You ask a kid what's their favorite vegetable, they might say carrots sticks or corn on the cob. When I was growing up my favorite vegetable was green peas. I don't remember when cabbage was brought to the family table but when I had my first bite, I was hooked.
Cabbage was considered a grown up vegetable to me. It wasn't sweet, and you couldn't dip it in cheese or ranch sauce. As kids we didn't care that it was healthy, and that it contained fiber and antioxidants, we just knew it was delicious. My mom usually braised it in seasoned broth, with some sort of salted smoked meat like neck bones or turkey necks. Most of the time we ate cabbage with big meals on Sunday. Once my mom knew we really liked it, she threw it into the dinner rotation more often. When my dad started experimenting in the kitchen he developed an awesome version of cabbage that rivaled my mother's. Sorry Mom!
My dad's version used less liquid in the pot, and he cooked it for less time. The cabbage had a crunch to it and he loaded it with black pepper. He would also add a little bacon fat to the pot while cooking. My sister and I loved when he made cabbage. Years later, I had the Caribbean version of cabbage that is shredded, loaded with carrots, onions, and other vegetables, then steamed. I was in love. The crunch, the flavors from all of the vegetables, it is delicious.
Tip: Save your bacon drippings. Pour bacon grease in a covered coffee can or small jar.
I still favor my dad's cabbage the most but I wanted to elevate it a little. I decided to combine my 3 favorite ways of preparing cabbage into a great recipe that my family loves. Adding bacon of course to give it that smokiness, sauteed onions to add more flavor and a touch of sweetness, and instead of cooking the cabbage in liquid, it is blanched first, drained, then sauteed in olive oil. This recipe is versatile, so you can add more vegetables, make it as spicy as you want, or go meatless. The added bonus is, this recipe is keto friendly! I wasn't even trying. I realized it as I was typing out the recipe. So enough with the blog gabbing and let's get started...
Ingredients:
1 medium head of cabbage - Core removed. Chopped and washed
4 - 6 strips of bacon - chopped - the fattier the better
(Try cheap bacon that has more fat. Use it to cook with)
1/2 large onion - sliced
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Chicken bouillon seasoning (*substitute vegetable broth)
(Adding sugar is optional. Non-keto add 1 tbsp. brown sugar. Keto add 1 tsp sweetener.)
Lt. olive oil for frying ( if using leaner bacon, will need about 2 tbsp. olive oil)
Prep:
Boil a large pot of water. Salt water as it starts to boil.
Chop and wash cabbage. Add cabbage to water in batches.
Blanch cabbage for ~1 minute. Leaves will turn a light green in color.
Add cabbage to a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
Drain cabbage thoroughly.
Directions:
Fry bacon in large pan
Remove bacon and drain
Add onions to bacon fat ( if more oil is needed add 2 tbsp of oil HERE)
Add drained cabbage to same skillet
Stir to combine onions and cabbage. Cover cabbage. Cook for 7-10 minutes.
Remove cover, add cooked bacon to cabbage
Add seasoning to your taste. Add additional salt if needed
Toss cabbage thoroughly
Cabbage is done when it is slightly tender but still firm
Note
I purposefully didn't add additional salt to season the cabbage because:
1. We salted the water to blanch the cabbage
2. We used bacon
3. The chicken seasoning has salt.
If additional salt is needed, add it during the seasoning process, but taste before adding salt.
Here is the youtube video of me preparing my southern fried cabbage recipe.