Roasted Brussels Sprouts are actually good!

I remember eating brussels sprouts a few times in my childhood and I think the end result was always a spanking.  Needless to say, they were not on my list of foods that I ever planned on eating again. 
Having children of my own, however, was enough to make me willing to give them another go when we got them in our baskets last week.  You just can’t trust a kid’s opinion of a food until you have tried it as an adult.

I was talking to my Uncle Curtis tonight about brussels sprouts and he told me that he hated them.  He served a church mission in Ireland and ate them just about twice a day.  They were always boiled, which might have been how I ate (or didn’t eat them) as a kid.  I found this recipe for roasted sprouts on Allrecipes.com.  My whole opinion of them has changed.  You might say that I’m converted, even.  Two of my children asked for seconds.  Did you hear what I said? Two of them asked for seconds.

I wasn’t sure how to prep them.  They had a lot of extra leaves and were a lot bigger than I remembered them being.  I peeled off the outer leaves and cut off of the stalk.  That made them look more like I thought they should look.  It seemed like there was a lot of waste.  I also cut them in half, which reduced the cooking time.  There were a bunch of the inner leaves that kept falling off and I just threw them away.  I wish I would have just cooked them as well, because those blackened leaves were the best ones.  I cooked them in the oven, but now I wish I would have used the grill.  My house is stinking hot now. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Preheat oven to 425.

1 pound (or so) brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed and bottoms trimmed
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt (be sure to use Kosher because it is chunky.  See it in the picture?)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Place everything in a gallon-sized bag and knead it around to coat it all evenly.  Let it sit for an hour or two.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes.  Stir every 5 minutes or so to help them brown evenly.  Serve immediately.

If you think you hate brussels sprouts, I recommend giving this recipe a try.  You just might change your mind.