Oma's German Red Cabbage Recipe
Red Cabbage shows up on our holiday table every time. Luckily, it's easy to make, and you can make it ahead of time to make holiday cooking easier. Adjust the recipe to your taste.
Ingredients
- 1 Head of Red Cabbage
- 1 medium yellow Onion
- 1-2 Apples sour ones, like a Granny Smith
- 2-3 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 8-10 whole cloves
- 2 Tablespoon Sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt to start
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper or a few Peppercorns
- optional- Red Wine I used a Merlot use 1/4 to 1/2 cup.
Instructions
- Set a pot on the stove (I used my soup pot to cook the Cabbage, so it wouldn't get crowded.)
- Add about an inch of water.
- Peel off the outer layers of the red cabbage if they look damaged.
- Cut the cabbage in half, and remove the core.
- Then slice the cabbage into thin shreds (about 1/4 inch?). I use a food processor, so it goes fast, but you can use a knife.
- Dice the Onion
- Peel and dice the Apple/s
- Add the red cabbage, onion, and apples to the pot.
- Add the butter, bay leaves, cloves, sugar, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar and wine to the pot.
- Bring the water to a boil, stir everything together.
- Reduce heat to simmer, stir again
- cover and let cook for 30-40 minutes.
- Check it from time to time. Stir.
- At around 30 minutes, taste it.
- Add sugar or vinegar to taste
- Add some wine for color and flavor.
- At around 45 minutes check again.
- This is as far as I usually cook it if I don't want it too soft. If you like it softer, cook it another 15 minutes.
- From this point you can serve it.
- Or let it cool, and reheat later.
- Or let it cool, and freeze it in smaller portions.
Notes
This is a basic recipe for German Red Cabbage. Feel free to adjust it to your personal taste. Add more sugar or vinegar.... add more red wine.
Keep in mind, the flavors deepen after it sits a bit. If you make it one day, it will taste better the day after.