# Sauteeing cabbage



## kitchengoddess8 (Aug 29, 2016)

I watched a bunch of youtube videos showing how to do a basic cabbage sauté, and most of them suggested using medium heat. When I tried it, my green cabbage turned brown within a few minutes. Could it be the crappy electric burners that I'm using that get too hot on medium heat, or is it normal for cabbage to turn brown that quickly?


----------



## Steve Kroll (Aug 29, 2016)

Sounds like the burner's too hot.

When I make cabbage, I usually start out sauteing it. But after a few minutes, I add a little liquid to the pan, turn down the heat, and pop a lid on, so the cabbage gets cooked through.


----------



## kitchengoddess8 (Aug 29, 2016)

Steve Kroll said:


> Sounds like the burner's too hot.
> 
> When I make cabbage, I usually start out sauteing it. But after a few minutes, I add a little liquid to the pan, turn down the heat, and pop a lid on, so the cabbage gets cooked through.



Yep, just as I suspected! I'll start on lower heat next time and try your method. Do you normally use butter or oil when you start out sauteing it?


----------



## Steve Kroll (Aug 29, 2016)

kitchengoddess8 said:


> Yep, just as I suspected! I'll start on lower heat next time and try your method. Do you normally use butter or oil when you start out sauteing it?



If I have it on hand, I love bacon fat for something like this. I fry up bacon in the pan and once it's nice and crispy, remove it from the pan, leaving the fat behind. And that's what I saute the cabbage in. When it's cooked through, I then take the bacon I fried earlier, crumble it, and add it back to the cabbage. It adds a bit of crunch. 

Butter is my second choice, though.


----------



## RPCookin (Aug 30, 2016)

kitchengoddess8 said:


> Yep, just as I suspected! I'll start on lower heat next time and try your method. Do you normally use butter or oil when you start out sauteing it?



Butter and bacon fat... the best of both.


----------



## kitchengoddess8 (Aug 30, 2016)

Steve Kroll said:


> If I have it on hand, I love bacon fat for something like this. I fry up bacon in the pan and once it's nice and crispy, remove it from the pan, leaving the fat behind. And that's what I saute the cabbage in. When it's cooked through, I then take the bacon I fried earlier, crumble it, and add it back to the cabbage. It adds a bit of crunch.
> 
> Butter is my second choice, though.



I used butter mixed with a little refined coconut oil. It tasted great, but I would like to try it again without burning the cabbage


----------



## Kayelle (Aug 30, 2016)

Butter, lots of salt, and white wine to steam it covered. Love to also add caraway seeds and/or dill weed.


----------



## kitchengoddess8 (Aug 30, 2016)

Kayelle said:


> Butter, lots of salt, and white wine to steam it covered. Love to also add caraway seeds and/or dill weed.




Yum, I love dill and caraway seeds! How long do you usually steam it? 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Kayelle (Aug 30, 2016)

kitchengoddess8 said:


> Yum, I love dill and caraway seeds! How long do you usually steam it?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



Depends on how tender you like it. As I recall this was steamed around 20min a few nights ago. I also included sliced white onion.


----------



## Zagut (Aug 30, 2016)

I'll also cast a vote for bacon fat. 

As Kayelle noted the timing is all about how tender you like it.

I like mine a bit on the crisp side so I'd opt of a shorter time then someone who wants a softer cabbage.

I also like a few burned/caramelized bits so I'd most likely use a higher temperature to start. Stir constantly and then lower the heat to finish to the desired texture.

I've found that the higher the heat you use the more you need to pay attention to the pot/pan while it's at said higher heat.

I use bacon fat when I have it and almost always do but I'll also toss in some butter in addition.


----------



## Cheryl J (Aug 30, 2016)

+1 on the bacon fat. 

If it's red/purple cabbage you're braising, like I often do, it's especially important to add a little acid to preserve the color.  Lemon juice, wine, and vinegar works - I usually use a little apple cider vinegar.  

I found that out the hard way years ago when I braised some pretty purple cabbage and it turned out a very unappetizing dark bluish gray.


----------



## Cooking Goddess (Aug 31, 2016)

Whenever I make fried cabbage and noodles, I like to steam the cabbage first. Just long enough so that the green becomes bright and the thinnest part of a leaf starts getting a bit translucent. After it has dried a bit, I'll toss it into a hot pan with butter (but that bacon fat idea...WHY haven't I thought of that?  ) and watch to make sure it's browning nicely without burning. It's all about timing, and how heavy your pan is in relation to how hot your burner is.


----------



## di reston (Sep 1, 2016)

That looks really delicious - I'm going to try it when the red cabbage comes in, which is much later on. Here, it's more of a winter vegetable, and we always have it at Christmas time. Green cabbage, about 3 types are grown here, produces an early variety, a summer one and an autumn one, which I love doing with onion, garlic, bacon bits, pork fat, white wine, paprika and caraway. I like the summer cabbage in slaw, and the early one kind of straddles the seasons from winter thro' to spring. The US being so much bigger will have them all all the time, I expect, but here everything is definitely seasonal.

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast   Oscar Wilde

di reston


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz (Sep 1, 2016)

When I make Sauteed Cabbage, it's made with Kalua Pork, so I guess that considered the same as bacon fat?
Oh well, what I do is warm the Kalua Pork first in a large pan and then add the chopped Cabbage, along with some sweet onion, saute briefly and then add maybe 1/2 cup of water, cover and steam to crisp-tender.
Serve with some Lomi Lomi Salmon and you've got a luau


----------



## dragnlaw (Sep 8, 2016)

My Jamaican BIL taught me how to make this. 

Back bacon, onion, cabbage, saute, lil'water, steam. 

One day I had no bacon so I did it in reverse.  

Onion, cabbage, lil'water, steam, when steam is all gone add butter..  
I think you are less liable to burn it with the butter last.


----------



## Zagut (Sep 14, 2016)

Was going to post this yesterday on the "Todays Menu" thread but it was yesterdays meal so I'll post it on the thread that inspired me to make it. 

Ingredients.

1/2 Cabbage.

6 pieces thick sliced bacon cooked crisp.

Pepper to taste.

That's it. 




Cook the bacon.




Chop the cabbage.

Once bacon is cooked drain and save most of the fat for other wonderful things. 

Cook the cabbage in bacon fat until desired crispness.



Add crumpled bacon and pepper. No salt needed as the bacon has enough.

Toss together and cook until desired doneness is achieved then plate and enjoy.






Any leftovers have for lunch the next day. It's good cold too.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Sep 14, 2016)

I usually go with the bacon fat, caraway seeds, etc...

It is also very good if you use fresh grated ginger, crushed garlic, hot pepper flakes, soy sauce and a light hit of vinegar.


----------



## Addie (Sep 16, 2016)

Cheryl J said:


> +1 on the bacon fat.
> 
> If it's red/purple cabbage you're braising, like I often do, it's especially important to add a little acid to preserve the color.  Lemon juice, wine, and vinegar works - I usually use a little apple cider vinegar.
> 
> I found that out the hard way years ago when I braised some pretty purple cabbage and it turned out a very unappetizing dark bluish gray.



It is time for all the landscaping companies to set in their fall foliage. Purple cabbage everywhere you look. I doubt it is the eating kind though.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 16, 2016)

I sliced up cabbage and broccoli into slaw, sauteed in avocado oil with a bit of sesame oil, stirred in onions and garlic, shredded carrots.  Cooked until tender, set aside with juices in a bowl, cooked hamburger in the same pan, adding in soy sauce and crushed ginger, added back in the veggies with a corn starch slurry, cooked till thick and coated, served over ramen noodles.  I didn't have the noodle, Shrek said it was great.


----------

