Boy, oh, boy, German-style red cabbage. In my experience you either love it or you hate it. And for a long time, I was in the latter category.
My first run-in with German-style red cabbage, or “Rotkohl” as it’s known in Germany, was during college. One of my friends had studied abroad in the Deutschland and fell in love with the food. And upon his arrival back to the U.S. he suggested that we try out this authentic German restaurant nearby.
Sure, no problem I thought. I had never had traditional German food before, and I’m always down to try out new cuisines.
So we get there, I glance at the menu and order the sauerbraten, which came with two sides. The first side was a traditional style potato salad, and the second was the aforementioned German-style red cabbage. I loved the sauerbraten and the potato salad. The German-style red cabbage, however, well let’s just say I took a couple of bites and called it quits.
You see German-style red cabbage has a very strong sweet & sour flavor. Then add in the fact that it is heavily spiced with clove, juniper, and bay leaf and you end up with a flavor profile that’s not exactly for the faint of heart.
Yet, for some reason, my friend kept on inviting me to this place. And obviously, this forced me to keep trying the German-style red cabbage. Luckily one day something in my taste buds clicked, and I fell in love with German-style red cabbage.
There’s a lesson to be learned in my story here folks. Don’t knock a dish after trying it only once. Sometimes you have to try it multiple times before you truly end up loving it.
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions
- This German-style red cabbage goes great with beef and pork roasts, or try it with our recipe for pork schnitzel.
- Try shredding the cabbage as thinly as you can as it can help shorten its cooking time. If you don’t feel that your knife skills are capable of shredding it really thin, then I suggest you use a mandoline.
- One of the traditional spices for this dish is juniper berries. However, these are fairly difficult to come across in most grocery stores. Instead in this recipe, I have opted to use a little bit of gin which has a strong juniper flavor. So feel free to use either or depending on what’s available.
- You can easily make this a day ahead of time. Simply heat it back up in the same pot the day you plan on eating it.
German Style Red Cabbage Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients
Half of a large head of red cabbage, shredded
1 Large white onion, diced
1 Granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced
½ Cup of vegetable broth, or water
4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 Teaspoon of granulated sugar
1 Teaspoon of salt
1 Bay leaf
3 Whole cloves
1 to 2 Shots of gin
Optional:
2 Tablespoons of red currant jam
Instructions
- Add everything to a pot: Get out a large pot, or dutch oven. Add in the butter and melt it over medium heat. Then toss in the onion and saute it until it becomes translucent about 5 minutes.
Next, add in the shredded cabbage, stir it in, and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
Finally, add in every other ingredient, and stir it up.
Let this come to a boil, and then lower the heat to let everything simmer.
- Cover the pot and let it simmer for 2 hours. Stir it every 30 minutes.
- Taste test it: After the two hours taste the cabbage. If it is too sour and sweet, then add in a pinch more of salt. If it is too sweet and salty, then add in a dash more of red wine vinegar. If it is too salty and sour, then add in a pinch more granulated sugar. Keep tasting and adding to it until it is to your liking.
- Serve & enjoy
German Style Red Cabbage Recipe
Ingredients
- Half of a large head of red cabbage shredded
- 1 Large white onion diced
- 1 Granny smith apple peeled, cored, and finely diced
- ½ Cup of vegetable broth or water
- 4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon of granulated sugar
- 1 Teaspoon of salt
- 1 Bay leaf
- 3 Whole cloves
- 1 to 2 Shots of gin
Optional:
- 2 Tablespoons of red currant jam
Instructions
- Add everything to a pot: Get out a large pot, or dutch oven. Add in the butter and melt it over medium heat. Then toss in the onion and saute it until it becomes translucent about 5 minutes. Next, add in the shredded cabbage, stir it in, and let it cook for another 5 minutes. Finally, add in every other ingredient, and stir it up. Let this come to a boil, and then lower the heat to let everything simmer.
- Cover the pot and let it simmer for 2 hours. Stir it every 30 minutes.
- Taste test it: After the two hours taste the cabbage. If it is too sour and sweet, then add in a pinch more of salt. If it is too sweet and salty, then add in a dash more of red wine vinegar. If it is too salty and sour, then add in a pinch more granulated sugar. Keep tasting and adding to it until it is to your liking.
- Serve & enjoy
Inspiration from other blogs
From The Daring Gourmet
From Plated Cravings
