Make Brussels Sprouts Taste Restaurant-Worthy With This Cooking Method

If you're ordering Brussels sprouts at a restaurant, they aren't trying to make them healthy; they are trying to make them taste as good as possible. That's not to say Brussels sprouts can't be both, but a lot of the secret to how restaurants get different ingredients tasting so good is that concern about fat, salt, and sugar gets thrown to the wind. That sauce you normally make at home is so much better when eating out because it has more butter, and those vegetables taste amazing because they were cooked in bacon fat. So if you are concerned about making the most delicious Brussels sprouts ever, full stop, start deep frying them.

The best Brussels sprouts have deeply caramelized and crispy outsides, while having a meltingly tender interior. That requires sustained levels of high heat that can cook the inside faster than the outside will burn, and there is no better way to strike that balance than deep frying them. With perfectly browned edges, richness from the oil, and the subtle vegetal sweetness of sprouts, all they need is a sprinkling of salt, and they'll blow people away.

And the other great thing about deep-frying Brussel sprouts is that it is actually quicker and easier than most other ways of cooking them. There are no long cooking times with concerns about different-sized sprouts cooking unevenly or only getting color on one side. All you have to do is plop halved Brussel sprouts in the hot oil, and they'll be done in minutes — even if you need to make a few batches.

To deep fry Brussels sprouts, start with a high smoke point neutral oil like vegetable or canola. You'll also want a cooking pot with high enough sides to prevent any splattering. While deep frying sprouts is quite easy, the one precaution you should take is not adding too many to the hot oil at once. This will cause the temperature to drop and leave you with Brussel sprouts that get greasy before they fully cook on the outside.

Aim for an oil temperature between 350 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit and add enough oil to fully submerge one layer of halved Brussel sprouts. At that temperature, the oil should drop to around 325 once the sprouts start cooking, which is the temperature you should try to maintain. At that level, your sprouts will be perfectly brown in about three to four minutes. Transfer the cooked Brussels sprouts to a paper towel-lined surface, and repeat with any remaining sprouts.

While deep fried Brussel sprouts really are so good that they only need salt and pepper, they also have the advantage of staying crispy even when doused with sauces. You can drizzle them with a little balsamic glaze, herby ranch, or tangy Dijonnaise. You could also toss them in a sweet chili sauce, miso soy glaze, or garlic butter and lemon juice. Your sprouts will be so good they might not even make it to the plate.