Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Onions

Zack has been wanting to make brussels sprouts for a while. Michelle, however, had never eaten a brussels sprout in her life. Well, Zack won out and we threw these together for a family dinner we had the other night. It would make a great holiday side dish.


Here's what you need:
1 lb brussels sprouts
5 strips of center cut bacon
1 red onion
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
water/ice for shocking your sprouts


Here's what you do:
Start by boiling your water for the brussels sprouts.


Next, slice your onion by cutting into little crescent moon shapes.

Cut your bacon into about 1/2" pieces.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook your bacon until crispy.

Once crisp, scoop the cooked bacon out and set aside.

Hopefully by now, your water is boiling. Drop the brussels sprouts in.

Let those boil for 8-10 minutes. While they're boiling, fill a large bowl with ice and water and sit it next to your boiling sprouts.


Now, back to the other pan... drain about half of the bacon fat off and add about a tablespoon of butter. Drop in you onions.

Stir them around to coat them with the butter and bacon grease. (We did not say these were healthy, did we?)


While your onions are cooking, your brussels sprouts should be finished blanching. Scoop them out and straight into the ice bath.

Let them cool a bit. Slice them up by cutting the bottoms off and then quartering them. Any of the outer leaves that fall off during this process should be discarded with the bottoms.

At this point, your onions should have caramelized.  

Once the onions are ready, toss the sprouts in with them. Then, add the bacon.

Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan.


Serve immediately.


Enjoy!