Try this Creamy Purple Cabbage (with bacon) recipe
- Carbohydrate 9.50774472136 g
- Cholesterol 249.47580328 mg
- Fat 77.65501367552 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 13.44901375864 g
- Saturated Fat 43.753519971616 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (719g)
- Sodium 4217.725753208 mg
- Sugar 9.50774472136 g
- Trans Fat 11.092601398568 g
- Calories 782 calories
Step-by-step
- Fry your bacon until crispy and reserve the bacon grease. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
- Chop Your cabbage into thin strips. Combine cabbage and bacon grease in a large pot. Heat over medium heat until the cabbage is tender.
- When the cabbage is tender turn the heat to low, salt, add apple cider vinegar, and cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese is thoroughly combined.
- Remove from heat and stir in the crumbled bacon pieces!
Why does the cream cheese break into oily pools instead of coating the cabbage evenly? Achieving a smooth emulsion requires managing temperature differentials between hot vegetables and cold dairy. Raw purple cabbage contains stubborn cellular walls composed of cellulose and pectin that demand sustained thermal energy to soften completely.
- Slice the head of purple cabbage into uniform strips measuring approximately one-quarter inch wide to ensure even cooking rates across all pieces.
- Render the bacon over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes to extract maximum fat without scorching the lean proteins.
- Simmer the cabbage directly in the rendered bacon grease in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat for 20 minutes until the structural rigidity yields completely.
- Reduce the heat source to its lowest setting before incorporating the softened cream cheese to prevent the milk solids from separating at high temperatures.
- Whisk the apple cider vinegar into the mixture alongside the dairy; the acetic acid provides necessary brightness while the dairy fats coat the palate.
Using freshly rendered animal fat introduces complex savory compounds that shelf-stable cooking oils lack. Preserved pork products also supply concentrated sodium that naturally draws residual moisture out of the brassica during the initial softening phase.
