Boiled Cabbage
When I boiled our cabbage for New Year's, I added a little of the fat from our ham to the water I boiled the cabbage in and it was a huge hit with my husband. He never liked boiled cabbage before. This is a great way to use your ham scraps. I freeze my scraps now to use for cabbage.
When I boiled our cabbage for New Year's, I added a little of the fat from our ham to the water I boiled the cabbage in and it was a huge hit with my husband. He never liked boiled cabbage before. This is a great way to use your ham scraps. I freeze my scraps now to use for cabbage.
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (59g)
- Sodium 1.77750000150261 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Use a medium sauce pan with a tight fitting lid and add the water, salt, vinegar, and ham.
- Stir a little to mix up the vinegar with the salt and water.
- Arrange the cabbage wedges in the sauce pan, cover with lid and heat to a low boil.
- Boil for about three minutes and remove from heat.
- The cabbage should be cripsy-tender.
- If it's not, replace the lid and check again in about two more minutes.
- The cabbage will continue cooking even though it's been removed from the heat.
- This is delicious with a slice of fried ham, black eyed peas and cornbread muffins.
Unlike heavily simmered brassicas that surrender their structure and release overwhelming sulfur compounds into the room, properly cooked cabbage requires a very brief thermal exposure. Keeping the cooking window short prevents the unpleasant breakdown of glucosinolates that occurs during prolonged boiling. Utilizing a tight-fitting lid on a medium saucepan traps steam effectively, ensuring the wedges soften uniformly without requiring excessive liquid.
Rendering animal fat directly in the cooking water introduces hydrophobic compounds that coat the leaves, carrying flavor evenly throughout each wedge while a splash of acid balances the richness. Maintaining a low boil for precisely three minutes before removing the pan from the heat source allows residual steam to finish the process safely. The cabbage must retain a slight resistance at the core, signaling that cellular walls remain intact enough to provide a crisp-tender bite.
Freshly cut heads require slightly more water vapor to soften than older produce stored in refrigeration for weeks, which loses internal moisture and cooks much faster. Adjusting the initial liquid volume by a tablespoon compensates for hydration variances between seasonal harvests.
