Cabbage is one of my favorite comfort foods and it pairs with pretty much any other food. This cabbage stew recipe is hearty, flavorful, and straight-up fun to eat.
You do a recipe search for cabbage stew and you'd be hard-pressed to find two similar recipes. That's because cabbage works with everything.
When I'm hungry, but not exactly sure what I want to eat or cook, if I have cabbage on hand, then odds are high cabbage stew is going to be the go to.
This recipe is easy to cook. It's a one-pot dish - just saute a few vegetables, add liquids and seasonings, then simmer slowly.
Beats and Eats (music to pair with cabbage stew)
I spend a lot of time in my kitchen as a musician does in a studio. I'm constantly mixing and matching flavors, trying new techniques, etc. I can get caught-up and forget the world! Schoolboy Q raps about this in the song "Studio" where he's working to master his craft, but it occurs at the expense of relationships.
Ingredients Needed To Make Cabbage Stew
- Cabbage
- Smoked Brisket
- Onions
- Garlic cloves
- Rutabagas
- Collard Greens
- Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- White Wine
- Chicken stock
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Allspice
- Paprika
- Bay leaf
How To Make Cabbage Stew (step by step)
Pre-heat dutch oven pot over medium heat. Mix all dry seasoning together in a small mixing bowl.
Saute the onions 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Add about a third of the spice mix. Stir well.
Add the chunks of brisket. Allow their flavor to be released cooking for 1-2 minutes. Add the cabbage plus more of the seasoning and give everything a big stir. Mix so the cabbage leaves get soaked in all the flavor in the bottom of the pot.
Mix in the collard green leaves then add the white wine. Allow to cook 2-3 minutes to cook off the alcohol.
Add the chicken stock, rutabagas, tomatoes, bay leaf, and the remaining spices. Mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for about 45 minutes.
Cooking Considerations and Tips
Buy smoked brisket from your favorite barbecue restaurant vs. taking the time to make your own. Smoked briskets require a super long cook time.
Rutabagas are an underrated root vegetable. If available to you then definitely use them. Otherwise, substitute in turnips or even potatoes.
Most grocery stores will have rutabagas on hand in the produce section. I typically find mine at my local farmer's market.
Cook the vegetables and aromatics briefly. You don't want to cook for so long that the vegetables become super soft.
Try to cut up all your vegetables as easily as possible. Doing so will help the vegetables to cook at the same rate and ensure you avoid the dreaded undercooked pieces of rutabagas. Check the technique in the video
Serve cabbage stew with either Southern-style biscuits or hot water cornbread.
Learn more about how to use cabbage in other soul food recipes.
For similar Cabbage based recipes try these:
Ingredients
- ½ pound Brisket cut into chunks
- 1 medium Onions diced
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 medium Cabbage chopped
- 1 large Rutabagas chopped
- 1 bunch Collard Greens chopped
- 13 oz Fire Roasted tomatoes
- ½ cup White wine
- 3 cups Chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Pre-heat dutch oven pot over medium heat. Mix all dry seasoning together in a small mixing bowl.
- Saute the onions 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Add about a third of the spice mix. Stir well.
- Add the chunks of brisket. Allow their flavor to be released cooking for 1-2 minutes. Add the cabbage plus more of the seasoning and give everything a big stir. Mix so the cabbage leaves get soaked in all the flavor in the bottom of the pot.
- Mix in the collard green leaves then add the white wine. Allow to cook 2-3 minutes to cook off the alcohol.
- Add the chicken stock, rutabagas, tomatoes, bay leaf, and the remaining spices. Mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for about 45 minutes.
Video
