Pork Stuffed Cabbage With Garlic Butter Recipes

BRAISED CABBAGE STUFFED WITH PORK

Steps:

• To make the sauce:
• Puree the onions, carrots, celery and garlic to a coarse paste in a food processor. Coat a large wide pan with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it's brown and crispy. Add the pureed veggies and cook them until they become very soft and aromatic and are starting to turn brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the white wine and let it reduce by half. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaves, and thyme bundle and season with salt, to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Reserve.
• To prep the cabbage:
• Add the vinegar to large pot of well-salted water and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Set up a bowl of well-salted iced water. Add the cabbage to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then immediately plunge it into the bowl of iced water. When the leaves are cool, remove them from the water and pat them dry. Reserve.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and put over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt, to taste. Cook the onions until they are translucent and very aromatic, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool.
• In a large bowl combine the ground pork, pork sausage, chicken livers, if using, bread crumbs, Parmesan, egg, rosemary and crushed red pepper flakes. Season with salt, to taste. Add the chicken stock and mix well to combine. Stir in the cooked onions and garlic. Make a tester patty, cook it and eat it. It should taste really good, if it doesn't, adjust the seasoning.
• Lay each cabbage leaf on a flat work surface. Spoon a generous 1/4 cup of filling into each leaf. Fold the outside edges in and roll the leaf around the stuffing. Arrange each roll with the seam side down so that the roll will hold itself shut.
• Add the cabbage rolls to the sauce. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the sauce has reduced to a thick, sauce-like consistency, about15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Transfer the cabbage rolls to a serving platter and lightly cover with the sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.
• MMMMMM...cabbage!

MOM'S CLASSIC STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Remove core from cabbage. Place whole head in a large pot filled with boiling, salted water. Cover and cook 3 minutes, or until softened enough to pull off individual leaves. If the leaves do not pull off easily, return the cabbage to the pot to boil a minute or two more. When the leaves are cool enough, use a paring knife to cut away the thick center stem from each leaf, without cutting all the way through.
• In a large bowl, add in the ground beef, pork, rice, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, eggs, ketchup, tomato paste, and parsley. Mix gently to combine. Add in 2/3rd of a can of tomato soup (almost 3/4 of a cup) and mix.
• To stuff the leaves lay down a single large leaf with the cut edge facing you (where the stem was) and place about a 1/2 cup of the meat mixture in the lower third of the leave. If the leaf is huge add more, if smaller add less meat. Fold the sides of the leaf over the meat and roll the cabbage up (like rolling a burrito). Repeat until all of the leaves are stuffed. If you have extra meat just roll it up as meatballs and place it in the baking pan with the stuffed cabbage.
• Preheat oven to 350F, rack in the center.
• In a large deep dish (4" at least) baking pan (or two 9×13" glass pans), spread out the remaining soup from the open can on the bottom of the pan. Open up a 2nd can and pour out 1/2 of it and spread out until the bottom of the pan in covered in a light coating.
• Place a single layer of stuffed cabbages on the bottom of your pan. Add the remaining half of the 2nd can of tomato soup. If you have leaves that are too small to stuff or are badly torn, add them on top of the soup.
• Add the 2nd layer of stuffed cabbage (you must make sure you have a 1/2" gap at the top of your pan and stuffed cabbage. It cannot go over the top of the pan. Top with the remaining can of tomato soup and spread out evenly.
• Spray the underneath of a large piece of foil. Place foil side down on the pan and close tightly around the dish. Place the pan on a larger cookie sheet to catch any spillovers.
• Bake for 3 - 4 hours or until the cabbage is tender when pierced with a knife. (I start to check mine after 2 hours 45 minutes).
• Remove from the oven, uncover and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

STUFFED CABBAGE WITH PORK

Steps:

• Carefully cut away the bottom center core of the cabbage. Pull off and discard any tough or blemished outer leaves.
• Bring enough water to the boil to cover the cabbage when it is added. Drop the cabbage into the water and cook, turning occasionally, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Drain the cabbage and run it briefly under cold water. Place the cabbage cored side down to drain further.
• Meanwhile, cut away the cores of the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into one-half-inch cubes. There should be about three cups. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and add the two cups of finely chopped onions and two teaspoons of the garlic. Cook, stirring, until the onions are wilted. Sprinkle with one-half teaspoon of the thyme and add the cloves. Cook, stirring occasionally, about five minutes. Scrape the mixture onto a plate and let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Put the pork in a large mixing bowl and add the parsley, bread crumbs, eggs, salt and pepper. Add the cooled onion and garlic mixture and blend thoroughly with the hands.
• Lay out a rectangle of cheesecloth of double thickness measuring about 17 by 24 inches (folded measure).
• Place one of the large outer leaves, rounded side up, just off center with the stem pointing outside. Add a second leaf, the leaf ends slightly overlapping. Add a total of eight leaves, the leaf edges overlapping to form a circle.
• Add two cups of the pork mixture to the center of the leaves and spread it out slightly. Cover with a second layer of six fairly large leaves, stem point outside and with the leaf edges overlapping. Add two more cups of the pork mixture to the center and spread it out slightly. Add a third layer of leaves, edges overlapping, and the remaining pork mixture. Bring up the edges of the cloth rectangle and pull tightly to reassemble the mass into a large cabbage shape. Twist the ends of the cheesecloth bag tightly and tie tightly with string. Cut off the excess cheesecloth ends.
• Heat the butter in a heavy casserole large enough to hold the stuffed cabbage comfortably without crowding. Add the one and one-half cups of coarsely chopped onions, celery, bay leaf and remaining one-half teaspoons of garlic and thyme and cook briefly until the mixture is wilted. Add the tomatoes and allspice, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and cook about one minute.
• Add the wine and broth. Put in the stuffed cabbage, tied side down, and cover closely. Bring to the boil and simmer one and one-half hours or until the internal temperature reads 170 degrees.
• Remove the cabbage from the casserole. Cut away and remove the cheesecloth bag. Line a mixing bowl with a sieve and pour the liquid and solids from the casserole into it. Strain, pressing the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Reheat this sauce.
• Cut the cabbage into pie-shaped wedges and serve with the hot sauce.

STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Using a paring knife, remove center core of cabbage. In a large nonreactive stockpot, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add cabbage and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until outer leaves are bright green and tender. Lift cabbage from water, and remove outer leaves. Return cabbage to boiling water, and repeat brief cooking and removal of leaves until all leaves are cooked. Reserve 2 cups cabbage cooking water. Trim thick center vein from bottom of each leaf. Reserve four large outer leaves to line bottom of pan.
• In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until golden and tender, about 8 minutes. In a large bowl, combine onion mixture, rice, beef, pork, salt, pepper, parsley flakes, green pepper, and celery. Stir to combine.
• Add about 1/3 cup rice filling to one cabbage leaf. Fold sides of cabbage over filling, and, starting with the stem end, roll the cabbage up. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.
• Line a 5-quart Dutch oven with reserved outside leaves. Transfer stuffed cabbage leaves to Dutch oven.
• In a large bowl, combine tomato puree and the reserved 2 cups of cabbage cooking water. Pour some of the tomato sauce over cabbage to almost cover. Sprinkle apple over top of cabbage leaves. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a gentle simmer; cover. Cook for 1 hour or until cabbage is very tender, adding additional tomato sauce as needed.
• Place sour cream in a small bowl, and ladle in about 3/4 cup of tomato sauce from the cooked stuffed cabbage rolls. Whisk to combine. Add sour cream mixture back to Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Serve with additional sour cream.