Germany: Red Cabbage

We ended up improvising quite a bit on all of our recipes. This is a rough guide that is somewhere between what we did and what the recipe called for. One can, obviously add ingredients to taste.

Ingredients:

3 lbs. red cabbage, finely shredded

2 cups wine vinegar

2 tbsps. salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup bacon fat (the grease)

1 cup sliced onions

1 cup sliced apples

2 pints beef stock

salt

1 onion stuffed with 4 whole cloves and two bay leaves

1/4 cup wine

1 cup jam (redcurrant, strawberry or blackberry - we used strawberry)

What we did:

First thing we did is chop the cabbage into little 1/2 inch wide strips. Then we mixed in the salt, sugar and vinegar.

Heat the bacon fat on the stove in a large pot (you'll have to fit the cabbage in it) and saute the onions and apples. You want them tender, but not browned. Then add the cabbage, mix it all together and let cook for a few minutes.

Add the beef stock, cover and bring to a boil. While it's working, get the stuffed onion in order. You basically just gut the onion and shove all the spices in it. When the stock is boiling toss it in. You will take it out at the end of the cooking.

Let everything simmer for a while until the cabbage is tender, but not mushy. This probably took about a half hour (at least - we weren't really paying attention). About halfway through add some salt and pepper to taste, jelly and wine. Make sure to take a swig for you!