Beyond the Ink – Alysha Nett Heats up the Kitchen

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Not many people know that I love to cook. It wasn’t always this way. In fact, I have plenty of ex-roommates that banned me from the kitchen on multiple occasions, ha. I’ve graduated from microwavable food and one of my favorite things to cook are crispy fried honey sriracha Brussels sprouts with bacon. They’re easy to make and an easy way to dazzle your friends with your fine cooking skills. Let it be known that I have absolutely no official training, this is just my favorite way to make them after several trial & errors.

What you’ll need:

1 pound Brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon sriracha (more/less depending on your taste)
3 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 or 3 full strips of bacon (more/less depending on your taste)
juice of 1/2 lime
salt
pepper
vegetable oil for frying
pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees

1. First things first- make sure to wash your hands and rinse your Brussels 🙂 Then, cut the ends of the sprouts and gently separate the leaves with your fingers until you reach the heart of the sprout (it will be difficult to pull back any more leaves), then toss the hearts in a bowl.

2. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the bowl of hearts. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper then toss to coat each sprout.

3. Place the sprouts on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until they brown. This will soften the Brussels making them super tasty.

4. In the meantime, you will need to start heating up oil for frying. I now have a Frydaddy from the grocery store, haha, so I plug that in when the Brussels have been baking for 15 minutes, allowing the oil 15 minutes to heat up. If you do not have a Frydaddy, you can use a frying pan on the stove with enough vegetable (or canola) oil to fry on medium-low heat.

5. On a second pan, we are going to fry up some bacon. Pour enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan and put on medium heat. Once the oil is warm, place the strips of bacon in the oil and place a screen on the pan to protect you from splattering. Make sure to flip the bacon after a couple minutes. Bacon should be done after about 5-7 minutes depending on how crispy you like it. Remember, it will continue to cook on the plate (because of the hot grease). Once finished, place them on a double layer of paper towels to sort of “de-grease”.

6. The Brussels should be about done baking by this time. Pull them out and place in a bowl or on a plate. I placed them into the frying basket and then submerged the sprouts in the hot oil for about 5 minutes. If you are working with a frying pan turn the heat up to medium then fry the Brussels in batches using a screen to protect you from the grease. I use tongs to place the Brussels in grease but you can also use a slotted spoon. Remove when crisp and brown and place on double layer of paper towels while you fry the rest.

7. Next, we are going to make the sauce! In a medium-large bowl, combine the sriracha and honey then squeeze the 1/2 lime into the bowl. Mix with a fork then taste and adjust if needed. Once all the Brussels have been fried and soaked with the paper towel, toss them in the sauce bowl a bit at time. Use a spoon or put a lid on the bowl and shake to mix the brussels with the sauce.

8. Finally, we add bacon. I use kitchen scissors to cut my crispy bacon into small pieces then add that to the bowl as well then mix again.

9. Put on a plate and serve while hot!