LAW 67: Everything's better with bacon, part two; or Bacon Sprouts forever

Bacon Sprouts?! Bacon Sprouts you say? What the ….. are Bacon Sprouts? Well i was wondering the same thing one evening when Mungo and i stumbled across a Youtube video from the BBQ Pit Boys, titled Bacon Sprouts. We fell in love with the idea  of Brussel Sprouts wrapped in bacon, and have been entertaining our foodie friends with tales of Bacon Sprouts ever since. We finally got around to making them last night, after we were accidentally 'gifted' with a package of said sprouts(but that's another story).

Bacon Sprouts are, according to the BBQ Pit Boys supposed to be grilled over indirect heat. Alas, it was supposed to snow last night; besides which we were out of charcoal, so… i reasoned that there really wasn't all that much difference between grilling and oven roasting. It worked pretty well, although, as you can see, clean up will be a major chore. I really was thinking that i should line the pan with foil. Sigh…..

Note to self, line the pan! It will be a b…. to clean

THE METHOD

Clean and trim your sprouts, being careful to leave enough of the stem end to hold the sprouts together. Blanch them briefly in boiling, unsalted water. Blanching time will depend on freshness and size of the sprouts. The video we saw recommended around 12 minutes, which i thought was excessive.  I blanched ours for about one minute and don't think that was quite enough. So, maybe three??? Drain, and allow to cool enough that you can handle them. They should still be a little warm though. For each Brussel Sprout allow half a slice of good quality bacon. We used an apple smoked bacon from Eckrich. The first couple of sprouts were a little difficult to wrap, but i got the hang of it and it was smooth sailing after that. It helps if the sprouts are still warm, and the bacon is more or less at room temperature. If you sort of stretch the bacon by gently stroking it(tee hee) it will wrap around the sprout more easily. You sort of wrap it around than cross it over. Tuck the lose end underneath. Surprisingly there is no need to pin the bacon. It will 'shrink to fit' as it cooks.

Blanching insures the bright green remains through cooking

Place the wrapped sprouts on a rack over a pan that you have lined with foil.  Right before you pop them into the oven, which has been pre-heated to the vicinity of 450 degrees glaze them with maple syrup. Oh yea!

Note the pools of maple syrup 

The Bacon Sprouts will need to cook for about a half hour. I took them out and re-glazed them at about the 15 minute mark. The BBQ Pit Boys recommended dipping them in your favorite sauce. I thought that that sounded like gilding the lily, but wish i had, as i felt that they needed a touch of hot/savory. Still and all, they were very yummy, and yes, i will definitely make them again.  I suspect that i will make a spicy, savory maple sauce, adding some hots and maybe garlic. hmmmm. We had four Bacon Sprouts a piece, along with some roasted Acorn squash. Altogether a very yummy, quite good for winter eve's meal. After all, every things better with bacon.


Here's to bacon, eat well, and enjoy!
More later,
Morgainne