.
Cut sprouts in half length-wise.
In a bowl: 3 T olive oil, 1 tsp Kosher salt, 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Stir sprouts in mixture to coat.
Pour onto baking sheet. Put into oven.
Baked for 30 minutes, stirred every 10 minutes and removed darkest pieces before putting back into the oven.
Unexpected bonus: Cutting the sprouts in half and trimming the stem closely created many leaves that fell away from the sprouts. These leaves browned quickly, and I had to remove them after the first 10 minutes. I was a little discouraged until I tasted them -- Oh, Yum! They were like little crispy potato chips. I ate them so fast before I could take a picture. They looked burnt but didn't taste burnt.
What I noticed: Small sprouts (about 3/4" diameter) are the least bitter. If I have a mix of sizes, I leave the small sprouts whole and cut the larger ones in half.
My Thanksgiving Day variation:
Same procedure as above but I used walnut oil instead of olive oil. (Sorry, no photo).
Family Review:
Big hit. All the guests liked them (except my 5 year old -- sigh).
