Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cane Syrup Sauce is a premium side dish. Fresh Brussels sprouts sauteed with smoked bacon, then roasted with a sweet and savory cane syrup-based sauce until the Brussels sprouts are firm but tender with caramelized edges. These simple ingredients provide a balance of flavor that you will savor.
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What's Special About This Recipe?
Brussels sprouts may be on many folks' no-eat list, but recipes like this can change that. Any bitterness and mal-fragrance identified with Brussels sprouts (fairly or not) can be eliminated when properly cooked. Fresh Brussels sprouts are slightly charred in smoked bacon renderings before roasting in a sweet and savory sauce, creating a balanced and profound flavor profile. Cane Syrup Sauce combines butter, soy sauce, and prepared mustard to soften the slightly bitter taste of cane syrup. This recipe will be highly requested at your house! But don't worry, you can easily double it!
Here’s What You Need
Ingredients Notes
Brussels sprouts: Use fresh or frozen Brussels sprouts.
Bacon: Use smoked bacon sliced into ¼ inch strips crossways. You want the pieces large enough so that when they are fried they will still be big enough to add crispy texture, but not so large that you get a fatty bite.
What is Cane Syrup Sauce?
Sweet Daddy D's Cane Syrup Sauce is a sweet and savory sauce made with butter, prepared mustard, soy sauce, and Herbs and Spices simmered with Louisiana Cane Syrup. Cane syrup has a flavor similar to molasses but is less thick and less bitter.
Here is an abbreviated version of the recipe to make 1 Cup. Check out my article, Cane Syrup Sauce for more details and photos of the ingredients and the step-by-step process.
Ingredients:
- 8 tablespoons Butter
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce
- ½ cup cane syrup
- 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
- ½ teaspoon dry thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
Simple Instructions: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. As the butter melts, mix in the wet ingredients. When the butter is completely melted, add the dry ingredients. Mix well and simmer very low for up to 10 minutes. Don't take your eyes off the saucepan, it will boil over instantly if you're not careful.
Lagniappe Tip: The cane syrup will tend to boil over very quickly, even at the lowest possible temperature. Do not leave the stove while the sauce is simmering. If it starts to boil up, remove the saucepan from the heat immediately until it calms down.
Equipment
This recipe does not require any special equipment.
You can prepare this entire recipe in one oven-safe skillet, like this 12" cast-iron skillet, or use a non-oven-safe skillet to saute the Brussels sprouts, then transfer them to a glass baking dish (9X13) to finish in the oven.
Tips To Make This Recipe Successful
When you serve Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cane Syrup Sauce, you want to have a balanced flavor profile where the Brussels sprouts are firm and slightly crispy and the sauce adds a sweet and savory background to the slight bitterness of the vegetable. The crunchy texture of the bacon plays well against the texture of the Brussels sprouts. Here are a few process tips that will help achieve this. Click on the arrows for more information.
Fry the bacon until crispy.
Crispy bacon will provide a contrasting texture to the Brussels sprouts.
Don't make the bacon pieces too large or too small.
If the bacon is too small it may disintegrate while roasting but it needs to be large enough to be distinguishable in the flavor profile. Large pieces may have a tendency to be fatty.
Start with a cold pan, then increase heat when sautéing Brussels sprouts.
Starting the bacon in a cold pan will allow the fat to render before the outside is overcooked.
Clean the Brussels sprouts by snipping off the tough stem end and any discolored leaves.
The stem needs to be removed along with any loose, discolored leaves to provide the optimal mouth feel.
Slice larger Brussels sprouts in half; keep the Brussels all the same size.
All the Brussels sprouts should all be approximately the same size so that everything cooks at the same rate.
Spread Brussels sprouts out in a single layer while roasting.
If the Brusells are all bunched up in the roasting pan, they will tend to steam instead of roast. A slightly crispy texture is what we are looking for.
Don't discard any leaves that come off while slicing the Brussels sprouts (except the discolored leaves when cleaning the Brussels sprouts).
These leaves are perfectly delicious and will crisp up easily while roasting. They are also grab the sauce well.
Do not overcook or undercook the Brussels sprouts.
Check the Brussels sprouts for tenderness 10 minutes after adding the Cane Syrup Sauce. An undercooked Brussels sprouts will be tough and an overcooked Brussels sprouts will be mushy.
Hints and Tips (FAQs)
Leftovers can be held in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days in an air-tight container. I do not recommend freezing leftovers. To regain some of the original crispiness, reheat the leftovers on a baking sheet in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for about 10 or 15 minutes, or until warmed through.
Brussels sprouts include many nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that our bodies need and are a great addition to any diet. Check out this article from our friends at healthline.com about the nutritional health benefits of Brussels sprouts.
Brussels sprouts possess a sulfur-containing compound that, when overcooked, will intensify any bitter flavors and unpleasant odors. Properly cooking and seasoning Brussels sprouts result in a natural, nutty sweetness. Brussels sprouts contain a chemical that tastes bitter to people who have a variation of a certain gene. Scientific studies show that about half of the world’s population has a mutation of this gene, so they don’t taste the bitterness attributed to Brussels sprouts.Â
We can skip blanching the Brussels sprouts because we saute them in bacon renderings before roasting. This process gives the Brussels sprouts a little sear which helps bring out the natural flavors.
Here’s What You Do
First, you have a beer. Proper preparations are helpful even for the simplest recipes. That includes the ingredients and the cook. Pop the cap off a beer, then sit down and read the recipe all the way through, before you do anything else. Then gather the ingredients and equipment you'll need and do your mise en place. Then, the fun begins.
Mise en place
- Prepare the Cane Syrup Sauce recipe and set it aside until needed.
- Prepare the Brussels sprouts by trimming the stem end and removing any loose leaves.
- Rinse or soak the Brussels sprouts in cold water.
- For large Brussels sprouts, slice them in half lengthwise. You can leave smaller ones unsliced, but try to keep all the Brussels sprouts about the same size so they cook evenly.
- Slice bacon crossways into ¼ inch strips.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Saute the Brussels Sprouts in Bacon Drippings
What happens in this step? We start the first layer of flavor by rendering bacon fat, then coating the Brussels sprouts in the fat in the skillet.
- Place a cast iron skillet on the stove and add the bacon to the cold pan. Turn the heat to medium and fry the bacon until crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the Brussels sprouts to the skillet. Add Kosher salt and Black pepper to taste and shake or stir the pan until all the Brussels sprouts are coated in bacon renderings.
Lagniappe Tip: Start in a cold pan so the bacon renders its fat before the outside is overcooked.
Roast the Brussels Sprouts in the oven
What happens in this step? Once the Brussels sprouts are coated in bacon fat, a slight char draws out the natural sugars. Roasting tenderizes them before the sweet and savory sauce rounds out the flavor profile.
- Saute the Brussels sprouts for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until they begin to brown.
- Place the skillet in the preheated oven. Roast for about 10 minutes.
Lagniappe Tip: If you do not have an oven-safe skillet, transfer the sauteed Brussels sprouts to a prepared baking dish, like this 9" X 13" baking dish, or similar. Try to use a baking dish with low sides.
- Remove the skillet from the oven, add the Cane Syrup Sauce, and stir well to coat all the Brussels sprouts.
- Return the skillet to the oven and roast for 10 minutes, or until the Brussels sprouts are slightly tender when probed with a bamboo skewer or small thin knife. Continue to roast if the Brussels sprouts are not tender.
Lagniappe Tip: The Brussels sprouts are ready when they give a slight resistance when probed. We do not want Brussels sprouts to be hard, nor do we want them to be mushy.
Remove the skillet from the oven and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes while the sauce cools and thickens slightly.
Serving Suggestions
Once the Brussels sprouts have set for 5 to 10 minutes and the sauce has cooled and thickened slightly, they are ready to serve.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cane Syrup Sauce makes an excellent side dish to these Sweet Daddy D Mains:
Do you have a Cane Syrup Sauce Jones? Here are some other great recipes with this delicious sauce:
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Recipe
Roasted Brussels Sprouts in Cane Syrup Sauce
Here's What You Need
- 2 pounds Brussels sprouts
- 2 slices smoked bacon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ cup Cane Syrup Sauce
Here's What You Do
- Trim stem end and loose leaves from Brussels sprouts. Slice bacon into ¼ inch strips. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the Cane Syrup Sauce.
- Fry bacon in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the Brussels Sprouts to the skillet. Add Kosher salt and Black pepper to taste.
- Saute the Brussels for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until Brussels just starts to brown.
- Place the skillet in the preheated oven. Roast for about 20 minutes.
- Add the Cane Syrup Sauce and stir well to coat all the Brussels sprouts.
- Return the skillet to the oven and roast for 15 to 25 minutes, until the Brussels are slightly tender when probed with a bamboo skewer or small thin knife.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes while the sauce cools and thickens slightly.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Estimate
It's Me!
Louisiana is a wonderful place where the rich cultural heritage enriches and entertains. I'm Dave Howson, aka Sweet Daddy D. I'm glad you found my website and I look forward to exploring the cultural mosaic of Louisiana with you…
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Sweet Daddy D
Great recipe!