Frying cabbage in bacon grease with sweet onions unlocks its rich natural sweetness. Add a hint of Cane Syrup and some South Louisiana seasonings and reveal a depth of flavor common in Cajun and Creole kitchens. Sweet Daddy D’s Fried Cabbage with Cane Syrup recipe is simple and no-angst. It only has four ingredients plus some herbs and spices, but it’s a side dish that will steal the show at any meal.
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Cabbage in South Louisiana Cooking
Cajun and Creole cooks take their vegetables very seriously. Early generations of European and African immigrants found rich soil and a favorable climate for crops they took from their native lands. Cabbage is one of those, mainly associated with immigrants settling in Louisiana’s German Coast, but also common among Creole and Cajun cooks all over South Louisiana. Cabbage will be found in Cajun cuisine and many recipes across all cultural segments that make up Creole cuisine. It’s relatively inexpensive and available throughout a long growing season. This Fried Cabbage with Cane Syrup recipe is simple and tasty and goes well with many dishes.
Here’s What You Need
Equipment
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Dutch oven, cutting board, Chef's knife, prep bowls-Cambra, prep bowls-glass
Here’s What You Do
First...you have a beer. It’s pretty simple. Read the recipe all the way through while you sip a beer. Make sure you have all the ingredients you need and you know what you’ll do with each one. This cooks fairly quickly so that’s even more reason to have all the ingredients prepped before you start,
Prepare the ingredients
Remove the outside leaves and de-core the cabbage by slicing lengthwise into halves or quarters. Then slice out the hard stem core.
Chop the cabbage into approximately ½ inch pieces and set aside. Give the yellow onions and the garlic (if using) a rough chop; slice the bacon into approximately 1“ pieces. Measure ¼ cup of cane syrup and set that aside. Measure the herbs and spices and place them into small prep bowls, or you can place them all into the same bowl since they will be added together.
Fry the cabbage
Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the bacon while the pan is cold. Fry the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Stir frequently, this will take about 5 minutes. You can remove the bacon pieces from the pan (but leave the bacon grease!) and reserve them to add back later or you can just leave them in the pan to cook with the cabbage, which is what I do.
Add the onions to the bacon grease and saute for about 5 minutes until they start to become clear.
Add the garlic, if using, and saute for another 2 minutes.
Increase the heat to high and add cabbage a little at a time. Stir each batch thoroughly to mix with the onions and bacon fat.
About halfway through adding the cabbage, stir in the Herbs and Spices. Add the remaining cabbage and stir to combine.
Once all the cabbage has been added, stir well and cover the Dutch oven for about 5 to 10 minutes to help draw moisture out of the cabbage. The cabbage will generate its own liquid so there should be no need to add any additional stock.
After about 10 minutes, uncover the Dutch oven but maintain the high high heat.
Continue cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, as the cabbage starts to brown and the liquid reduces.
Add the Cane Syrup and mix thoroughly into the cabbage. Cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring constantly. If you removed the crisp bacon earlier, add it back to the Dutch oven now.
Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and serve.
Hints and Tips
This recipe yields about 4 cups of cooked cabbage. The serving size for nutritional calculations is estimated to be ½ cup.
This dish can be prepared 1 day ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Reheat in a Dutch-oven on top of the stove over medium-high heat, or in a microwave, until warmed through.
Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Reheat in a Dutch-oven on top of the stove over medium-high heat, or in a microwave, until warmed through.
Leftovers can be frozen for up to 10 months if kept in an airtight container. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a Dutch-oven on top of the stove over medium-high heat, or in a microwave, until warmed through.
Cabbage is one of those foods we should all eat more of. It’s high in stuff we all need (nutrients, antioxidants and fiber) and low in stuff we don't need (fat and calories). Cabbage is an anti-inflammatory and a great source of Vitamin C and K. It’s good for the heart, cholesterol, digestion and blood pressure. Besides, it’s relatively inexpensive and there are so many ways to prepare cabbage that it’s easy to include in your diet. Check out this informative short article on the health benefits of cabbage.
Here are some other great vegetable dishes from Sweet Daddy D:
Here are a few main dishes that would go well with Fried Cabbage:
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Yeah You Right!
Fried Cabbage with Cane Syrup
Here's What You Need
- 3 slices smoked bacon
- 1 head green cabbage 5 to 6 quarts of chopped cabbage
- 1 large yellow onion About 2 cups of chopped onions
- 4 cloves garlic crushed-optional
- ¼ cup cane syrup
Herb and Spice Blend
- 1 tablespoon dry thyme
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Here's What You Do
To prepare the ingredients
- Remove the outside leaves and de-core the cabbage by slicing it lengthwise into halves or quarters, then slicing out the hard stem core. Chop the cabbage into approximately ½ inch pieces.
- Rough Chop onions; slice the bacon into approximately 1“ pieces. Measure the cane syrup.
- Measure the herbs and spices into a small prep bowl.
Fry the cabbage
- Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the bacon while the pan is cold.
- Fry the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Stir frequently so the bacon doesn't burn, this will take about 5 minutes.
- You can remove the bacon pieces from the pan and reserve them to add back later or you can just leave them in the pan to cook with the cabbage.
- Add the onions to the bacon grease and saute for about 5 minutes until they start to become clear.
- Add the garlic, if using, and saute for another 2 minutes.
- Increase the heat to high and add cabbage a little at a time, stirring each batch to mix with onions and bacon fat.
- About halfway through adding the cabbage, stir in the Herbs and Spices. Add the remaining cabbage.
- Once all the cabbage has been added, stir well and cover the Dutch oven for about 5 to 10 minutes to help draw moisture out of the cabbage.
- Uncover the Dutch oven and maintain high heat.
- Continue to saute, stirring occasionally, for another 15 to 20 minutes while the cabbage starts to brown and the liquid reduces.
- Mix in the Cane Syrup and cook for 5 minutes while you stir constantly. If you removed the crisp bacon earlier, add it back to the Dutch oven now.
- Taste for seasoning and add more if needed.
- Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and serve.
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