# Golumpki - Old School Recipe



## Margot Howe

As the summer wanes and things are brought in from the garden, it is time to start making delicious things.  The aromas coming from the kitchen make this a great time for the family to hang around. Most are willing to give a hand, but others just offer to test the finished products.

Today I have an abundance of cabbage.  I do not make Kimchee, but I do make golumpki.  Making golumpki was first taught me by my Polish mother-in-law.  Starting out as Ma, she quickly became Babcie once the children started arriving.  She had a good hand with cooking in the kitchen.  Many of her recipes were a pinch of this and a handful of that.  I have been able to sort this out from some of her cooking.  Golumpki is one of those recipes.

The secret to making tender rolled cabbage starts with the cabbage.  Most recipes call for your basic garden variety of the vegetable.  But to get the most tender and not inundate the eater with a mouthful of vegetable and not much filling, try the Savoy cabbage.  Sometimes these can be hard to find in the market, but at the end of summer, they should be available.  These have a leaf that looks crinkly, like crumpled tin foil when flattened out.  This allows a tender bite when cooked up.

Pull off the outer leaves that may have some damage on them, cut around the stem, and immerse the head into a pot of water that has a couple tablespoons of vinegar in it.  Bring the pot to a boil, then simmer till outer leaves of the cabbage is tender.  Remove the outer leaves carefully and then return it to simmer.  As the leaves get tender, remove them to a colander.  Continue to cook and remove the outer leaves until the head is down to next to nothing.  In order to handle the head without getting burned, I use a pair of tongs to grab out the cooked leaf and not take the whole head out of the water.  Keep cutting around the stem as the first ones come out. Don't discard the inner leaves.  There is a use for them.  If you do not like the aroma of cabbage in the house (it lingers), then place a crust of bread on top of the cabbage as it simmers. That will help reduce the odor.

When the leaves are cool enough to handle, with a sharp knife, remove the tough spine by laying the knife flat against the leaf, taking care not to make a hole in it.  As you get to the smaller leaves, this will not be necessary. 

That seems like a lot of work, but it really is not once you get the hang of it.  You can start making the filling while the cabbage simmers.

Place 1/2 cup of rice in 2 cups of water.  Cook for 10 minutes. The object here is to have fluid left in the pan to loosen the meat mixture.

Mix: 1 pound ground beef
     1/2 pound ground pork
     cooked rice - do not drain
     1 egg
     1 chopped onion
     2 stalks of grated celery
     2-3 tsp Poultry Seasoning
     salt and pepper to taste

To form the golumpki, take a large leaf of cabbage and starting at the spine end, place a heaping serving spoon of meat mixture at the edge.  The leaf will roll up easily, tuck in the sides as you go along.  Place the finished roll, end side down in a pan that you can cover and roast in.  Continue the same way until you are out of meat filling.  If you find you have holes in your leaf and the filling is in jeopardy of falling out, take one of those saved inner leaves and patch it onto the hole.   

Using chicken broth of your choosing, pour broth over the cabbage rolls until you can see it in there, but does not cover the rolls. Take the leaves that you peeled off the head of cabbage at the beginning and cover the golumpki.  This keeps them from overly browning.  Cover the pan and put into a 350-degree oven for 2 hours.  Check occasionally and add more broth if needed.

Many cooks like to bake their golumpki in a tomato broth/base.  I do not.  My family prefers to put catsup on their individual servings.  It is just another option.

Once cooked, these freeze well.  I do a double batch just for that purpose.  Reheating in the oven is preferable, but a microwave will do.


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## Haydensgampa

Margot Howe said:


> As the summer wanes and things are brought in from the garden, it is time to start making delicious things. The aromas coming from the kitchen make this a great time for the family to hang around. Most are willing to give a hand, but others just offer to test the finished products.
> 
> Today I have an abundance of cabbage. I do not make Kimchee, but I do make golumpki. Making golumpki was first taught me by my Polish mother-in-law. Starting out as Ma, she quickly became Babcie once the children started arriving. She had a good hand with cooking in the kitchen. Many of her recipes were a pinch of this and a handful of that. I have been able to sort this out from some of her cooking. Golumpki is one of those recipes.
> 
> The secret to making tender rolled cabbage starts with the cabbage. Most recipes call for your basic garden variety of the vegetable. But to get the most tender and not inundate the eater with a mouthful of vegetable and not much filling, try the Savoy cabbage. Sometimes these can be hard to find in the market, but at the end of summer, they should be available. These have a leaf that looks crinkly, like crumpled tin foil when flattened out. This allows a tender bite when cooked up.
> 
> Pull off the outer leaves that may have some damage on them, cut around the stem, and immerse the head into a pot of water that has a couple tablespoons of vinegar in it. Bring the pot to a boil, then simmer till outer leaves of the cabbage is tender. Remove the outer leaves carefully and then return it to simmer. As the leaves get tender, remove them to a colander. Continue to cook and remove the outer leaves until the head is down to next to nothing. In order to handle the head without getting burned, I use a pair of tongs to grab out the cooked leaf and not take the whole head out of the water. Keep cutting around the stem as the first ones come out. Don't discard the inner leaves. There is a use for them. If you do not like the aroma of cabbage in the house (it lingers), then place a crust of bread on top of the cabbage as it simmers. That will help reduce the odor.
> 
> When the leaves are cool enough to handle, with a sharp knife, remove the tough spine by laying the knife flat against the leaf, taking care not to make a hole in it. As you get to the smaller leaves, this will not be necessary.
> 
> That seems like a lot of work, but it really is not once you get the hang of it. You can start making the filling while the cabbage simmers.
> 
> Place 1/2 cup of rice in 2 cups of water. Cook for 10 minutes. The object here is to have fluid left in the pan to loosen the meat mixture.
> 
> Mix: 1 pound ground beef
> 1/2 pound ground pork
> cooked rice - do not drain
> 1 egg
> 1 chopped onion
> 2 stalks of grated celery
> 2-3 tsp Poultry Seasoning
> salt and pepper to taste
> 
> To form the golumpki, take a large leaf of cabbage and starting at the spine end, place a heaping serving spoon of meat mixture at the edge. The leaf will roll up easily, tuck in the sides as you go along. Place the finished roll, end side down in a pan that you can cover and roast in. Continue the same way until you are out of meat filling. If you find you have holes in your leaf and the filling is in jeopardy of falling out, take one of those saved inner leaves and patch it onto the hole.
> 
> Using chicken broth of your choosing, pour broth over the cabbage rolls until you can see it in there, but does not cover the rolls. Take the leaves that you peeled off the head of cabbage at the beginning and cover the golumpki. This keeps them from overly browning. Cover the pan and put into a 350-degree oven for 2 hours. Check occasionally and add more broth if needed.
> 
> Many cooks like to bake their golumpki in a tomato broth/base. I do not. My family prefers to put catsup on their individual servings. It is just another option.
> 
> Once cooked, these freeze well. I do a double batch just for that purpose. Reheating in the oven is preferable, but a microwave will do.


 

I ate many of these when I was a kid. My mother preferred to cover them with tomato soup and then bake them.

Mike


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## CraigC

Haydensgampa said:


> I ate many of these when I was a kid. My mother preferred to cover them with tomato soup and then bake them.
> 
> Mike



Welcome to DC Mike! Not sure if you were replying to Margot directly or just as a general reply, but Margot hasn't been here since 10-22-17.


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## Termy

That is about Ma's except no chicken spice or celery. She makes it in tomato sauce. 

It i nice your family can still stand catsup. I can't stand the stuff anymore. (also Miracle Whip, I use real mayo) 

If I made it, probably no celery but I would put garlic in it. 

I eat it with a big dab of sour cream and bread n butter. 

I find the regular recipe for stuffed green peppers highly resembles this. In fact they are, or can be identical. You could easily take your recipe for golumbkis and use it, instead with peppers. Main difference I see is the canned whole tomatoes in the sauce. 

Hmm, in light of that; what else might be possibly stuff with that stuff ? 

T


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## taxlady

I'm not sure how I missed this thread. I probably realized that it was cabbage rolls and I detest cabbage rolls. In the past year or two I remembered that isn't always true. I used to enjoy eating kåldolmar (Swedish cabbage rolls) at my grandmother's home, in Stockholm. There was no tomato involved. I might try making up a small batch of these to see if I like them.


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## larry_stewart

I have still yet to bake them in the oven.  Ive always done stove top method in tomato based sauce.   I gotta try using the oven.


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## taxlady

larry_stewart said:


> I have still yet to bake them in the oven.  Ive always done stove top method in tomato based sauce.   I gotta try using the oven.



How do you do them on the stove top? That might be better than turning on the oven in the summer heat.


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## msmofet

My family recipe called for tomato Juice (no sauce). Simmer covered on stove till beef, pork and rice stuffing were completely cooked through. Add more tomato juice if necessary.


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## dragnlaw

Although Cabbage Rolls are not in my repertoire I had never heard of them done in the oven til here.  Always stove top!


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## msmofet

dragnlaw said:


> Although Cabbage Rolls are not in my repertoire I had never heard of them done in the oven til here.  Always stove top!


 +1 Ditto here on the cooking method.


I don't do the rolls any more due to arthritis. I chop the cabbage. My recipe has kielbasa and sauerkraut in it. I make a layer, then top with meatballs made from stuffing ingredients. Then another layer. Cover with tomato juice and simmer. So much easier to prepare and I still use all the cabbage, just not as much work. Easier to eat also.


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## Cooking Goddess

My Mom put hers in the oven. I still have her giant roasting pan, "Savory" brand, that will fit a 22 pound turkey. I made one huge batch of gołąbki once. Lifting that very heavy pan from the oven was tricky. Now I make them in my Rival electric roasting pan. Filled, it made maybe six(?) meals' worth of food, with some leftovers. 

Mom used tomato soup when she made them. Himself's Mom would cook them in tomato juice. I split the difference and use tomato puree or crushed tomatoes, with V-8 juice as a back-up to thin the sauce as it cooks.

Cabbage is on sale all over the place right now. The corner grocery store always has their store-ground beef on sale on Wednesdays. Could a batch of gołąbki be in our future?


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## larry_stewart

The tomato sauce ( going off the top of my head) is basically fry up 2 sliced onions until slightly browned, add 28 Oz canned tomatoes ( makew sure tomatoes are broken up) salt and pepper.  Let it cook for half hour or so. Then put the stuffed cabbage rolls in, but when put them in, kinda make sure they are mostly on the bottom of the pot, and are covered with the tomatoes and onions. Cover, and cook on a low / medium heat for 1 -1.5 hours.  Sometimes I do add a little more tomato liquid ( juice, liquid from another can ...) to make sure the rolls are covered. At the hour mark, squeeze in half a lemon and honey .  The lemon gives it a little tanginess and the honey gives it that sweet/ savory contrast.  Cook another 1/2 hour or so, then left cool a bit.  

I like mine slightly warmer than room temp.  I feel the consistency is better when slightly cooled.

As far as what I stuff it with.  Chopped meat ( Vegetarian crumbles = chopped meat substitute which has to be slightly pre cooked), 3 -4 Tbs of grated onion, 3 Tbs uncooked rice, S&P, 1 egg.  Mix and stuff.

All this is based on memory.

While Im at it, for me the best way to separate the cabbage leaves is let the cabbage sit a few days on the counter.  It slightly dehydrates which kinda helps. Then I cut of the base of the cabbage to release the leaves from the core.  Run the cabbage under a stream of water that gets in between the leaves and separates them.  Once I get the leaves off ( usually about 8 +/-  I boiler them a few minutes to soften then remove to cool.  Once handleable, I use a sharp knife too thin out the tough 'rib' ( or whatever it is called) so it is similar thickens two the leaves so it rolls easier. 

I usually try to buy a cabbage that is bigger than what I need, cause more times than not, there is a hole in some of the leaves where the stuffing can escape.

I Also use the water that I boiled the cabbage in as a base to make veggie soup.

There was thread in the past where people mentioned putting it in the oven.  I was curious to try it, just never have cause Ive been doing it the above way for decades.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

I have made cabbage rolls for a Knight's of Columbus dinner, and they were a big hit.  My meat was half ground beef, and half Cudighi Sausage (similar to Italian sausage, but with sage and red wine added to the sausage, a Yooper creation).  Of course the filling had rice in it.  However, for this version, it was half basmati rice, and half wild rice.  The cabbage rolls were baked, with a chunky tomato sauce, not to sweet, but not a lot of herbs, simply onion, garlic, and a little fresh basil.  Seasoning came from the sausage.  The cabbage, tomato chunks, and meat filling were the main flavors, with the wild rice adding texture, and the aromatic basmati tempering, and binding the whole.

In Yooper country, cabbage rolls are always baked in tomato sauce, usually just stewed tomatoes, with the tomatoes cut up.  I just can't go that simple.  I wouldn't be me if i didn't try to elevate it a bit.

Just fyi, wild rice is wonderful in a rice stuffing for poultry.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
.


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## Termy

I have been tempted to use sausage. The family wouldn't like it but I bet I would. But then the olman took care of that. Cubanella peppers stuffed with hot Italian sausage and cooked in salsa. Want sausage you got it. 

Most recipes, all I would do is add garlic. 

T


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