Elsie Mislinksi's Eastern European style Cabbage Rolls
This is my mother's family recipe and always was a huge hit with company.
Allow yourself at least three hours to prepare this meal!
Ingredients:
One (1) VERY LARGE cabbage or two medium large cabbages. Red or green cabbage – your choice.
One (1) very large onion or two (2) medium onions – red or yellow, your choice.
One (1) pound of regular ground beef – (not lean or extra lean).
One (1) pound of ground pork. (loose pork sausage also works well)
One (1) stick of butter.
One (1) cup of long grain uncooked rice.
Two (2) cups of chicken broth.
One (1) teaspoon of dry sage.
1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper.
Two (2) tablespoons of finely chopped fresh garlic.
Three (3) cups of tomato juice.
One (1) teaspoon of Worchestershire sauce.
½ teaspoon of Magi seasoning. (or soy sauce)
6 slices of bacon OR six thin slices of salt pork.
Cooking instructions:
1) Cook the Rice:
In a medium pot, add the 2 cups of chicken broth.
Add the uncooked rice.
Add the sage, black pepper, chopped garlic, Magi and Worchestershire sauce.
Bring to a rolling boil, turn the heat to very low and cover.
Let the rice absorb the liquid and when ready remove from heat.
2) Cook the Cabbage:
Take a long sharp knife and remove the core of the cabbage(s) Right down to the center of the cabbage(s). This will allow the individual leaves to peel off easily once partially cooked.
Boil the cabbage(s) in a large pot for about 15 minutes sustained boiling, then turn off the stove and leave the cabbage simmering in the hot water.
3) Cook the Meat:
In a large frying pan, add 1 stick of butter and heat to medium-high – just below the smoking point.
Chop the onion into small cubes and fry in butter until soft and translucent.
Remove the onion using a slotted spoon and set aside in a LARGE bowl.
Cook the ground beef and ground pork in the same frying pan.
Remove the cooked meat (butter & drippings and all) and add to the bowl with the cooked onions.
Combine the cooked rice with the onion/meat mixture – stirring well until fully mixed.
Assemble the Cabbage Rolls:
Get a pair of metal kitchen tongs.
Using the tongs, grab the outermost cabbage leaf by the thickest part of the rib, and it will detach from the cabbage.
Leave the whole cabbage in the hot water to loosen the next leaf layer.
Put the detached cabbage leaf on a cutting board.
With a sharp knife,cut off the rib - leaving two ½ leaf wrappers.
Get a heaping tablespoon of the rice/meat stuffing, and put it in the center of the leaf wrapper.
Roll the leaf over the spoon of filling into a cigar shape, and gently place into a large roastpan.
Repeat this process until the leaves become too small to be cut in two,
At this point, don't remove the leaf ribs but use the small whole leaves to make cabbage rolls.
Near the very center of the cabbage,the leaves will be tiny and crinkled – just discard at this point.
You should now have a large roast pan full of cabbage rolls!
Cooking the Cabbage Rolls:
Lay the bacon or salt pork strips on top of the cabbage rolls.
Pour 3 cups of tomato juice, and the juice should just cover the cabbage rolls.
Add more juice if needed to cover.
Cover the roast pan with its lid or foil.
Bake at 325 Fahrenheit for about 2 hours.
Check the cabbage to see if fully cooked and when they are ready, remove and serve!
Some people add a dab of sour cream with dill when they serve their cabbage rolls.
Vegetarian cabbage rolls can be made using IMPOSSIBLE HAMBURGER with chopped mushrooms instead of meat. (They are really good.)
Low-carb version can be made with grated cauliflower instead of rice.
These are absolutely delicious – and even better when warmed up the next day!
Enjoy!!!