# Smoked Cabbage Rolls



## smokinhusker

I've really got to quit letting him watch food channels!!!

He saw the episode of Triple D with the Cabbage Rolls and decided "we" needed to make them, but smoke them!

I've never made these before, but I've eaten loads of them! No prep shots cause I was concentrating on getting these right!

I pretty much winged the recipe from watching the Triple D video for the measurements of the ingredients.

Cabbage Rolls (I made 8 rolls)

1 Head of Cabbage

1 lb ground beef 80/20

1 lb ground pork or you can use sausage (which I will next time)

roughly 1 cup cooked white rice

2 eggs

2 Tbsp Hungarian Sweet Paprika

1 Tbsp Dry Ground Mustard

2 Tbsp Cracked Black Pepper

Sea Salt to taste

2 Tbsp Lemon Pepper

Mix all ingredients well. 

Topping

1 can (14.5 oz) Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes

1 stick of butter

Tomato Gravy 

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 finely minced onion

1 (28 oz) can crushed Tomatoes

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Sea salt and Cracked Black Pepper to taste

I used Cornstarch but you can use Flour

Melt butter in pot, add onions and cook until translucent. If using flour add it and cook to make a roux - add tomatoes and chicken stock and simmer to thicken. I used Cornstarch and added it to the chicken broth and stirred this into the butter and onion mixture, then added the tomatoes and let it simmer to thicken. Add heavy whipping cream and seasonings. Simmer about 5 minutes. Serve over cabbage rolls.

Making the rolls

I cored the head of cabbage and then peeled the leaves from the cabbage head and dropped a couple at a time into boiling water with some sea salt and white vinegar.

Left them in there just long enough to soften them, then out and onto a towel to drain.

I eyeballed the size of the leaf and made a "football" shape of the meat mixture, and rolled it up in the leaves.

I laid the outer most leaves of the head in the bottom of an aluminum foil pan, placed the rolls on top, spread the diced tomatoes over the top of the rolls and dotted with butter. 

Topped with the outer leaves from the head of cabbage and covered with foil. Into a 300° smoker (with the brisket point). I left them covered for an hour and then uncovered them to get some smoke. 

Out of the smoker













IMG_20130724_194807_930.jpg



__ smokinhusker
__ Jul 25, 2013






Cut in half (tomato gravy on top)













IMG_20130724_195549_515.jpg



__ smokinhusker
__ Jul 25, 2013






Overall they were good, but we both felt they needed more smoke, so next time, no foil. They also needed more flavor that's why I'll use breakfast sausage and maybe even some bacon. Also thinking I might use some Zatarain's rice instead of plain white. 

I took the rest of the head of cabbage, nestled it in some aluminum foil. Then added 1 Tblsp Balsamic Vinegar, 3 Tbsp water, chopped onions, granulated garlic and granulated onion, cracked black pepper and sea salt to the center, then plopped 3 Tbsp butter on that. Draped some thick slice bacon over it and into the smoker with the brisket point and cabbage rolls.

It smoked about 1 1/2 hours with the foil open, then I sealed it up to make sure it was tender all the way through for another 1/2 hour in the 300° smoker.

Just before sealing the foil













IMG_20130724_165238_272.jpg



__ smokinhusker
__ Jul 25, 2013






It was definitely tender (fell apart when I tried to cut it into wedges) and took some good light smoke flavor. 













Smoked Cabbage Head.jpg



__ smokinhusker
__ Jul 25, 2013






I'll definitely be making this again.

Thanks for looking!


----------



## dirtsailor2003

Looks great Alesia!

How about smoking tomatoes to used instead of using canned? Zatarain's would be a good choice. We use quinoa seasoned with chile powder paprika for filling too.

A different twist, use red beans and rice, chop up some kielbasa and pre-smoked prawns for the filling. Then for the tomato gravy make it in the smoker like Chef JJ's Smokey Au Jus. Hmmm I better go to the store!


----------



## kathrynn

Alesia....looks yummers.  DS....we like the [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]quinoa too.  The Zataran's dirty rice could work too.[/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Yummy....looking at all this food today...STARVING!!!![/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Kat[/color]


----------



## smokinhusker

Thanks! You are exactly right about smoking the tomatoes. I love Red Beans and Rice and stuff and smoke Bell Peppers with it (also add homemade kielbasa and prawns). I had quinoa too but didn't think of using it, also saw a couple recipes that used pearled barley. 

Oh man JJ's Au Jus is to die for. 


dirtsailor2003 said:


> Looks great Alesia!
> 
> How about smoking tomatoes to used instead of using canned? Zatarain's would be a good choice. We use quinoa seasoned with chile powder paprika for filling too.
> 
> A different twist, use red beans and rice, chop up some kielbasa and pre-smoked prawns for the filling. Then for the tomato gravy make it in the smoker like Chef JJ's Smokey Au Jus. Hmmm I better go to the store!


Thanks Kat. Yep the dirty rice would work too. 


KathrynN said:


> Alesia....looks yummers.  DS....we like the [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]quinoa too.  The Zataran's dirty rice could work too.[/color]
> 
> [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Yummy....looking at all this food today...STARVING!!!![/color]
> 
> [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Kat[/color]


----------



## turnandburn

looks great! love me some cabbage rolls..i was just telling my wife last night about wanting to make cabbage rolls...todays lunch in the cafeteria was cabbage rolls, i come back to the computer and see this thread about cabbage rolls....i think someone is trying to tell me something..i see the signs now. lol.


----------



## smokinhusker

TurnandBurn said:


> looks great! love me some cabbage rolls..i was just telling my wife last night about wanting to make cabbage rolls...todays lunch in the cafeteria was cabbage rolls, i come back to the computer and see this thread about cabbage rolls....i think someone is trying to tell me something..i see the signs now. lol.


Thanks and I'd take it as a sign for sure!


----------



## chef willie

Love cabbage rolls...hard to find cabbage anymore with the huge leaves like in the 'old days'...looks delish....Willie


----------



## smokinhusker

Chef Willie said:


> Love cabbage rolls...hard to find cabbage anymore with the huge leaves like in the 'old days'...looks delish....Willie


Thank you Chef! It is hard to find decent cabbage here at all. I've been putting these off for about 2 months.


----------



## webowabo

Man..(err.... My Lady) those sounds good. Always looking for some veggies dishes to smoke. never thought about some cabbage roles stuffed with some veggies (of course meat for the rest of us)... my best friend is a vegetarian.. so Im always on the look out for things I can smoke for her while the meat is in.. Thanks for the idea :):)

Mike


----------



## smokinhusker

webowabo said:


> Man..(err.... My Lady) those sounds good. Always looking for some veggies dishes to smoke. never thought about some cabbage roles stuffed with some veggies (of course meat for the rest of us)... my best friend is a vegetarian.. so Im always on the look out for things I can smoke for her while the meat is in.. Thanks for the idea :):)
> 
> Mike


Thank you! Oh yes you could stuff them with veggies and grains (quinoa, barley, rice) and they would be great. Leave the bacon off and maybe rub with some olive oil and smoke the whole cabbage head.


----------



## redneck69

looks like the one's my dad used to make..looks great!!


----------



## webowabo

SmokinHusker said:


> webowabo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Man..(err.... My Lady) those sounds good. Always looking for some veggies dishes to smoke. never thought about some cabbage roles stuffed with some veggies (of course meat for the rest of us)... my best friend is a vegetarian.. so Im always on the look out for things I can smoke for her while the meat is in.. Thanks for the idea :):)
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you! Oh yes you could stuff them with veggies and grains (quinoa, barley, rice) and they would be great. Leave the bacon off and maybe rub with some olive oil and smoke the whole cabbage head.
Click to expand...

oh.. wow.. I just recently started messing with some simple quinoa dishes... and they seem to absorb flavor well... bet they would take some smoke in nicely... and also act as the main filling for some veggie roles... *light bulbs flashing in my brain... * greatness... and, yet another great idea... whole head of cabbage.. lightly braised... then smoked... man I need more time for smoking :):) thanks again My Lady O Smoke :)

MIKE


----------



## Bearcarver

Nice Job, Alesia!!!  They look Great !!

I had three different friends who had Mothers who made those---one Hungarian, one Polish, & one Ukrainian. The last one passed away at 96 yrs about 4 months ago. We call them Halupkis.

However My Son's Wife saw how much I liked them, and learned how to make them for me. It took a bunch of batches, but she got them perfect.

I never had any smoked---I'll have to talk to my Son about that !!! He has a Big Green Egg down there!!!

Bear


----------



## reinhard

Haven't made cabbage rolls in some time. Your's look great and i will use your recipe and some of the ideas of others here also. Venison sausage and red beans and cajun rice sound good as a filler as well. Thanks for the recipe and pics. Reinhard


----------



## foamheart

KathrynN said:


> The Zataran's dirty rice could work too.
> 
> Kat


Oh My! You can make dirty rice nearly as fast as the box. You can even adjust dirty rice to get most of the fat and grease out if on one of those <shiver> diet thingies. Dirty rice is like BBQ beans to a coonass. OH WOW, I bet pulled pork would rock in a dirty rice stuffed cabbage roll. INSPIRATION!

Have you tried the Louisiana gourmet rice? It costs a bit more but it does have an extra nutty flavor. You wouldn't use it every day but I bet it would be outstanding in the cabbage rolls.

Cabbage rolls..... Sounds great but wrong season for them here. We get cabbage here about November/December, I am taking notes though, will be a happy happy winter feast!

(LOL... I am thinking of removing that fat and your sauce has 1 &1/2 sticks of butter and heavy cream....... Alesia you are a cooking godess!)


----------



## smokinhusker

Thanks RN!


redneck69 said:


> looks like the one's my dad used to make..looks great!!


Mike, there's a great looking dish on here someone posted a while back - Quinoa Salad I believe. I haven't tried it yet but it sure looks good.

Found it http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/106848/killer-quinoa-salad

I didn't braise the head of cabbage first - I did it all in the smoker. Several here have done it - just search smoked cabbage.


webowabo said:


> SmokinHusker said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> webowabo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Man..(err.... My Lady) those sounds good. Always looking for some veggies dishes to smoke. never thought about some cabbage roles stuffed with some veggies (of course meat for the rest of us)... my best friend is a vegetarian.. so Im always on the look out for things I can smoke for her while the meat is in.. Thanks for the idea :):)
> 
> Mike
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you! Oh yes you could stuff them with veggies and grains (quinoa, barley, rice) and they would be great. Leave the bacon off and maybe rub with some olive oil and smoke the whole cabbage head.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> oh.. wow.. I just recently started messing with some simple quinoa dishes... and they seem to absorb flavor well... bet they would take some smoke in nicely... and also act as the main filling for some veggie roles... *light bulbs flashing in my brain... * greatness... and, yet another great idea... whole head of cabbage.. lightly braised... then smoked... man I need more time for smoking :):) thanks again My Lady O Smoke :)
> 
> MIKE
Click to expand...

Thanks John! I always had the German ones (Kohlroulauden) having a German aunt. Not sure which ones my grandma made, but they were good!

I put a couple in a small pan last night with some tomato gravy and put them in the smoker with some ribs. They took a bit more smoke than the first time but they were awesome! Have him smoke a couple for you.


Bearcarver said:


> Nice Job, Alesia!!!  They look Great !!
> 
> I had three different friends who had Mothers who made those---one Hungarian, one Polish, & one Ukrainian. The last one passed away at 96 yrs about 4 months ago. We call them Halupkis.
> 
> However My Son's Wife saw how much I liked them, and learned how to make them for me. It took a bunch of batches, but she got them perfect.
> 
> I never had any smoked---I'll have to talk to my Son about that !!! He has a Big Green Egg down there!!!
> 
> Bear


Thanks Reinhard. Yep I think they would be great with venison sausage, red beans and cajun rice. That would be good in bell peppers too.


Reinhard said:


> Haven't made cabbage rolls in some time. Your's look great and i will use your recipe and some of the ideas of others here also. Venison sausage and red beans and cajun rice sound good as a filler as well. Thanks for the recipe and pics. Reinhard


Well Foamheart, now you've got the wheels spinning. No diet thingy here, oh yea Rock loves his butta! You could always cut the butter back and I'm sure it wouldn't hurt it a bit - substitute olive oil in the tomato gravy.  Thank you!


Foamheart said:


> KathrynN said:
> 
> 
> 
> The Zataran's dirty rice could work too.
> 
> Kat
> 
> 
> 
> Oh My! You can make dirty rice nearly as fast as the box. You can even adjust dirty rice to get most of the fat and grease out if on one of those <shiver> diet thingies. Dirty rice is like BBQ beans to a coonass. OH WOW, I bet pulled pork would rock in a dirty rice stuffed cabbage roll. INSPIRATION!
> 
> Have you tried the Louisiana gourmet rice? It costs a bit more but it does have an extra nutty flavor. You wouldn't use it every day but I bet it would be outstanding in the cabbage rolls.
> 
> Cabbage rolls..... Sounds great but wrong season for them here. We get cabbage here about November/December, I am taking notes though, will be a happy happy winter feast!
> 
> (LOL... I am thinking of removing that fat and your sauce has 1 &1/2 sticks of butter and heavy cream....... Alesia you are a cooking godess!)
Click to expand...


----------



## dirtsailor2003

Hmmm here's another thought on getting more smokey flavor into this dish. Use smoked butter and smoked tomatos in the tomato gravy!


----------



## smoking b

IMG_20130724_194807_930.jpg



__ smokinhusker
__ Jul 25, 2013






Now those look good!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






    Lots of good ideas in this thread  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





    Now I need to seek out some food...


----------



## smokinhusker

That would work too! You are a wealth of ideas and I thank you for them! I put a couple in a small aluminum pan last night, topped with tomato gravy and into the smoker for about an hour. Much better smoke flavor, so I'm sure I had them covered too long.


dirtsailor2003 said:


> Hmmm here's another thought on getting more smokey flavor into this dish. Use smoked butter and smoked tomatos in the tomato gravy!


Thanks so much and yes lots of ideas for these!


Smoking B said:


> IMG_20130724_194807_930.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> __ smokinhusker
> __ Jul 25, 2013
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now those look good!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Lots of good ideas in this thread
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now I need to seek out some food...


----------



## woodcutter

Nice job Alesia! Those cabbage rolls look great.


----------



## webowabo

Thanks Alesia.. ill check it out.. 

And Case... great idea with the smoked butter....


----------



## bimmer

After reading this as torture, I say that because we're desperately needing to cut back on the meat and fat to lose weight. Last night I made some Butternut Squash with onion, apples, sweet red peppers, barley, thyme and salt and pepper. It needed something else and I'm guess nutmeg, but when I saw this post, I thought that mixture would be great stuffed in cabbage rolls and smoked. I am SO doing this! Thanks!


----------



## smokinhusker

Thanks so much!


Woodcutter said:


> Nice job Alesia! Those cabbage rolls look great.


Oh my the Butternut Squash dish you made sounds really good...yep a touch of nutmeg would add a nice flavor. I'll bet it would be good in the cabbage rolls.


Bimmer said:


> After reading this as torture, I say that because we're desperately needing to cut back on the meat and fat to lose weight. Last night I made some Butternut Squash with onion, apples, sweet red peppers, barley, thyme and salt and pepper. It needed something else and I'm guess nutmeg, but when I saw this post, I thought that mixture would be great stuffed in cabbage rolls and smoked. I am SO doing this! Thanks!


----------



## livinnlearnin

SmokinHusker you just made my day!

Back home I used to go the super lazy route of making cabbage rolls, by using cambells soup poured over the top. They always turned out fantastic, so I saw no other reason to try any other method. I can't get Campbells soup where I live now, let alone condensed tomato soup. I've been a bit disheartened over losing my beloved cabbage rolls flavor. BUT I'm thinking that your recipe will be a super replacement! Smoking cabbage rolls. I would have never thunk.

Thanks for the share!!


----------



## marteenhook

Looks superb. I will try this recipe for my mom. I am sure she will like this. Thanks.


----------

