how to cook brussel sprouts in water

Servings: 8 Prep: 10 min Cook: 10 min Total: 20 min

This dish is about as basic and simple as can be, but with what may be an unclear twist. I'm unsure. It's a very technical approach to cooking these things, and probably only ever really done like this in restaurants. However, it's a fantastic way to do it. You'll get a sweet and properly cooked brussels sprout, but it'll also be buttery and bright vibrant green.

So often, "roasted" brussels sprouts are these soft, brown mushy balls of mini-cabbage. These are boiled in a salty boiling water, until JUST cooked (still slightly crunchy). This will season them all the way through. Then, they are plunged into ice water, where the cooking process is completely stopped, but the bright vibrant color is preserved. Here, you can cut them in half. One of the benefits of doing it this way is … it'll only take a few moments to cook them, from here. With very little fuss, you can throw these in a sauté pan with some butter and toast 'em up! You'll get a hot, bright, sweet and buttery brussel sprout.

Just pure simple perfection.

Note: This is cooked in two halves to keep the pan hot enough to fry the brussels sprouts. If all the brussels sprouts were added at once, the pan would cool down and the brussel sprouts would just steam and simmer, rather than fry in the butter and caramelize. You could also toss the cooked and chilled brussels sprouts, with some melted butter, salt and pepper, then quickly place onto a scalding hot pre-heated baking tray, with the cut faces down and placed back into a 450 F oven for about 8 minutes. This would also work.

Ingredient

Calories

Fat

Protein

Carbs

SA's

Fiber

Net Carbs

2 lb (908g) brussels sprouts

345

27.2

72.6

27.2

45.4

1/4 cup (56g) fresh whole butter, cut into cubes, divided

400

salt and pepper, to taste

Grand Totals (of 8 servings):

745

27.2

72.6

27.2

45.4

Totals Per Serving:

93.1

5.5

3.4

9.1

3.4

5.7 g

2 lb brussels sprouts
1/4 cup fresh whole butter cut into cubes, divided
salt and pepper to taste

Place a pot of salted water on the stove to boil. The water should be fairly salty.
Once the water boils, throw your brussel sprouts into the water to boil.
Let them boil for about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the smaller ones first, and plunge them into a big bowl of ice water. Keep removing them from the water and adding to the ice water, from smallest to largest. They should be firm, but cooked. NOT soft. You will continue cooking them, later.
Once they are all in the ice water, let them stay in the ice water for about 10 minutes, until they are completely chilled, all the way through. Remove them and drain them, so they are dry.
Cut them in half, so that the stem stays intact on both halves. You can also trim any loose leaves and any brown or fibrous stem ends, at the point. These can be tough.
Set aside to be cooked later ... or just cook them.
To cook, place a large non-stick sauté pan on the stove. Get it hot over medium-high heat.
Add half of your butter to the pan and swirl it around, so the bottom is coated. It may start immediately browning. This is ok, but do not let it burn.
Even if the butter is not fully melted, add half of your dry brussel sprout halves. Turn them all so they are all facing down in the pan and are only one layer deep. They should not be stacked, or else they will steam. They should be frying in the hot butter.
Let them fry for a few minutes, so the faces get nice and caramelized. Move them around the pan, so they cook evenly. Keep the pan hot.
Once they are nice and cooked, season with a little salt and pepper. Toss and set aside.
Cook the other half of the brussel sprouts in the remaining butter, with the steps above. Season and mix with the first batch and serve!

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