Bacon Roasted Brussel Sprouts

 4 pounds Brussels sprouts 

9 slices thick bacon 

Kosher or Sea Salt, to taste  

Coarse Ground Pepper, to taste 

Optional: Balsamic vinegar, crumbled goat cheese 

1. Slice brussels sprouts in half and place in a large bowl. Ideally, you will want your sprouts to be room temperature, not cold, by the time you get to step 4. 

2. Preheat oven to 500, place cookie sheets in the oven to preheat with it. 

3. Slice bacon into small strips. Cook in a skillet over medium-high heat to render fat, you may need to drain the fat as you cook so it crisps up. KEEP THE BACON FAT. You should wind up with about a half cup, give or take a little, of rendered bacon fat. Set cooked bacon aside. 

4. Pour rendered bacon fat over sprouts and quickly mix. The bacon fat will start to cool quickly, so stir quickly. Hence the best practice of starting with room temp sprouts. Salt and pepper to taste, I think I used about two teaspoons or so of each. 

5. Remove the hot cookie sheets from the oven one at a time and place sprouts, cut side down, in a single layer. Do this as quickly as you can so the cookie sheet stays hot. Be careful. 

6. Roast for 15 - 20 minutes, keeping an eye out for doneness. If you like your sprouts softer, lean towards 20 minutes - if you like them more sturdy, lean toward 15. 

7. Assuming you're making the full four pounds, you'll likely need to cook them in two batches. Re-heat your cookie sheets before you start the second batch. 

8. To serve, top with the cooked bacon. 

Notes: 

• This is a big recipe because I made it for Thanksgiving. It could easily be cut in half. 
• Serve with optional balsamic vinegar (or balsamic glaze) and crumbled goat cheese. I tried this and my family ignored the balsamic and cheese and loved the sprouts anyway. 
• To read about why this works, here's Kenji's explanation.