Stuffed Cabbage for a Crowd
This is a family favorite that my grandmother made when I was a kid. Now my mother and I make it at least once a year. This recipe makes about 80 cabbage rolls, 2 roasters full, so that we have plenty to freeze for future meals.
This is a family favorite that my grandmother made when I was a kid. Now my mother and I make it at least once a year. This recipe makes about 80 cabbage rolls, 2 roasters full, so that we have plenty to freeze for future meals.
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- water
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 4 small to medium cabbage heads
- 6 1/2 pounds ground beef 80/20 mix
- 2 1/2 pounds ground pork not sausage!
- 1 1/2 or 2 large onions diced, sauted in butter
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
- 3 cups long grain rice uncooked
- 4 46-oz bottles tomato juice
- 2 cans campbell's tomato soup
- Carbohydrate 41.8759518032302 g
- Cholesterol 141.06722707 mg
- Fat 34.6999891880105 g
- Fiber 6.26083775994648 g
- Protein 43.1002299066269 g
- Saturated Fat 13.2046334177753 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (720g)
- Sodium 1634.7872453697 mg
- Sugar 35.6151140432837 g
- Trans Fat 4.42915126591552 g
- Calories 649 calories
Step-by-step
- Core the cabbage, then immerse the whole head in boiling water until the outer leaves begin to loosen.
- Remove cabbage and carefully peel away as many outer leaves as will come off easily.
- If you need more leaves, place the cabbage back in simmering water for a minute or two.
- Some cabbage leaves have a thick rib, which keeps them from lying flat and being easily rolled up.
- In that case, trim the end of the leaf (and the thick end of the rib) so you can more easily roll up the leaf with the stuffing.
- Saute onion in some butter and let cool.
- Mix the ground beef, ground pork, onion, raw rice (do not use instant rice) and all the seasonings.
- Form meat mixture in about 2 inch balls.
- Place in a cabbage leaf starting close to rib end and roll up tucking in sides so that while roasting, the meat will not escape.
- Some rolls will be large and some small depending on the size of the cabbage leaf; adjust your meatball accordingly.
- Place some cabbage leaves on the bottom of a very large roasting pan (We use the ones that are too small to roll or too green) Pour a little of the tomato juice and some water on the bottom.
- Place rolls in roaster with the loose end of the cabbage down so as it cooks it will not unroll.
- Do not pack in tightly.
- Allow a little "growing room" for each roll.
- Cover the first layer of rolls with more tomato juice and add your second layer.
- (We get 40 rollls in our large roaster.)
- Cover the top layer with one can of tomato soup and a can full of water.
- Pour tomato juice over all.
- Fill the 46-oz tomato juice bottle with water and add most or all of it to your roaster as well, making sure your rolls are all laying in the juice.
- Cover with lid to roast.
- Repeat process for the second roaster.
- Bake at 350 for the first hour, then turn down to 300 for 4 hours, 5 hours total.
- Keep a watch so that all of the liquid is not evaporating.
- The sauce will thicken as it cooks.
- Add more water/juice if needed and turn down the temp a little if burning.
- We like a lot of juice with our cabbage rolls so we have some "gravy" for our mashed potatoes :)
- This makes a huge amount and really takes us all day to make, but we don't make it often so we love freezing for future meals as this freezes very well.
- We roast all of the rolls on the same day, one roaster in the oven and an electric roaster on the counter with 40 cabbage rolls as well.
- If you are using an electric roaster, the cooking time is shorter - 4 to 4 1/2 hours total, at a lower temperature - 250 to 300.
- We have cooked some on the stovetop in a large covered soup pot rather than using an electric roaster.
- The assembly is the same.
- After they come to a boil at medium-high heat, turn down to simmer for several hours.
The Cabbage Anatomy
Treating cabbage leaves improperly yields a rubbery outer layer that resists every attempt at rolling. Core the head entirely before submerging it in a rolling boil, which allows water to penetrate the core cavity and release leaves from the inside out without tearing them. Trimming the thick central rib flat prevents the structural rigidity that otherwise ruins the roll's integrity during long braising periods.
Rice and Meat Mechanics
Using instant rice in this mixture results in a disintegrated, starchy paste because parboiled grains absorb moisture too rapidly inside the meat casing. Long-grain rice expands slowly, absorbing rendered fat and tomato juices evenly over five hours of cooking without blowing out the seams of the pork and beef mixture. Packing the rolls too tightly inside the roaster prevents liquid circulation, leaving the center layers dry while the edges scorch.
Thermal Control
Massive quantities of food require precise temperature management to avoid boiling the meat dry. Baking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for the first hour initiates the simmer before dropping the heat to 300 degrees for the remaining four hours to tenderize the collagen. Monitoring liquid levels prevents burning, allowing the tomato juice and soup blend to reduce into a rich sauce.
