I pulled a beautiful head of cabbage out of Saturday’s CSA box and instantly thought of “fried” cabbage – fried cabbage like I used to get when I lived in Texas. Fried cabbage that’s not really fried and is still vibrant in color and crisp in texture due to a quick blanching. Fried cabbage that is full of crunchy, salty pieces of bacon and tender pieces of tomato. Fried cabbage like only Luby’s can make.
Many people don’t like “cafeteria- style” dining, but as a child growing up in South Texas, I LOVED eating at Luby’s! So many selections! Such colors! And look at all those desserts! I must admit, that as a child, I did not choose the fried cabbage, but once my adult taste buds kicked in, that dish always claimed a spot on my tray.
I had tried to re-create the dish several times without success. The cabbage was always overcooked – a soggy mess! So, you can imagine how delighted I was when I found the recipe in a cookbook put out by Luby’s. How nice of the restaurant to share their recipes, so those of us far away from Texas can still enjoy the specials dishes of our childhood!
WHAT YOU NEED:
1/2 cup chopped raw bacon
2-1/2 pounds fresh cabbage, diced about 1 inch.
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/4 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
WHAT YOU DO:
In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook bacon until slightly browned and crisp.
Remove bacon from skillet and place on a paper towel to drain. Reserve drippings.
Prep the cabbage: remove the dark outer leaves and core. Roughly chop into small pieces.
In a large pot of boiling water, blanch green cabbage about 3 minutes until slightly cooked and tender.
Remove from boiling water and drain in a colander.
Return skillet to medium high heat with bacon drippings. Add butter and 1 cup of tomatoes.
Cook about 2 minutes, then add salt, black pepper and blanched cabbage.
Continue to heat cabbage, stirring often, until it is hot and tender, just a few minutes. You want the cabbage to stay crisp-tender.
Remove and place in a serving bowl. Garnish with cooked bacon and remaining tomatoes.
COLD OVEN BACON: I love to have cooked bacon in my freezer. Just a zap in the microwave and breakfast is on the table! For this skillet fried cabbage, I used Rosecreek Village Farms smoked pork jowl, and since I only needed ½ cup of diced raw bacon, I had quite a bit of meat left over. I cooked it up as I usually do and want to share this technique with you.
Line a cookie sheet with foil (for easy clean-up) and lay out bacon pieces.
Place in a COLD oven. Close door, set temp to 400 degrees and timer for 11 minutes and walk away.
Check for desired crispness at the end of baking time. I like to leave a little under-done for reheating purposes.
And don’t throw out that fat! Save it for seasoning green beans, etc.
I freeze the cooked bacon in zip-lok bags and take out what I need for breakfast. Just a minute in the microwave on HIGH produces hot, crispy bacon!
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