Think You Hate Brussels Sprouts? It Might Be The Cooking Technique

This is not a gloat post. But I have never understood why people hated Brussels sprouts.

I make roasted Brussels sprouts quite often in our household. If I’m in the mood for something a bit more elaborate, I pair the roasted brussels sprouts with rice noodles and a mean peanut sauce from Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Or when we want a quick and easy side for our pasta bowls, I make a simple choux de bruxelles rôtis recipe, which is French for Roasted Brussels Sprouts. It tosses the sprouts with salt, pepper, olive oil, and an optional garnish of Pecorino or Parmigiano.

My husband and I devour this little cabbage lookalike anytime it is featured on our dinner table. And this was the case until recently, when an incident in my kitchen made me understand the other side.

Why do you hate Brussels Sprouts?

I normally shop for produce at Costco, Whole Foods, Safeway, and the Indian grocery store. I typically avoid buying produce from Target and Walmart, simply because I do not associate them with fresh, green produce. That said, our local Walmart does carry a few ingredients that are quite as good as those in other grocery stores.

And as much as I want to understand the hype of Trader Joe’s, I don’t. The layout annoys me. It feels very impractical and unnecessarily crowded, especially when you are a tired parent trying to get in, grab a few vegetables, and leave with your sanity intact.

I digress.

The point is, I always knew produce played a major role in how a recipe turned out. But I was also under the assumption that if I picked my vegetables carefully, I did not have much to worry about.

That changed when I bought a packet of Brussels Sprouts from Walmart.

It smelled like farts.

There is no elegant way to say this. The package smelled like farts. Once I left it open for a few minutes, the smell dissipated, but it just smelled and tasted more cabbagey than any Brussels sprouts I have cooked before.

And that was the moment when I finally understood why some people loathed Brussels Sprouts.

Note – Another observation that I have recently made is that the younger the harvest, the easier it is to cook. The mature sprouts tend to be hardier and take longer to break down in the oven.

In addition to the freshness of the Brussels sprouts, the seasonings matter just as much as the vegetable. In my case, I like to keep it simple, but I can totally see how a good Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoning can eliminate chopping the garlic and make it one step easier. Speaking of seasonings, ever wondered why American seasonings are different from the rest of the world? Check out my blog to explore my take on this.

The Recipe That Might Make You Love Brussels Sprouts

So it turns out that there is a way to make Brussels sprouts smell less cabbagey.

I hadn’t realized this, but almost all the recipes I make call for roasted, baked, or pan-roasted sprouts. Apparently, the sprouts start to smell more cabbage-like when they are cooked longer. Methods like boiling and steaming make this especially pronounced, which might explain why so many people have an aversion to the cruciferous vegetable.

While there is no right or wrong way to cook Brussels Sprouts, roasting seems to bring out the best in them. The edges and outer skin are crisped to perfection, the insides are cooked just enough to bring the right amount of sweetness, and the sprouts also lose some of that cabbagey aroma.

As someone who truly loves the vegetable, I highly recommend trying Brussels sprouts this way. The rice noodles, combined with a fiery peanut sauce recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz with a few tiny tweaks, and the roasted brussels sprouts, are a total winner. I won’t be surprised if this becomes one of your go-to weeknight meals.

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