What Makes LongHorn Steakhouse Brussels Sprouts So Good (And How To Replicate Them Yourself)

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Imagine going to a steakhouse and being absolutely transported by a dish that's not a luscious cut of beef. It's more likely than you think — just look at our passion for steakhouse mushrooms, which we copycat at home with lots of butter. LongHorn Steakhouse is a favorite casual steakery, a worthy competitor for Outback and Texas Roadhouse in the North American pantheon. What sets LongHorn apart from its peers, however, may not be ambience or pricing ... but it's Brussels sprouts. On its menu of side dishes, LongHorn offers downright droolworthy crispy Brussels sprouts. A quick glance at the LongHorn menu only says that the sprouts are "tossed with smoky honey butter." Not very forthcoming of LongHorn for those of us who want to duplicate the Brussels at home, but it does tell us why these veggies are so delish!

Luckily, the internet is good for more than just cat memes, and multiple sources think that they've cracked the code on replicating the LongHorn Brussels sprouts. The key seems to be good roasting technique (more on that in a moment) and a compound butter that gets its "sweet" from a mixture of maple syrup and honey; and its "smoky" from smoked paprika and chipotle chili powder. It's been hypothesized that LongHorn gets its heat on the Brussels from a Calabrian chili product, but the chipotle chili powder is a good, consumer-ready substitute that packs the kick and smoky flavor.

We've discussed how to make crispy Brussels sprouts in the air fryer, and now would be a good time to deploy that trick. Most copycat LongHorn recipes roast the sprouts with olive oil in a high-heat oven to really get those edges charred and crispy, but we think you can get it done in the air fryer as long as you follow the best practices of leaving plenty of room between your sprouts for the hot air to circulate and perhaps giving them a shake halfway through the cooking time. Golden color and visibly crispiness (yes, we know we're abusing that word) is what you're looking for.

Although you can generally store Brussels sprouts in the freezer with good results, we'd argue that now is not the time to use frozen sprouts. Any hint of excess moisture (or, heaven forbid, sogginess) from freezing, and your texture is going to be shot, alas, this recipe begs for fresh Brussels sprouts. One last tip — you definitely want real maple syrup and not pancake syrup, for that deep maple flavor.