I'm A Chef — The Secret To The Best Brussels Sprouts Isn't Bacon

Home cooks, check off these “secret ingredients” as they apply: do you put chocolate in your chilli? Sugar in your tomato sauce? Do you reckon everyone else would just loveee Brussels sprouts if only they oven-roasted them with some bacon or pancetta?

There’s nothing wrong with those tried-and-true pearls of kitchen wisdom; they do work. 

But according to Dean Parker, chef patron of Glasgow restaurant Celentano’s, there’s another way to transform the humble sprout. 

When asked what his secret to brilliant Brussels is, he didn’t mention any pork products at all. 

So what’s the secret?

“Hazelnuts and miso butter are my secret ingredient for my Brussel sprouts,” he shared.

Hazelnuts add the crunch of chestnuts that chefs like Mary Berry swear by (though she sometimes plumps for cashews), while miso butter creates both the umami tang you’d expect from meat and the decedent creaminess only butter can deliver. 

You can pan-fry drained, boiled sprouts in the mix, like Mary Berry does with her cashew and pea version. 

Alternatively, you can slice your sprouts pretty thinly for a bit more bite.

Miso butter is incredibly easy to make too: simply mix the ingredients together with a fork.

Any other tips?

If you’re making a festive feast, Tommy Heaney, founder of Heaneys, Cardiff, swears by time and effort-saving a trick I’ve used and love myself. 

He recommends par-boiling your potatoes ahead of time, chuffing them in a colander, and then leaving them in the fridge overnight before cooking them the next day.

If you really want to be hands-off on Christmas, he advises, “Put them in the freezer until Christmas Eve and defrost overnight.”

“On Christmas Day, begin by frying them with plenty of oil or fat until coloured all over, add garlic and rosemary and then finish in the oven on a high heat.” 

I’m sold...