I think the reason many folks don't like brussel sprouts is because they've never been served properly cooked brussel sprouts.
These smoked brussel sprouts are cooked in the smoker for a bit and then finished off at a higher temperature in the cooker, grill or oven.
These may just give you a whole new perspective on life and cause you to re-think everything!
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1.5 hours
- Smoker Temp: 200°F/450°F
- Meat Finish Temp: N/A
- Recommended Wood: Cherry
- 1 lb of brussel sprouts
- 8 piece of thick sliced bacon
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) of bacon grease (from cooking the bacon)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
Please note that my rubs and barbecue sauce are now available in 2 formats-- you can purchase the formulas and make them yourself OR you can buy them already made, in a bottle, ready to use.Start by rinsing them off under cold water.
Cut off about 1/8 inch of the stem end to remove any browned area.
Remove any leaves that look brown or splotchy.
Cut the Brussel sprouts in half.
Note: Some folks cut an “X” in the stem end to help speed up the cooking time. When you cut them in half, this is not neccessary.
Place the brussel sprouts in a large pan or skillet. I like to use the big iron skillet!
Now we need to prepare the bacon so fry up about 8 slices of thick sliced bacon.
When they are done, eat 2 of them for all of your hard work and tear the other 6 into bits.
Save the bacon grease, you'll need it.
Pour the bacon grease over the top of the brussel sprouts and toss them around in it to coat well.
Mix a teaspoon of kosher salt and a teaspoon of coarse ground black pepper to make a quick salt/pepper rub.
Note: One reader commented that the Texas style rub (Purchase formula here | Purchase bottled rub) works really well on these as well.
Sprinkle all of this over a pound of brussel sprouts.
Place the bits of bacon that you made into the skillet.
Add about ½ to ¾ cups of chopped onion to the skillet. I used a small onion, chopped.
Now mix all of this together real well like you are tossing a salad and set it aside.
We gotta go get the smoker ready.
Set up your smoker for cooking at about 200°F or a little cooler than that is fine. If you can manage 180-190°F, perfecto!
Use cherry wood or whatever smoking wood you have available.
In about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes they should be starting to get some softness to them and plenty of smoke flavor.
Taste one and see what you think.
Brussel sprouts are best when they are finished with some high heat and I especially like to find some stray crispy leaves here and there.
If you are using a pellet smoker then you can simply crank up the heat to about 450°F. You could also use the grill or the oven at 450-500°F for about 25 minutes. Stir everything around several times during the roasting process.
The brussel sprouts are finished when they are soft and slightly browned around the edges.
Enjoy!
Please note that my rubs and barbecue sauce are now available in 2 formats– you can purchase the formulas and make them yourself OR you can buy them already made, in a bottle, ready to use.
I have hundreds and hundreds of smoking recipes in every imaginable category on this site and all of them are absolutely free. The only thing I offer for sale are the recipes to my (2) amazing dry rubs and my one-of-a-kind barbecue sauce.
Please understand that this is how I support the newsletter, the website and all of the other stuff that we do here to promote the art of smoking meat.
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I recently purchased both recipes. The files did not come thru right but Jeff was prompt to get it fixed. I tried them both last weekend and they were a huge hit. I followed his burnt ends recipe to the letter and my neighbors thought I was some master chef! Thanks Jeff! -Susan T.
Thank you for the great advice. Followed your rib recipe and everyone loved them. Used your rub and sauce. On point! -Charles W.
Love the sauce and rub recipes. So far I have used them on beef ribs, pork ribs, and different chicken parts. Can't wait to do a beef brisket. Texas rub is great as well! -Peter S.
Love the original rib rub and sauce! We have an annual rib fest competition at the lake every 4th of July. I will say we have won a great percent of the time over the past 15 years so we are not novices by any means. However, we didn't win last year and had to step up our game! We used Jeff's rub and sauce (sauce on the side) and it was a landslide win for us this year! Thanks Jeff for the great recipes. I'm looking forward to trying the Texas style rub in the near future! -Michelle M.
I tried the rub on a beef brisket and some beef ribs the other day and our entire family enjoyed it tremendously. I also made a batch of the barbeque sauce that we used on the brisket as well as some chicken. We all agreed it was the best sauce we have had in a while. -Darwyn B.
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Just made these….fantastic…BUT….I added Jeff’s Texas Rub to the mix. There is nothing the Jeff’s Texas Rub can’t make better…I even tried it on Bluebell Homemade Vanilla ice cream and it worked just fine.. Didn’t have a lot of time, so I just got everything ready in skillet and put the whole shooting match on the Camp Chef at 275-300 and took them off when still just a little crunchy…They disappeared as soon as my sons got hold of them. Should have double the recipe.
Made these for Christmas this year and they were a show stopper. Very easy recipe with a big payoff. I did a few things slightly different, but the base recipe itself is what you need. I half cooked the bacon in the cast iron skillet, then added the rest of the ingredients and mixed thoroughly to get that bacon grease all over the sprouts. Smoked it at around 200 for the 1.25 hours and finished it off on the frill, moving the sprouts around every five or so minutes to get a nice char all around.
Will be making this MANY more times this year. Thanks for the recipe.
You skip me this week am I still on your list?
Lorin, you are still on the list and we are sending the recipes to you. Please check your spam folder and be sure to add my email address ([email protected]) to the address book in your email system.
Looks great and I want the recipe. Have you left off the print function?
Troy, Thank you for letting me know. I have correct this issue. The print button is now showing at the top of the left sidebar.
What did you put them on before you placed them in the smoker? The pieces will fall through my Bradley racks.
These should be placed into an iron skillet or a pan and placed into the smoker that way. They should be stirred occasionally to make sure all of them get some access to the smoke. If you are using a Bradley smoker, be sure to use a pan or multiple pans that are small enough to allow plenty of air/heat circulation around the Bradley racks. Bradley warns against using foil and pans in the smoker.
What thermometer do you recommend that you can read from a distance without opening the door ?
Thank You
I highly recommend the “Smoke” by Thermoworks if you are looking for a remote meat thermometer. It is wireless up to 300 feet away, dual probes, 1800 hour battery life, the main unit and the remote unit stays synced at all times (no re-syncing needed), and it is splash-proof. Very durable thermometer unit and looks tough like it could last a very long time. Check it out at http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoke
Look delicious!
Though – why bother frying the bacon separately or moving to the oven? We do much the same recipe, but don’t bother to fry the bacon beforehand – instead, dice the uncooked bacon and “smoke” it at 250-300 mixed with the sprouts. Saves work and captures the same delicious flavor. (You can bring the temp up at the end to speed up the cook if needed.)
Will have to try adding onion.
If you smoked the sprouts along with the salmon in a Masterbuilt smoker, how, if at all, would it affect the smoking time?
Love your site and recipes!
–Rich Kitchens