While we’re on vacation, we love trying new restaurants to get ideas for recipes. This one comes from a great little spot in Memphis, TN: South of Beale (SOB), on South Main Street. South Main is our kind of place; it has dozens of local restaurants, mostly small places that have taken over and renovated great old buildings before opening as a bar or restaurant. These are the places we really like to patronize. Yes, we know about Beale Street, but that place is way, way, too touristy for us. We’ll stick with the small local places, thank you.
We stayed in the downtown area so we were able to walk over to SOB one day for lunch. We selected a Smoked Gouda Mac ‘n’ Cheese and the Maple Brussels Sprouts. Now, we just happen to love Brussels sprouts, although we don’t have them all that often (we generally don’t get Brussels sprouts in our CSA share, and we rarely need to buy other vegetables), but the ones we had at SOB were so good we just had to try recreating them at home. We’re not sure ours are as good as the Brussels sprouts we had that day, but they are quite tasty, and don’t require a day of flying to get them.
Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound Brussels sprouts about 16
- Salt
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbs unsalted butter
- 2 Tbs maple syrup
- Hefty pinch smoked paprika
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add Brussels sprouts and boil for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fill a bowl with ice and water. Drain Brussels sprouts and immediately place in ice bath. Stir occasionally to chill completely. Drain.
- Quarter Brussels sprouts and place in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
- Combine butter, maple syrup, smoked paprika, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, and bring to a simmer.
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. When very hot, add Brussels sprouts in an even layer, and let char without stirring for several minutes. Stir and char for another 3-5 minutes.
- Serve immediately, drizzled with maple sauce.
Ingredient discussion:
Maple syrup should be the real deal: 100% maple syrup, grade B, preferably. The grades of maple syrup refer to the color only, with the lightest color receiving grade A, and darker colors generally mean more flavor. Smoked paprika is such a wonderful-tasting spice that once you have it, you’ll be wanting to add it to everything. If you don’t have any, you might add a drop of liquid smoke; if you don’t have that, well, we guess you’ll do without.
Procedure in detail:
Blanch and shock. This is the key for Brussels sprouts. Regardless of how you’re going to use these sprouts, we think you should blanch and shock them first. It does three things: it removes some of the bitterness, it ensures they’re tender all the way into the center, and it locks in a bright green color. No one likes bitter, tough Brussels sprouts, so bring a large saucepan of salted water to a full rolling boil. The more water the better, because you don’t want the boiling to stop as you add the Brussels sprouts. Once boiling, add the Brussels sprouts — a few at a time, if necessary, to keep the water boiling — and let boil at that full rolling boil for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, set up a bowl filled with ice water. Once the Brussels sprouts are done, drain them, and immediately place them in the ice water. We use a slotted spoon to scoop them out of the pan and drop them into the ice bath. Stir occasionally until completely chilled. Drain completely.
Oil and season. Transfer the Brussels spouts to a medium bowl and drizzle olive oil over them, followed by a sprinkle of salt and pepper to get the flavor going. Toss to coat and set aside.
Make maple glaze. In a small saucepan, combine butter, maple syrup, smoked paprika, and a good pinch of salt, set it over medium-low heat, and bring to a simmer. Swirl from time to time to keep everything mixed.
Char Brussels sprouts. Break out your cast iron skillet, if you have one, and set it over medium-high heat. If you don’t have a cast-iron pan, use a heavy-bottomed skillet, instead. When the pan is very hot, swirl in a small amount of oil (especially if you’re not using cast iron), and add the Brussels sprouts. Spread into a single layer and let char for a good 3 minutes or so, then stir and let char on another side. When charred to your liking, get ready to serve.
Serve. Scoop Brussels sprouts onto a serving plate and drizzle with the maple glaze. Serve immediately.
Mmm, these are good. A nice smoky-maple flavor, with perfectly-cooked Brussels sprouts. A little salty, a little sweet, a slight bite from the pepper, and a little bitterness left in the sprouts. We think these could easily convert those Brussels sprout haters we hear about, but really don’t understand. A great big five stars (although, if you’re in the Memphis area, try the ones at South of Beale, too).
