Bacon Wrapped Brussel Sprouts
Bacon Wrapped Brussel Sprouts are a fun way to eat your veggies! Crisp maple and brown sugar glazed bacon wrapped around mouth-watering brussel sprouts. These are the perfect appetizer! Bacon appetizers are some of my favorites, make sure to check out my recipe for Bacon Jalapeno Poppers Stuffed With Cream Cheese!
Bacon Wrapped Brussel Sprouts are a fun way to eat your veggies! Crisp maple and brown sugar glazed bacon wrapped around mouth-watering brussel sprouts. These are the perfect appetizer! Bacon appetizers are some of my favorites, make sure to check out my recipe for Bacon Jalapeno Poppers Stuffed With Cream Cheese!
- Carbohydrate 0.194300110188264 g
- Cholesterol 18.9248105951544 mg
- Fat 12.5381420839082 g
- Fiber 0.00510000014305115 g
- Protein 3.23060191770282 g
- Saturated Fat 4.17325368019339 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (28g)
- Sodium 231.834554790642 mg
- Sugar 0.189200110045212 g
- Trans Fat 1.3826096605226 g
- Calories 128 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 400° F
- Line a large baking sheet with foil.
- Clean and trim the ends of brussel sprouts.
- In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper.
- Cut bacon in half crosswise, then brush bacon with syrup mixture.
- Wrap a slice of bacon around each brussel sprout, and place it seam side down on the baking dish.
- Brush the tops of bacon wrapped brussel sprouts with the remaining syrup mixture.
- Bake until crispy about 30-40 minutes.
Standard roasted brussel sprouts rely on dry heat to caramelize their outer leaves, but wrapping them in cured pork introduces moisture management challenges that require careful calculation. Uncooked bacon releases significant rendered fat and water as it heats, which can steam the exterior of the brassica rather than browning it if the oven temperature is set too low. Operating at 400 degrees Fahrenheit ensures the pork renders quickly enough to crisp before the interior vegetable turns to mush.
Achieving structural integrity depends heavily on placement and geometry during the initial assembly phase. Cutting standard bacon strips crosswise in half provides the exact proportional coverage needed for a single baby sprout without creating thick overlapping folds that trap steam. Placing each wrapped unit seam-side down directly onto a foil-lined baking sheet utilizes gravity to hold the wrapper tight without requiring toothpicks, while maximizing direct contact with the hot metal surface for better bottom-crust rendering.
Sugar-based glazes applied too early in a high-heat roasting process will inevitably burn rather than caramelize because sucrose reaches its carbonization point long before raw pork finishes cooking. Brushing the maple syrup, brown sugar, and cayenne mixture onto the bacon before wrapping allows the interior contact points to absorb flavor, while reserving a portion to paint on the exposed surfaces ensures the exterior achieves a sticky, lacquered finish during the final ten minutes in the oven.
Leftover portions can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days, though the crispness of the bacon wrapper will inevitably degrade as moisture migrates from the vegetable into the fat. Reheating these in a toaster oven or standard oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for eight minutes restores the snap of the cured meat far more effectively than using a microwave.
