Brussels Sprouts With Pancetta Recipe (2024)

Any opinions on making this a day ahead and reheating? Thinking I might just blanch the sprouts, sauté the shallot, pancetta, etc and toss all together, except the crumb topping; then reheat, covered, in the oven while the turkey rests. Stove burners will be a bit of a premium.

Early in the day I made the bread crumbs, roasted the sprouts until well caramelized, and sautéd pancetta/shallots etc. Only in the last 10 minutes did I go to step 3, put it all together with the stock and vinegar. It made a decadent side dish, easy to finish off at the last minute.

Do-ahead suggestion: Render the pancetta w/garlic and shallots; remove the mixture, then toss the sprouts in the rendered oil/butter/pancetta fat w/a little s&p; then roast part-way in a 350° oven. Before serving, combine the sprouts and pancetta and finish roasting to crisp up; then garnish, etc. (For bread crumbs, I happen to live in an Italian-centric area, where bakery-made pepper biscuits are a staple. They make GREAt breadcrumbs when pulsed in a food processor.)

I have been making this since 2003! Bread crumbs night b4, yes, more stock, pancetta NOT bacon (I recommend cooking it ahead and adding to almost cooked Brussels sprouts.

I do this but with chopped nuts instead of bread crumbs (which also saves some hassle). Also par boil the sprouts for a minute or two before slicing them, and then skip the stock braise at the end. That just ruins the crispy bits, I think.

Reduced vinegar, added a teaspoon of brown sugar to cut the bitterness. Fantastic.

Render the pancetta w/garlic and shallots; remove the mixture, then toss the sprouts in the rendered oil/butter/pancetta fat w/a little s&p; then roast part-way in a 350° oven. Before serving, combine the sprouts and pancetta and finish roasting to crisp up.

I like white basalmic in this dish; regular basalmic is awfully strong.

Oh, leftovers if any are great reheated and tossed with spaghetti, sprinkled with lots of parmesan...

The cook times and stock quantities are w-a-y off. Suggest you let your nose and eyes be your guides. As for the bread crumb flail... ultimately inconsequential. Still, a marvelous recipe and now a Thanksgiving mainstay.

This recipe combines many good-tasting ingredients. Adding 1-1/2 cups of bread crumbs, however, totally overwhelms the dish visually and taste-wise. I recommend a maximum of 1/2 cup, but will make it again using no crumbs for even cleaner flavors.

Delicious, but next time I make this I'm going to roast the brussel sprouts in the oven to crisp them after a bit of sauteeing. They were a bit too soggy.

Totally delicious, but so many good things in it, you almost lose the flavor of the sprouts themselves. Go easy on the balsamic.

I would decrease the liquid by half (1/4c chicken broth and 1/4c balsamic vinegar). I made it to recipe and the amount of liquid increased the cooking time to the point where the sprouts were mushy. Less cooking time before adding the liquid and less liquid would surely help!

Since you included this in a collection of Rosh Hashana recipes, I wonder if you would consider offering a kosher version. Even cooks who aren't strictly kosher don't customarily serve pork on Rosh Hashana. Thank you.

I recommend putting in the pancetta same time as the Brussels sprouts.

Delicious I found the cook times to be a little long and I needed less liquid but perhaps it was the pan I used. I skipped the breadcrumbs this time and didn’t miss them.

For the cook looking for kosher variation I’d say — duck fat. How could you go wrong

I enjoyed this as an accompaniment to lamb loin chops, but had similar issues to what others have noted with the sprouts. For me, a drizzle of balsamic and a handful of panko are plenty. Next time I will roast the sprouts at high temp - 500 - for 10 min covered in foil with a splash of water and oil, then another 10 uncovered. Meanwhile, I will fry the pancetta, then use the fat from that to cook the shallot and garlic. Combining all the ingredients at the end should do the trick.

This is great (!) but add the stock and vinegar earlier or else it glazes /darkens too early as you still have a good 10-12 min left.If you don't have the balsamic vinegar I found it's still delicious with just the stock.

P.S. You don't need the breadcrumbs either - can shorten the total cooking time to keep the sprouts' shape and color.

I was underwhelmed by this recipe. I think I’ll go back to oven roasting. Nothing special about the technique for me. Not sure what I’m missing.

Leave out the balsamic vinegar.

I mean shallots

I would cut the balsamic vinegar in half… That’s a ridiculous amount to have to cook down. Not only that, but cook time can be cut in half as well.

I made this with cooked radiatori pasta mixed in at the end, no bread crumbs, and lemon juice to finish instead of balsamic vinegar. Added grated parmesan on top in the bowl. Absolutely delicious.

Less cooking time for the brussels sprouts in Steps 2 and 3. Use balsamic vinegar sparingly. I used turkey bacon which I cooked separately and added after Step 2 completed.

Do-ahead suggestion: Render the pancetta w/garlic and shallots; remove the mixture, then toss the sprouts in the rendered oil/butter/pancetta fat w/a little s&p; then roast part-way in a 350° oven. Before serving, combine the sprouts and pancetta and finish roasting to crisp up; then garnish, etc. (For bread crumbs, I happen to live in an Italian-centric area, where bakery-made pepper biscuits are a staple. They make GREAt breadcrumbs when pulsed in a food processor.)

Flavors were good but Brussels sprouts turned out really soggy and did not cook well. Next time will use less better and olive oil - they essentially got boiled. Also DO NOT cook them in a wok

mine looked nothing like this. the amount of bread crumbs overwhelmed this dish