Bacon-wrapped Brussels sprouts are impossibly crispy
Bacon-wrapped Brussels sprouts
The first time I roasted Brussels sprouts with crispy bits of smoky bacon, I fell in love with these mini cabbage heads all over again. It’s a side dish I make again and again — and here, I’ve turned those same flavors into the perfect two-bite appetizer.
Simply wrap a slice of bacon around each sprout and send them to the oven to get nice and crispy.
In 45 minutes, you’ll be dunking them in a tangy blue cheese dip.
Buy uniformly sized Brussels sprouts, so they will cook evenly and at the same rate. Hand-select them from your grocer’s bulk bin when possible.
Thick-cut bacon is a favorite for serving alongside scrambled eggs, but stick to thinner, traditionally cut bacon for this recipe. Thick-cut slices are so meaty that they won’t crisp by the time the sprouts are done. And don’t cut the strips in half. The bacon shrinks in the oven, so use a full strip for each sprout to make sure the veggies remain wrapped.
Arrange the baconwrapped Brussels sprouts seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. The ends of the bacon strips will fuse together as the fat renders and the strips crisp.
The bundles will emerge from the oven sizzling and brown. Blot them on paper towels to absorb excess grease, then pile them on a platter alongside a bowl of cool and creamy blue cheese dip.
Crumble your favorite funky, blue-veined cheese into a bowl with equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream, then finish with a squeeze of fresh citrus, which gives the sauce a tangy flavor that compliments the smoky, salty sprouts.