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    Home » Meat and Game

    Fried Cabbage with Bacon, Onion, Garlic and Caraway

    Published: Jan 21, 2019 Modified: Feb 21, 2023 by Alan Bergo This post may contain affiliate links 3 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Tender cooked cabbage with bacon, onion, garlic and caraway is one of the best winter side dishes I know.

    People that don't like cabbage will come around after they try a good fried cabbage recipe. Everyone loves vegetables cooked with bacon fat.

    a pan of cooked cabbage with bacon

    A good recipe to feed a crowd

    I used to create new side dishes every day when I worked at Heartland restaurant in St. Paul. Having cabbage as an option definitely took off some the heat my prep time during busy weeks. It's easy to make at home, and a good substitute for starchy sides like potatoes if you need some variation.

    Optional special ingredients

    The version you're looking at is less mass-produced and a little more personal than what I used to make. The pork bacon and caraway from a shaker are replaced with homemade venison bacon and foraged caraway from the North Shore.

    Venison bacon

    This is my favorite recipe to share with people after after I've convinced them to make their own bacon at home.

    Venison bacon is almost unknown in the hunting and charcuterie world. If you see recipes for it, they usually refer to a sort of meatloaf made with ground venison and pork bacon.

    To be clear, that stuff is not bacon. The real deal must come from a complete muscle, one that is preferably dry-cured. For small ruminants that can be anything from a boneless short rib, to a flank, a brisket or breast.

    I have a solid recipe for homemade bacon. But, if you have to you can use regular bacon from a grocery store. You should know that the bacon grease from venison bacon is more firm and less desirable than from pork. If you use it, make sure to serve the dish hot.

    Wild Caraway

    This is a good vehicle for wild seeds, dried or fresh. Fennel, chervil or mitsuba, angelica, and probably plenty of others I don't know about can work.

    Using other types of cabbage

    We would often use different types of cabbage for this. Fried red cabbage works fine too, as does caraflex, a variety that has the shape of a large cone.

    pan fried cabbage in a bowl with bacon
    pan fried cabbage in a bowl with bacon
    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Fried Cabbage with Bacon, Onion, Garlic and Caraway

    A classic winter side dish, updated with venison bacon and foraged caraway. Serves 4-6 as a side
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: German
    Keyword: Cabbage, Venison bacon, wild caraway
    Servings: 4 Servings
    Calories: 225kcal
    Author: Alan Bergo
    Cost: 5

    Equipment

    • 1 10 inch braising pan or similar

    Ingredients

    • 1.5 lbs green cabbage
    • 4 oz venison bacon about 1 heaping ½ cup roughly diced
    • 1 teaspoon lightly toasted wild caraway seed
    • 2 tablespoons lard or cooking oil
    • ½ medium onion thinly sliced, about ½ cup
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¼ cup meat stock or water
    • 1 small clove garlic finely chopped or grated

    Instructions

    • Cut the cabbage into quarters or wedges, then shave, (hold onto the root) on a mandoline or use a sharp knife.
    • Sweat the bacon in the oil on medium high heat until beginning to crisp. If you want it crisp, you can remove the bacon and add it back at the end.
    • Add the onion and sweat for three minutes. Do not allow the onion to color. Add the garlic and cook for two minutes more on medium heat. Add a splash of water or stock if it threatens to caramelize.
    • Add the cabbage, stock, caraway and salt, cover, bring the mixture to a simmer then turn the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes*, or until the cabbage is tender, but not mushy. Double check the seasoning for salt and adjust until it tastes good to you, then serve.

    Notes

    Cooking time 

    Other recipes may call for cooking the cabbage as long as 30 minutes, but I find this too mushy for my tastes. 

    On the Bacon

    Regular pork bacon will work here too, but you'll want to render it crisp longer than you would the venison version.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 4oz | Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 856mg | Potassium: 357mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 177IU | Vitamin C: 62mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 1mg
    « Venison Breakfast Sausage with Wild Blueberries
    Root Vegetable Sauerkraut, with Wild Caraway »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. sean w

      January 16, 2022 at 7:43 am

      5 stars
      How do you think this would work with adding a bit of horseradish vodka just before adding the cabbage?

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        January 16, 2022 at 9:26 am

        Sometimes it's best to keep things simple. What I would do, is use that tasty vodka to make a tomato cocktail to drink alongside.

        Reply
        • sean w

          January 25, 2022 at 3:17 pm

          Tried it as per your recipe (my dad and I make pork bacon so I used that), then the next time with the horseradish vodka. Both were very good, the horseradish added a little interesting note.

          Obviously I'm biased since I made the vodka lol

          Reply

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