Braised Cabbage with Meat

My husband is a big fan of braised cabbage, especially of its simplest version, the Dutch oven braised cabbage with meat, like his mom used to cook it. I like to use pork - a fatter cut, like the picnic roast or the Boston Butt, but you can replace with any other meat you prefer - beef, turkey, chicken, duck etc. If you choose less fatty meat, I only suggest using a bit more oil when braising the cabbage in the skillet/Dutch oven. I use raw cabbage and in the winter I might combine it with Sauerkraut, for extra taste and flavour.

Ingredients
Meat
1 kg
any meat you prefer, I used picnic roast
Vegetable oil
50 ml
Onions
1 piece
Tomato paste
3 tbsp
you can combine with pepper paste, if you have
White cabbage
2 kg
Salt
1 tbsp
to taste
Ground black pepper
0.25 tsp
and, optionally, other spices - dill, thyme, paprika etc.
Laurel leaves
2 pieces
Step by step
Step 1

Cut meat into big cubes, transfer to a skillet/Dutch oven, add oil and place over heat. 

For this recipe I use a large, 7 litre Dutch oven, so that I have plenty of space to stir all the ingredients well. If your cooking pot is smaller, reduce the amounts proportionally - cabbage needs more space to braise properly, otherwise it might not be as good. 

 

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 1
Step 2

When meat starts to cook, I reduce the heat to low and place the lid on. Let cook slowly, in the steam and the juice released by the meat, until tender and cooked through. 

This trick applies to any meat that requires longer cooking time - pork, beef etc. If you chose store-bought chicken, it's enough to simply braise it in oil, until brown, without a lid on.

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 2
Step 3

When the meat is tender and completely cooked, I remove the lid and turn the heat to high so that water evaporates and meat turns brown.

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 3
Step 4

Add a finely chopped onion to the browned meat, stir periodically and cook for 5 minutes.

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 4
Step 5

Now it's time for the tomato paste/tomato bouillon - mix and cook for 5-10 minutes more.

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 5
Step 6

Meanwhile, cut the cabbage into medium sized slices - I don't like it too fine, but that's just a personal preference. 

Add it to the cooking pot, as much as you can at first.

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 6
Step 7

Put the lid on and cook over high heat, the cabbage will soon shrink.

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 7
Step 8

Remove the lid and stir well. 

Add some more chopped cabbage to fill the pot, put the lid back on, let steam for 5 minutes, mix again. 

Repeat for the whole chopped cabbage or until there is no more room in the pot. It all depends on the cabbage - the summer cabbage will shrink a lot, but the winter one is harder and it won't shrink that much.

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 8
Step 9

Once the cabbage is in the pot, put the lid back on, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook slowly. This way it will steam, release the juice and you won't need to add extra water. 

Periodically stir, check/taste from time to time - when it's cooked and tender, remove the lid.

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 9
Step 10

Adjust the taste with salt and your favourite spices - ground black pepper, bay leaves, paprika etc. 

Mix well, cook for 5 more minutes, then turn the heat off and let in the pot without the lid on for 20-30 minutes for the flavours to blend before serving. 

It's simply fantastic, you can combine it with anything, but we like it simple, with homemade bread. 

Enjoy!

Braised Cabbage with Meat - Step 10
Quantity: 3 kg (8-10 servings)
Prep time:
60 min
Difficulty: easy
Ready in: 30 min