Best German Cabbage Rolls Recipes

BIEROCKS (GERMAN HAMBURGER- AND CABBAGE-FILLED ROLLS)

Steps:

• FILLING: In a large frying pan, cook the cabbage and onion together until the cabbage is completely softened and golden.
• This process can be hastened by adding a half-cup of water (or so) and covering the pan, but eventually cook all the liquid off before proceeding.
• Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired.
• In a separate pan, brown the hamburger.
• Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired.
• Mix the cabbage/onion with the hamburger thoroughly.
• You may complete this part of the recipe in advance,refrigerating until needed, or just before you are ready to assemble the rolls.
• DOUGH: In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast.
• In a saucepan heat milk, sugar, butter and salt just till warm (115-120 degrees F) and butter is almost melted; stir constantly.
• Ad to flour mixture; add eggs.
• Beat at low speed for 1/2 minute, then three minutes at high speed.
• Stir in as much remaining flour as you can mix in with a spoon.
• Turn out onto a floured surface.
• Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total).
• Shape into a ball, and place in a greased bowl; turn once.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place till double (about 1 hour).
• Punch down and cover; let rest 10 minutes.
• ASSEMBLY: Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, and a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
• Cut into squares of 3 inches by 3 or 4 inches by 4.
• By the spoonful, place some filling mixture into the center of each square, apportioning all of the mixture among the squares.
• For each, bring the two opposite corner ends of the dough square up to meet one another, then do the same with remaining ends and pinch them (all 4) together with your fingers.
• You will see that you now have open slits along the diagnals; pinch these together as well, making a seam of each.
• Water on your fingertips will facilitate them staying"glued" together.
• The end product should be a square with a seam running from each corner to the center where all four are joined.
• Set the squares on a baking sheet (if you had trouble keeping the seams closed, you can flip them over so that the seams are against the baking sheet, thereby keeping all the filling in place and making a nicer presentation).
• Let raise 30 minutes.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 °F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

PIGS IN BLANKETS (GERMAN CABBAGE ROLLS)

Steps:

• Brown ground beef and onion. Salt and pepper to taste. Drain grease. Stir together rice and browned ground beef and set aside.
• Bring a large kettle of water to a boil and remove from heat.
• Carefully remove 16 leaves from the head of cabbage and put leaves in the water and let set until wilted.
• Remove a leaf from the water with tongs, take a good sized tablespoon of the hamburger-rice mixture into the leaf and wrap leaf around the burger mixture. May need to secure with a toothpick to keep closed.
• Place in a greased 9x13 pan.
• Repeat with remaining leaves and burger mixture.
• When you have used all the mixture, pour tomato juice and water over top of cabbage rolls.
• Cover and bake for an hour at 325.

GERMAN CABBAGE ROLLS (KOHLROULADEN)

Steps:

• Remove core from cabbage.
• In deep pot or bowl, place cabbage and pour boiling water directly into hollow of core, then cover completely with boiling water.
• Let stand a few minutes until leaves are supple.
• Drain, then separate leaves carefully.
• Trim hard rib at bottom of each leaf.
• Set leaves aside.
• Line bottom of 12 cup casserole with cabbage trimmings and any torn or tiny leaves.
• In saucepan, combine rice, stock and salt.
• Bring to boil and cook for 1 minute.
• Cover and remove from heat; let stand for 20 to 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
• In skillet, heat butter.
• Saute onion until tender but not brown, about 4 minutes.
• Add beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is lightly browned.
• Stir into rice and let stand until cool.
• Stir in egg.
• Place 1 or 2 spoonfuls of meat mixture on each cabbage leaf and roll up, tucking in ends.
• In casserole, arrange rolls in layers, seasoning each layer with pepper.
• In saucepan, combine remaining ingredients.
• Bring to boil, stir well and pour over cabbage rolls.
• Cover and bake in 350 F.
• (180 C) oven for 2 hours or until tender.
• (If rolls seem too dry, add a little hot water to casserole during baking.) Makes about 24 cabbage rolls.
• Canadian Living Cooks.

GRANDMA'S GERMAN CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Core the cabbage and put in a large microwave-proof bowl. Add 1/3 cup water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 20 minutes, remove soft leaves and continue microwaving until all the usable leaves are soft. Stack the leaves as you remove them and cover.
• Mix the filling ingredients in a separate bowl and get your large casserole dish out. (You may need another small casserole dish).
• Place filling near the base of each cabbage leaf and roll up, placing seam side down in the casserole. Crowd the rolls as much as possible. Continue until you are out of filling.
• Spoon the tomato soup over the rolls evenly.
• Bake at 300-325 degrees for at least 2 hours, covering when they start to brown.
• I've guessed at the serving sizes since Grandma didn't tell me! And cabbage rolls do take a long time but are worth it all.

GERMAN CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Prep - cook the rice until half done. Set aside to cool.
• Sour cabbage is just that, sour. Very tangy, soaking the head in cold water will tone down tang. Separating the leaves and soaking the leaves will mellow the taste even more.
• Allow all meat come to room temperature. Or at least till the chill is off.
• Mince onion, garlic and bacon. Keep these separate and divide the garlic in half.
• In a large bowl combine beef, pork and bacon along with the rice, onions, half the garlic and spices as desired.
• Gently mix vegetable and spices with meat.
• To make rolls take one leaf, Place a dollop of the meat mixture on leaf. Fold bottom of leaf up over meat then fold sides in and roll.
• Place rolls in a roaster or dutch oven. Add the tomatoey stuff and enough water to just cover the rolls.
• While the rolls can be cooked at 350f for a couple of hours and turn out quite edible, cooking at 250f for 5-6 hours will produce a mellower flavour and more tender cabbage and is recommended.

CABBAGE ROLLS (OLD GERMAN RECIPE)

Steps:

• 1. Season the hamburger well with salt, pepper and add the egg.
• 2. Mix well.
• 3. Mix in rice.
• 4. To make sauce, melt the butter and add the tomato soup and an equal amount of water and add to onion.
• 5. Add the parsley, celery, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper, and cook for 10 minutes.
• 6. Wash the cabbage leaves and boil until tender.
• 7. Put 2 tablespoons of meat mixture in each leaf and roll tightly.
• 8. Secure each roll with a toothpick.
• 9. Place in a saucepan and pour sauce over rolls.
• 10. Cover pan tightly and cook slowly for 3 hours.
• 11. Serve very hot.

GERMAN CABBAGE ROLLS RECIPE (KRAUTWICKEL)

Steps:

• MAKE THE MEAT FILLING:
• Saute chopped Onion in bacon grease over medium heat until glossy and transparent,
• Soak the bread in enough water to thoroughly wet it and make it soggy and waterlogged. Then squeeze out the excess water and set aside.
• In a large bowl set the meat, maggi sauce, eggs, cooked onion, and soaked bread crumbs.
• Pour all the dry meat filling ingredients over the meat and mix by hand like a meatloaf.
• TEST THE FLAVOR:
• Pan fry a small bit of meat until done to test for flavor. If you need to adjust the seasonings do it now and mix again by hand.
• Set a large pot on the stove 2/3 Full of water. Bring to boiling while shaping the meat rolls.
• Shape into 3 x 2 inch sausage shapes. Set Aside. You should get about 18 to 20 meat rolls.
• COOK CABBAGE LEAVES:
• Set the cabbage into the boiling water and as the leaves soften and get tender.
• GENTLY pull the leaves off with tongs one at a time as the cabbage cooks.
• USE ONLY THE BIG LEAVES. (you may need two heads of cabbage to keep the leaf size large.)
• Lay the leaves on a large paper towel to drain.
• Soften the large tough vein of the leaves with a meat mallet so the leafs will roll.
• FOLD THE CABBAGE ROLLS:
• Lay the leaf out on a large flat surface like a table or cutting board.
• Set a meat roll INTO THE CENTER of the leaf.
• Fold the cabbage leaf up from the bottom to cover the meat roll.
• Bring each side of the leaf up and over the meat.
• Now roll the cabbage roll up to the top of the cabbage leaf.
• Repeat for all leaves until the meat rolls are used.
• TIE THE CABBAGE ROLLS
• Using Kitchen Twine tie the rolls up and knot them on each end (per Video).
• This is all done with one continuous piece of twine as shown so the rolls can be evenly browned without falling apart. So make sure they are well secured.
• BROWN THE CABBAGE ROLLS:
• Set your frying pan on medium heat
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Peanut oil (or your favorite high heat safe oil).
• Brown the cabbage rolls on ALL sides for best flavor.
• Simmer the cabbage rolls 40 minutes with 4 cups of beef broth and 4 cups of water.
• MAKE THE GRAVY:
• Remove cabbage rolls to serving platter or large casserole dish leave the broth in the pan.
• Whisk together the dry ingredients and add water to make a loose paste.
• Pour into the beef broth and whisk over medium high heat until boiling.
• Boil while whisking two minutes or until thick as you like.
• SERVE:
• Cut the strings and remove from the cabbage rolls.
• Pour 2 cups of the gravy over the cabbage rolls.
• Pour the remaining gravy into a gravy server and serve on the side.