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I have never made cabbage rolls any other way. This is my variation of
my grandmother’s recipe. It contains no rice and no tomatoes.
My mother explained that they grew their own food, and they never grew
rice (they lived in Yell County, Arkansas, which is hilly, rocky country,
and rice needs low land with lots of water). They did not cook with
tomatoes in the summer (when cabbage was plentiful), preferring to eat
summer tomatoes fresh while canning the bulk of the crop for the winter.
They did cook with canned tomatoes in the winter, but there was no fresh
cabbage. Besides, they never heard of Golabki.
If my grandfather slaughtered a hog, my grandmother would make these
with pork. Otherwise they were beef only, or venison if one of my uncles
killed a deer, but never poultry or rabbit. My grandfather once killed a
possum and wanted my grandmother to make possum cabbage rolls, but my
grandmother refused to cook possum in any form because her mother used
to cook possum and it stunk up the house for days. When making these
with beef, my grandmother added a few tablespoons of milk to the meat.
The lactic acid begins to break down the meat fibers. You can add milk
if you want but I do not. I have found that it’s unnecessary.
The recipe.
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I use extra lean)
1 bell pepper
1 medium onion (I used 2 small ones below)
2 eggs
1 large head cabbage
1 14 oz can beef broth (or use 1 3/4 cups water)
salt and pepper to taste
In addition, you will need oil for browning, 1/4 cup flour to thicken
the sauce, and toothpicks (round ones).
Method
Chop the veggies finely. I use a food processor. If there is a lot
of juice it’s best to drain it. This won’t affect the final product,
but you’re going to add 2 eggs for binder and if the meat mixture gets
too juicy it’s hard to work with.
Mix the meat, veggies, eggs, salt and pepper. My grandmother never used
any additional spices, but you can spice it to your taste. Sage would
be good, or thyme, or cumin seeds, or for a little German flair toss
in some caraway seeds. I have made all these variations and they’re
all good.
Use a 1/4 cup measure to form the meat into balls. You should get about
five balls per 1/2 pound of meat. I do this before I prepare the cabbage
so I’ll know how many rolls I’m going to have and therefore how much
cabbage I need.
Cut the core out of the cabbage and carefully separate the leaves.
Some will tear, not a problem. You want one large leaf for each roll
and you want several smaller pieces to use for patching.
Soften the leaves to make them pliable. I microwave them for about 5
minutes. I have also boiled them and steamed them, but that’s a lot
of trouble and adds to the cleanup. You should also pare the large rib
down flat, as that will make the leaves easier to work with.
For each roll, place a ball of meat on the rib end of a leaf, fold
over the sides, and roll up like Chinese egg rolls. Use patches to make
sure there is no exposed meat. Unroll, patch, and reroll. If there is
exposed meat the roll will disintegrate during cooking. Secure with one
or more toothpicks.
Add some oil to the trivetless cooking pot over medium-high heat and
brown rolls on at least two sides, four sides if you want to take the
time. You can omit this step, but it elevates the taste up into another
dimension. I got lazy and omitted this step once several years ago,
but never again. They are bland if they are not browned.
Place a trivet in the cooking pot to keep the rolls off of the bottom,
and pack the rolls into the pot. Add the broth or water. I use a
pressure cooker. I used to use a cast iron stew pot like my grandmother,
but I don’t remember how much longer I cooked them before I switched
to a pressure cooker. You are on your own, here. With my pressure cooker,
I bring the pressure up until the weight begins to rock, then I set
the timer for 20 minutes. I’m guessing 40 minutes with a regular stew pot.
While the rolls are cooking, put 1/4 cup flour in a small dish and
add enough water to make a slurry.
I don’t wait until the pressure goes down. When the timer expires,
I run cold water over the cooker and the pressure drops immediately,
then I open the pot and remove the rolls to a serving dish.
Remove the trivet, add the flour slurry to the pan juices and let
the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes to thicken and get rid of
the raw flour taste.
I serve with carrots, and/or mashed potatoes and/or green beans.
Three rolls per serving, five servings or a meal for four with leftovers.
Here's the prep.
The veggies ready for processing
The processed veggies. I will not use the juices.
All mixed up
Use a 1/4 cup measure, more or less, to form the balls
Discard the (usually dirty) outer leaves of the cabbage
Then remove the core
Separate the leaves from the cabbage
If they tear, which they will, it doesn't matter.
Start by placing a meatball on the thick end of the leaf
Fold the sides over
Roll up and secure with one or more toothpicks. If there is
any exposed meat, unroll, patch with a piece of cabbage leaf, and reroll
Fifteen rolls ready to cook
With the trivet removed, add some oil to the pot over medium-high heat
Browning the rolls. Don't crowd them.
The browning done, replace the trivet
Load the rolls and add the broth
With the weight on, bring up the pressure, then cook 20 minutes.
While the rolls cook, make the slurry
I personally run cold water over the pot to bring the pressure
back to normal immediately.
Hoo Boy. Almost ready.
As you remove each roll from the pot take out the toothpicks.
Be sure to get them all.
Remove the trivet
Add the flour slurry to the pan juices and simmer for a few minutes
until thickened.
Top the rolls with the sauce. Ready to eat.
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