Fried Cabbage

Growing up I ate two vegetables....canned corn and canned green beans. No salad, broccoli, squash, cabbage, pea...nothing else. It was not until I got to college and then beyond that I actually started eating all of the great vegetables this world has to offer. Living on my own and cooking for one most of the time has enabled me to be adventurous and try new things. A while back I found a Kielbasa and Cabbage recipe on Pinterest and was inspired to make it. I did and it tasted so delicious and I knew that my love for cabbage was growing. Fast forward to this past weekend when I went over to some friend's house and they made fried cabbage and sausage for dinner. I knew it was a meal that I wanted to make soon. The next day I went to the store and got all of the ingredients and last night after hitting the gym I made some, and I was going to pair it with some sausage but ended up just eating half of it in a bowl by itself...it was perfect.

FRIED CABBAGE

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage
4 slices of bacon
1 small/medium onion
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Butter
Salt
Pepper

Directions

First get a nice deep sauce pan, I acquired mine through my old job as a nanny when they cleaned out their kitchen. The cabbage starts out a little unruly and then cooks down but regardless don't use a shallow pan.

Put 4 slice of bacon in the pan on medium low and let that bacon cook and release the fat for a good while. The bacon does not need to get crispy, you do not want the fat to get scorched so slow and steady wins the race in this recipe. (I know my picture only has three slices but I added one more!)

While that bacon is cooking up chop the small/medium onion into bite size pieces. (If you want your cabbage to be more on the spicy side use a large onion, I just want enough of the flavor and not be overwhelmed)

Take the cabbage head and chop it into larger pieces, there is no rhyme or reason on cutting the cabbage, I like my pieces long and thin but if you want them chunkier that works as well! Set aside the cabbage and onions and focus on that bacon for now. 

After the bacon is cooked, remove it and set it on a paper towel to drain a bit. Don't do anything with that bacon fat, other then slide those onions right on in there. You're senses won't know how to thank you, because at this point the house smells like it belongs in the south where you know good cookin' is happening. 

Cook the onions for a few minutes to get them brown and tender, and then add the whole head of cabbage into the pan.

After you put the cabbage in the pan, stir it around for a bit and let the bacon fat with the onion juices spread around. Then here is where I add the the 2 Tbsp of both the oil and the butter and continue to stir it around so there is no chance for burning. At this point raise the temperature to medium-high (or number 7 if your stove is like mine).

Cook that for about 10 minutes, stirring often to help ensure the cabbage is getting cooked evenly. At point take the bacon that you set aside and chop it up into smaller pieces and add it to that cabbage mix. 

Continue to stir and stir and have patience, it can take a while but it gets there and in the end you will be so glad that you waited and didn't jump the gun. 

In the final stretch the cabbage goes from the top picture to the bottom picture...as you can see it reduces down a good bit, but that is where you get some of the best flavor. 

The cabbage already has bacon in it, but if you want you can pair it with a nice Kielbasa or Sausage...or if you're like me, just slap some in a bowl and put on How to Get Away with Murder and call it a night. 

Until next time....

Jenny