German Cabbage Rolls

Back in November, I posted my recipe for Cabbage Rolls. That recipe was the more traditional Hungarian style cabbage rolls most of us are used to, with a tomato-based sauce. They are fabulous, and I encourage you to try them out. Today I bring you my recipe for German style Cabbage Rolls. These cabbage rolls are my husband's favorite. They're meaty and hearty and scrumptious. Men seem to really appreciate these cabbage rolls, and I think the main reason is the sauce. I  place of a tomato sauce, these cabbage rolls are served topped with brown gravy. So yummy. These cabbage rolls are easy to make, super hearty, and they get better the next day. This recipe makes 12 large cabbage rolls. You can make them smaller to use more of the cabbage, or make more filling.

Ingredients:

1 large head of cabbage
2 TBS salt

Filling:

1/2 lb ground Beef
1/2 lb ground Pork
3 TBS bread crumbs
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS German style mustard
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
pinch of Salt
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced or grated on a microplane
2 TBS Butter

Sauce:
Optional: splash of white wine
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup cold water
1 TBS cornstarch

Note: To cut back of fat, you can substitute all lean ground beef or even ground turkey for the ground beef and pork. There is a slight flavor difference, but it is still delicious and it's a way to eat "regular" food while losing weight or watching your cholesterol.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In the meantime, melt 1 TBS of butter in a large skillet, add diced onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until softened and lightly browned. Remove from heat. Wash cabbage and remove outermost leaves if they are loose. You can core the cabbage if you like, but it's not necessary. I like to because it helps the salt water flavor the cabbage and it seems to make the leaves easier to remove. As soon as the water boils, add the 2 TBS of salt. Gently add the cabbage and boil 15-20 minutes. Remove the cabbage, drain and allow to cool.

Once the cabbage is cool, mix all of the filling ingredients together. Remove the 12 outer leaves from the cabbage and begin filling. The demonstration photos I'm going to post now are from my last cabbage rolls recipe, but the folding method is the same.

Once all of the cabbage rolls are ready, heat 1 TBS of butter over medium heat in the large skillet you used to saute the onions. Place about half of the rolls in the skillet, seam side down. Allow to cook for 5 minutes, then flip and cook and additional 3 minutes. Remove to a platter and brown the remaining rolls in the same way. Optional: Remove rolls and deglaze the pan with a  splash of white wine. Add all of the rolls to the pan, pour in the beef broth. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Remove rolls from skillet, bump the heat up to medium-high, mix cornstarch and cold water together, add to the broth in the pan, stir constantly until thickened. This will only take a few minutes. Serve the rolls topped with gravy alongside mashed potatoes.