Stuffed Cabbage (töltött káposzta)

Posted On June 6, 2020
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This is definitely a Hungarian (or any slavic nation’s) standard “go to” comfort dish. It’s commonly found at wedding celebrations, first communions, family picnics, etc.



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5 from 1 vote

Stuffed Cabbage (töltött káposzta)

I know that many people make theirs differently. Some people put rice in the meat mixture and others leave it out. This is a traditional Hungarian style stuffed cabbage made with a very tasty paprika base. It's complex and a bit smoky, yet tasty and was always a huge favorite at family gatherings, first communions, graduations, weddings, etc.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time4 hours 15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Hungarian, Slavic, Slovak
Keyword: Golabki, Golumpki, Halupki, Stuffed Cabbage, Töltött káposzta
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 206kcal
Cost: $10

Equipment

  • Boiling Pot
  • Knife
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Grater
  • Roaster or Large Casserole Dish
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Collander or strainer
  • Pan (to cook 1/2 cup of rice)

Ingredients

  • 1 head Green Cabbage (or two jars pickled cabbage leaves)
  • 2 large Onion
  • 4 cloves Minced or Grated Garlic
  • 1/2 lb Bacon
  • 2 Ham Hocks
  • 1/2 cup White Rice (OPTIONAL)
  • 1 pound Ground Beef NOTE: you can use just pork if you wish
  • 1 pack Bende Csipos Gyulai Sausage
  • 2 pounds Ground Pork
  • 1 large jar Sauerkraut (or two smaller jars)
  • 4 Bay Leaves
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 tbsp Sweet "Hungarian" Paprika (Product of Hungary)
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

Instructions

Preparing the Cabbage

  • IF YOU GET JARS OF PICKLED CABBAGE LEAVES, YOU CAN SKIP TO STEP "PREPARING THE MEAT MIXTURE"
    In a large stock pot, add enough water to cover as much of your cabbage as possible. Remember, leave some room as your cabbage will displace some of the water when you add it. Turn on your stove and let the water warm while you perform the next steps.
  • Make sure to "core" the cabbage before you put it into the boiling water. I normally cut the core end about 2 to 3 inches up the head of cabbage and set the cut part aside. I normally don't have to core any further as this seems to release most of the leaves when boiled.
  • DO NOT CUT THE CABBAGE HEAD IN HALF. Leave the entire head full.
  • Place your cabbage carefully into the stock pot of simmering water. Add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the water and cabbage and bring to a rolling boil. Turn the cabbage every 2 to 3 minutes and remove any leaves that separate and place in a collander or strainer to dry and cool.
  • Boil the cabbage until all the leaves have cooked (normally about 15 minutes or a bit longer). I normally keep collecting them as they loosen in the water and placing them in the collander/strainer. Be careful not to rip the leaves. This part can be a little tedious but just be patient.
  • Reserve about a cup and a half of the salted cabbage water for later.
  • Take each leaf and cut the veiny part off the bottom. I normally do this by making a "V" at the end of the leaf. See Picture.
  • Cut right
  • Cut left
  • Set the prepared leaves aside.

Preparing the Meat Mixture

  • Cook the rice according to the packet. It does not have to be fully done as you will be putting this into your meat mixture and it will cook more once you stuff the cabbage and cook it. When excess water is minimal, remove your rice from the burner and let it cool.
  • Take the 1/2 pound of bacon and chop finely. In a skillet, fry the bacon until it becomes crisp and brown. Do not burn the bacon (very important). Remove the bacon from the pan but leave the bacon grease. Store your bacon to cool off to the side.
  • Chop your onions and throw them into the same pan along with the bacon grease. Remove your onions from the pan and store with the bacon you have set aside. Throw the ham hocks into the pan and fry along with the onions.
  • Once onions are removed from the pan, add 1 tbps of paprika to the mixture. Then, add about 3 cups of water and the two ham hocks and cook for about 45 minutes on low heat. Let that simmer away, stirring occasionally.
  • In a large mixing bowl, mix ground beef, cooled bacon, cooled onion, ground pork, rice (I normally pre-boil it before I mix into the meat), 2 eggs, garlic powder, onion powder, minced fresh garlic, salt and pepper.
    NOTE: You can also just used ground beef, or ground turkey instead of the above mixture. You would just need 1.5 to 2 lbs of the single meat.

Stuffing the Cabbage Leaves

  • Lightly pack about 1 or 2 tbsps meat mixture in the center of the leaf. (If your leaves are smaller go one tbsp, if your leaves are larger use 2 tbsps of mixture)
  • Fold the sides over the filling and starting from the bottom, roll the cabbage leave up, similar to how you would roll a burrito or an egg roll.
  • Repeat with the remaining leaves. Place each completed cabbage roll into your roaster or large casserole dish.
  • You may have had some smaller leaves that you just couldn't separate or they were too small to roll. Go ahead and chop/shred those up and place into the roasting pan along with the stuffed cabbages.
  • Check on the ham hocks. Take the pot off the burner and remove from heat. Add one cup of cold water to cool down the liquid. Add the second tablespoon of sweet paprika and stir thoroughly to incorporate it into the liquid.
  • NOTE: If you have an over abundance of cabbage rolls, increase the above step to two cups of cold water.
  • Add sauerkraut to the bottom of baking pan along with any extra cabbage leaves you didn't stuff. Put two bay leaves on top of the Cabbage/Sauerkraut mixture. Add the cabbage rolls on top of the sauerkraut and cabbage.
  • Take your Csipos Gyulai Sausage and cut into approximately 1 inch chunks. Place the sausage chunks intermittently throughout the cabbage rolls. Once the sausage it added, ladle the cooking juice over the cabbage rolls. You want to get enough liquid where at least half the cabbage rolls are covered.
  • Once liquid is added, cover the cabbage rolls with the remaining sauerkraut and any remaining cabbage leaves.
  • Cover the roasting pan with either aluminum foil or, if you roaster has an actual lid, use the lid.
  • Bake in the roaster or preheated oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 3.5 hours or until the meat mixture is no longer pink in the center. You can lower the heat to 200 Fahrenheit and let it cook for longer if you'd like to serve later. The cabbage rolls will only get more tender.

ADDITIONAL TIP

  • Remember!! Each family has a special way they make their cabbage rolls. This is more of an eastern Hungarian (Transylvanian) recipe. If you want to omit or add anything to this recipe for your own preferences, there is no right or wrong. Take my recipe and make it your own. That's what recipes are for. As they say in Hungary: "JÓ ÉTVÁGYAT"

Nutrition

Serving: 2rolls | Calories: 206kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.2g | Protein: 5.8g | Fat: 3.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.3g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 258mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 0.6g | Sugar: 1.7g | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg



2 Comments
  1. Renee

    5 stars
    Comments hi Cuz 👋🏻

    • robert.j.pruzinsky

      Hi Renee! Sure do miss you! Hope you are enjoying the traditional recipes.