Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage

Was anyone able to guess where we were headed to this week?  Isten hozott Magyarországon! (Welcome to Hungary!)  We are heading back to Europe to explore a country that is near and dear to Randy.  And for good reason, he is 50% Hungarian and definitely has an affinity for some of the food from this region of the world.  On a work trip last year he was able to make a quick stop in Budapest and visit one of the more popular market places, he was in heaven.

The food options you can find in the local markets have that home style taste and there are many vendor stalls you can select from.  You can find some of the more authentic traditional dishes such as kolbasz, goulash and one of his favorites and the one we will be exploring today: Stuffed cabbage. 

When I decided to focus on Hungary, I knew I wanted to gain some insight from Randy and see if he could share some of the recipes from his family.   The first one that came to his mind was this one, it is something that he learned to make as a child from his Great Aunt Tess.  I asked him if he could show me the recipe and he just gave me a smirk.  As with many great family recipes that are passed down from generation to generation, this was one that was not written down. 

But we knew that wasn’t going to work. So he agree to work with me to show me how he was taught to make it so I could share with all of you.  He mentioned that it would be good to share this easy recipe with you since he really was the last one in his immediate family who knew how to make it.  And since it is one of his favorite meals he wanted you all to have a chance to experience it as well. He’s a keeper that one, I tell ya.

So here we go, what is really nice about this recipe is that it doesn’t have a ton of ingredients but let me tell you the flavor is definitely there. He says it is from the “love” you put in it.   You start off by boiling the cabbage for about 5 minutes to soften up the heads and make them pliable and easy to work with.  Allow the cabbage to cool long enough that it is comfortable to work with.

Combine the ground meat (traditionally this is made with chopped beef but you can also use turkey for a slightly healthier options, which is what we did in this case) instant rice and chopped onions together in a large bowl.  Also add salt and pepper to taste here, he is a big pepper fan so we added a good amount.

Then setup your large pot with the foundation, place one jar of sour kraut in the bottom of the pot (the better the sauerkraut, the better the flavor at the end).  And pour about a half a can of tomato juice in, so the sauerkraut is covered.  Make sure you don’t skimp here as this will be your base and will keep the bottom of the pot from burning.  Now you want to cut up your kolbasz (or in this case Polish Kielbasa, since that is what you will be able to find easily here) into about 3 inch lengths.  Place a layer on top for your sour kraut.

Now come the fun part and the part where all the “love” goes.  Remove one leaf of cabbage at time and take about a medium meatball size of meat mixture you made earlier into the cabbage.  You want to roll this up but tucking in the sides and making sure the cabbage is secure.  To make the rolling easier you can cut the base of the cabbage leaf in small “v” removing the larger vein of the leaf. 

Don’t over pack the leaf and don’t overstuff it as it will expand some during cooking.  Stack this in multiple layers on top of the Kielbasa until you have used up all of the meat mixture.  Tip: Only use the leaves of the cabbage until you hit a decent working size.  Once they get too small it will become harder to stuff and keep closed.     

Make sure to leave about 4 to 5 inches at the top of the pot for the next step.  Pour more of your tomato juice to cover the majority of your stuffed cabbage.  Layer the second can of sauerkraut on tope of the cabbage and layer the remaining Kielbasa on top of that as you did on the bottom.  Pour the remainder of the tomato juice on the top.

Cover the pot and bring to a boil on medium to high heat.  Once you reach a boil, turn the heat down to medium low and allow to simmer for at least 2 hours.  The longer you cook it the more flavor will be infused in each cabbage. 

Now enjoy, Randy wanted me to share when serving you want to make sure you get some of the sauerkraut mixture and serve on top of each of the cabbages, this holds so much of the flavor.  Elvez!!! (Enjoy!)

(If you’ve read all this, you should know that Randy actually wrote this entire blog, and did an AMAZING job! 🙂 )

Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage

Makes enough for a large Hungarian Family (Randy’s estimate) or about 12 people

• 2 green cabbages
• 3 pounds ground turkey or ground beef
• 3 ½ cups instant rice
• 2 cups chopped white onion
• 2 jars of sauerkraut
• 2 cans of tomato juice
• 2 to 3 pounds of polish kielbasa
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Boil 2 large cabbage heads for 5 minutes and then allow to cool in a colander.

In a large mixing bowl, combine ground meat, instant rice (uncooked), chopped onion, salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.

In a large pot, place half of your tomato juice & sauerkraut in the bottom. Take your kielbasa, and cut it into 3 inch pieces. Place half your amount on top of the tomato juice and sauerkraut mixture.

Then take each cabbage leaf individually and lay flat. If the stem base is too thick, cut it out making a small V shape in the bottom. Taking approximately a 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of meat mixture into the center of the cabbage leaf.

Fold the sides in towards the center and then roll from the base up. Do not over stuff or over pack the cabbage leaf as they will expand when cooking. Repeat this process until all the meat mixture is gone.

Begin stacking your cabbage rolls around the inside of your pot, leaning against the side of the pot and not packed against each other too tightly.

Once all cabbage rolls are stacked in, pour the other half of the first tomato juice can in over all the rolls. Place the other jar of the sauerkraut on top, followed by the rest of the kielbasa pieces and the rest of the tomato juice.

Cover the pot and bring to a boil on medium to high heat.  Once you reach a boil, turn the heat down to medium low and allow to simmer for at least 2 hours.  The longer you cook it the more flavor will be infused in each cabbage.

Allow to cool down a bit and serve!