Nothing reminds me of Christmas more than the sultry smell of simmering cabbage rolls wafting through my house….pungent and delightfully stinky…made with love….made by mom.
My mom (Ann) and my aunt (Lynn) recently met at my house for a few weeks. Sharyn and I enjoyed a wonderful visit with them, which included countless hours of playing cards and cooking great food.
We also visited some of my favorite locations in Milwaukee on Old World Third Street, The Spice House and Buck Bradley’s Bar (claiming to be the longest bar East of the Mississippi River).
Sharyn, Aunt Lynn, and Mom at Buck Bradley’sWhen my mom offered to make Stuffed Cabbage Rolls a wave of relief rushed through me. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas unless I have a bunch of them horded away in my freezer (and my belly), like some cabbage lovin’ squirrel fattening up for his long winter slumber.
The perfect meal…veggies (cabbage, tomatoes, kraut)…beef and pork….rice….cheese…garlic. Oh so good!
She makes them the easy way. Using only a few simple ingredients, and a family secret to save time and work.
The family secret is coring and freezing whole heads of cabbage a few days before making the rolls. This method of “softening” the cabbage leaves is so much easier than boiling and cooling them.
Freezing whole cored heads is also a great way to save fresh cabbage at the end of the growing season, so that the cabbage rolls can be made when the weather turns colder. They can be stored frozen for at least 6 months.
This recipe for Mom’s Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Sauce and Kraut makes enough for a 6 quart slow cooker. There might be a little extra depending on how tight the rolls are packed into the crock pot
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- 2 medium heads cabbage, cored, rinsed well and frozen for at least 3 days prior to finishing recipe
- 3 pounds 85% lean ground beef
- 1 pound lean ground pork
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups cooked long grain white rice (boil in a bag rice works well)
- 1 32 ounce jar or bag of kraut
- 2 64 ounce bottles of V-8 Juice
- 1 26 ounce can Campbells Condensed Tomato Soup
Remove frozen cabbage heads from the freezer and soak in warm water for a few hours until completely thawed, then seperate the outer larger leaves and pat dry.
Cook the rice and allow it to cool. Remove the beef and pork from the refrigerator for 1/2 hour allowing them to come to room temperature.
In a large mixing bowl add the ground beef, ground pork, garlic powder, salt, pepper, eggs, and cheese. Mix well with both hands, add the rice, and mix lightly to incorporate completely. Mix with love like mom does….
Lay a cabbage leaf flat, cut out any remaining thick white core, and slice in half lengthwise. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the meat and rice mixture towards the pointed bottom part of the cut cabbage leaf.
Roll the cabbage leaf so that the meat and rice mixture is packed tight inside. The roll should be about three inches long and one inch wide.
Tuck one end in about 1/2 inch with your pointer finger, leaving the other end of the roll open. Pack the stuffed cabbage rolls into a tight single layer in the crock pot.
This will hold them together while cooking, and allow the simmering sauce to saturate the rolls with intense flavor.
Spread a thin layer of kraut over the layer of stuffed cabbage rolls.
Repeat the layers of stuffed cabbage rolls and kraut until the crock pot is almost full. Mix the V-8 Juice and condensed tomato soup (do not add water) in a separate bowl.
Slowly pour the sauce mixture over the layered rolls. Allow the sauce to seep in between them by only adding a little at a time.
Cover the rolls completely with the sauce, but leave about an inch without sauce on the top of the crock. This will allow the liquid to simmer without overflowing.
Cook covered on high for 6-7 hours The rolls and sauce freeze well so that you can enjoy them all winter long.
Thanks for reading my blog.
Brad
freezing the cabbage is a genius idea! I'm going to have to make these for my husband, his Mom used to make them for him when he was a kid too! Thanks for the ideas!
Molly, I'm glad you liked the recipe. Please let me know what your husband thinks. We are actually eating caggabe rolls for dinner tonight, I had to get some out of the freezer after writing the post. Thanks!
Freezing the cabbage is such a great idea! I would have never thought of it. I'm definitely going to try this recipe.
I’m glad you appprecuated the method of freezing the cabbage. It can also be used in other recipes, like cabbage and noodles.
Mmm… stuffed cabbage rolls sound wonderful! And a great tip to freeze the cabbage!
Thanks Natasha. You can also top and core peppers then freeze them whole. When your ready for stuffed peppers (hot or mild or a combo of both is best I think?), use the same basic filling and sauce recipe, stuff the peppers still frozen, and cook.
I really enjoy the recipes and pictures at http://www.5starfoodie.com and I am looking forward to more. Thanks for all your hard work!
Thanks for the wonderful comment Lady Mystery. i will tell Mom and I’m sure she’ll appreciate your kindness.
Yes I agree, kids must eat their veggies, they can’t live off of just bacon…..I really like the colorful variety of vegetables http://www.gwjamaicacookbok.com , and the creative recipes that Warren and yourself develop and blog about.
I just recently discovered cabbage rolls. Yes, that sounds crazy, but it just wasn't something I grew up with. These sounud wonderful!
Its never too late to begin eating stuffed cabbage rolews Alta! Thanks for your kind comment, please let me know if you try them.
HOW GENIUS!!! I am definitely telling Collin this trick — he always makes golabki (sp?) and complains about how the cabbage rips when he boils it. These look amazing, I really love that it's cooked in a tomato sauce NOM NOM NOM!!!!!
Joy, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and hope Collin enjoys it also. Mom’s trick to soften the cabbage by freezing it, should keep the leaves intact enough to roll them tight. The toimato sauce comes out brigfht and flavorful once all the flavors meld together.
Please let me know if you try the recipe and how it turns out.
who knew you could creeze whole heads of cabbage! Great idea!
Thanks Stepchows for the comment. The cabbages freezes very well as a whole head and can be used for any cabbage dish that will be cooked, once it is thawed.
Hi Brad
Thanks sooo much for this recipe…I've had this once and been wanting to make it myself but I seemed to have forgotten about it..and your post brought it back to mind.. and thanks for sharing your family secret..that's a great tip that I will surely use
Your welcome Olive I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and familuy secret. Please let me know how the recipe turns out if you decide to try it.
[...] I’ve been fiddling with this recipe for about 20 years now to get it right, never straying too far from how mom makes her scalloped potatoes. Check out mom’s recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Sauce, Made with Love… [...]
Your mom rocks! And I'm freezing the cabbage next time. Way better than the boiling and cooling of cabbage. Thanks, Brad!
[...] I came across Brad’s blog and there he shared his mom’s secret of making this dish easier: freezing the cabbage [...]
Thanks so much for the great tips on freezing the cabbage and such! I make cabbage rolls every so often, the Lebanese way, and would get so frustrated by their toughness; so I will try it your way next time!
Sounds like something my Grandma would have made years ago. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Your welcome Elizabeth, I hope you are having a nice weekend!
[...] Stuffed Cabbage Rolls [...]
Wow! You’re killing me here. I love cabbage rolls. I’m the only one in my house that eats them. More for me, LOL.
The only thing you’re missing is a slow cooker liner. They make cleanup soooo easy. You must try them.
Have to tell you the frozen cabbage idea is AMAZING! I just had to try it and it worked like a dream. No more boiling water and burned fingers and swearing . . . well, maybe that’s just me but I bet it made other people swear too!
The recipe was nice too although I used my mom’s old tried and true – very similar to yours.
Thanks again and again!!