Brussels Sprouts and Bacon—Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café

Seriously.  Who whudda thunk you could in good conscience put Brussels sprouts and Good Eats in the same sentence?

Certainly not me.

Last month, in addition to the ground beef and tallow that Alan Mitchell, owner of Bennion Beef in Vernon, Utah, shared with me, there was a package of beef bacon.

I had never ever heard of such a creature.

However, I love bacon.  I was excited to try it out.

I thought it best to try it out when I was only cooking for Aaron.  You know, there was the small risk of traumatizing the kids with some tasty beef bacon. I thought it best not to chance that.  Bwahaha.

My initial plan was to make some BLTs, but upon thawing I saw that these were thick slices, a bit too thick for sandwiches.  Hmmm….  Plan B.

I still had a package of frozen Brussels sprouts.  I know, it’s not what comes to mind for most people when they think of bacon.  I first experienced Brussels sprouts and bacon at a company Christmas party at a Reno restaurant several years ago.  I don’t remember the name of the restaurant or what else was served that night, but I will never forget those Brussels sprouts.  After going back for thirds on them, I was too embarrassed to make another trip.  So I sent Aaron instead.

And then I tried re-creating them at home.  And failed a couple of times.  And then I got the idea to try brown sugar.  That was the ticket.  And since that time, I’ve also finally located an official recipe.  It’s from Southern Living, so you know it’s gonna be good.  It’s the reason I planted Brussels sprouts last year.  Unfortunately, the @#$% deer got them.  Hopefully this year’s crop won’t share the same fate.

Brown Sugar-Glazed Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

2 slices thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, chopped

1 lb fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter

¾ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup chopped pecans

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until the bacon is crisp, about 8 minutes.  Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. 

Reserve the rendered fat in the pan and add the Brussels sprouts.  Stirring occasionally, cook until tender, 8-10 minutes. 

Remove from heat and stir in the cooked bacon and remaining ingredients until the butter melts.

Family reviews:  Yes, for this recipe this particular night I used Bennion’s Beef Bacon.  Aaron and I scarfed it all down.  No leftovers.  He likes it; I love it.  On previous occasions with regular store-bought bacon, Buttercup, Sweet Pea, and I scarf it down.  Aaron still likes it.  KOTPE most definitely does not.  All the more for the rest of us.  J

I still had several slices of bacon thawed, so I cooked them up.  They’re waiting in the freezer to be tried in another recipe.  Just like when cooking bacon, I reserved the fat in a canning jar and set it aside.  I wanted to substitute it for the lard I normally use in making tortillas.  Aaron came home excited to share the news of the day, and I totally forgot we were eating tortillas with tallow instead of lard.  We obviously didn’t notice a difference, and I totally forgot about the substitution until I started writing this morning.  So don’t discard the tallow from beef bacon.  It works perfectly in tortillas as well.

Here’s your contact info to get some quality beef:

Alan Mitchell

Bennion Beef, Angus and American Wagyu beef in Vernon, Utah

Bennionbeef.com

Bennionbeef@gmail.com

435 841 7070

Links to related posts:

Flour Tortillas 

Spicy Salsa Mac and Beef 

Tallow Balm and Lotion Bars  

Taco Hand Pies