Roasted Turkey Bacon Maple Brussel Sprouts Recipe

One of my favorite holiday events is an annual charity friends and family turkey dinner. The host place makes turkey and stuffing and everyone is encouraged to bring a dessert or side dish. It is a fantastic evening filled with wonderful and caring people who Bring It when it comes to the potluck side of things.

So I, like most of my friends attending, decided to go BIG when a vegetable side dish, that per usual looks fancy pants and difficult to make but is a quick and easy recipe for Lazy Chefs like me.
I used turkey bacon in this recipe because I wasn’t sure if there were anyone attending the dinner who didn’t eat pork. It tastes great but feel free to use pork bacon if that’s what you have on hand if you like.

Pin this yummy recipe for later! Be sure to share it with your friends!

How to Cook Bacon Brussel Sprouts with a Maple Syrup Reduction

Surprisingly, salty bacon actually pairs very well with sweet tastes like maple syrup.
The apple cider vinegar sounds like a strange choice but it necessary. The vinegar  helps counteract the massive sweet surgery taste in the syrup and it cooks down (called a reduction in fancy chef talk) to make a fantastic glaze that people couldn’t believe was  made with maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.

Let’s cook!

You will Need:

One pound of brussel sprouts

4 slices to a half a pound of turkey bacon (depending upon how much you like bacon)

1/2 Cup of maple syrup

1/2 Cup of apple cider vinegar

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper


Step by Step How to Make it

1. Wash and slice the Brussel sprouts in half. I had to use frozen because the fresh sprouts were picked over by the time I got to the grocery store so I skipped the wash step. Instead I let the frozen Brussel sprouts thaw in the refrigerator overnight to make them easier to cut in half.

2. Put the sliced Brussel sprouts in a baking dish and mix to coat them with a small amount of olive oil so they will brown and won’t dry out in the oven. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Bake the Brussel sprouts in the oven at 375 degrees (F ) for 20 to 30 minutes until the sprouts are fully cooked through and start to brown.

It took my Brussel  spouts a little longer than 30 minutes to cook through because they were still a little frozen when I popped them in the oven.

4. Fry the turkey bacon in a frying pan until it is crisp.

My turkey bacon had little to no fat in it and had to add a dollop of olive oil to the pan to keep the bacon from sticking and burning.

5. Remove the cooked turkey bacon from the skillet and slice it with a knife.

Or you can slice the bacon into strips before you cook it. It doesn’t matter which order you do this as long as you end up with crisp little strips of turkey bacon by the time you are ready to start Step 6.

6. Add the maple syrup and apple cider to the cooked turkey bacon in the skillet, lower the heat, and allow the liquid to simmer and reduce the liquid in the pan by at least half. 

7. Stir the reduction into the cooked brussel sprouts making sure all of the sprouts are evenly coated.

8. Serve. Eat. Enjoy. Repeat!

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