When I think of winter, I think of traditional comfort food. For me, that’s sarma, various stews, thick kačamak and popara, and kiseli kupus, or pickled cabbage. In the fall, when families are canning and preparing for the winter months, they usually fill a very large barrel with whole heads of cabbage and cover them with salt brine. In just a few weeks, the cabbage is pickled and ready to be enjoyed.

I refer to October and November as “kupus season”. This is the time when cabbage is prepared for pickling in the Balkans and around the world by Balkan people who have the space and climate to store barrels of cabbage in their homes. After a few weeks, the cabbage pickling process is complete. It’s enjoyed as a salad, chopped up and sprinkled with paprika, and the leaves are used to make sarma. There are many health benefits to eating pickled cabbage. One of my favorite ways to eat it is as a stew, with smoked meat and bacon.

This recipe is one of my family’s favorites. Something about eating it in the dead of winter just takes me back to my childhood. During the winter, my family would fill a smokehouse with meat and smoke it. It would then be added to dishes like this or enjoyed on its own. Smoked meat, ribs, and bacon are traditional additions to this dish. It can be made with pork or beef, but we always make it with smoked pork because that’s what we’re used to.

While pickled cabbage is definitely an acquired taste (and smell), if you love sauerkraut in general, you’ll love this dish. Oh, and don’t forget to always pair it with savory cornbread!

Kiseli Kupus sa Suvim Mesom / Pickled Cabbage with Smoked Meat

Recipe by The Balkan HostessCourse: MainCuisine: Serbian, Balkan

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

minutes

A true traditional cold weather dish, served with savory cornbread.

Ingredients

1 large head of pickled cabbage / kiseli kupus
2 medium onions, diced
2-3 garlic gloves, minced
2 tablespoons (14 g) paprika (aleva)
1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt, to taste and depending on the cabbage
Black pepper, to taste (biber)
1/2 teaspoon (3 g) whole peppercorns (biber u zrnu)
2 bay leaves (lovorov list)
1/4 cup (60 ml) oil
2-3 tablespoons (35-50 g) Vegeta
Smoked meat, to taste sliced thick
Sliced bacon, to taste (I use 2-3 large pieces) and sliced thick
3 cups (700 ml) water

Directions

Start by rinsing your pickled cabbage with fresh cold water very well. Cut it up into large chunks and cover with water so that all the pieces are covered. Soak the cabbage in water for at least 2-3 hours, but if you need to you can soak it overnight in the refrigerator as well.

This helps rinse off some of the salt. If you don’t do this and your cabbage was generously salted when prepared, you risk the dish being too salty and too sour.
In a skillet, add the oil and onions. Saute the onions until soft and just starting to slightly turn brown. Add in the garlic and saute for another minute until the garlic is fragrant. Add in the black pepper and salt. Remove from the heat.
To the onion mixture, add in the paprika (aleva) and stir to combine well.
In a large pot, layer the onion mixture and cabbage, starting with the onion mixture, alternating. As you’re layering, sprinkle the Vegeta and black peppercorns throughout. Follow this pattern:

Onion/garlic mixture
Cabbage
Onion/garlic mixture
Meats and bacon + bay leaves
Sprinkle everything with Vegeta and black peppercorns
Cabbage
When you’ve used up all your ingredients, add 3 cups of water to the skillet where you saute the onions. Scrape the bottom and sides of the skillet and pour the water into the pot. Cover and cook on medium-high until boiling. When a boil is reached, reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 1.5 – 2 hours. The cabbage will reduce a little bit of liquid as well.
The cabbage is done when it’s soft but not falling apart and the meat and bacon fall apart.

Notes

The smoked meats and bacon are already salty as is the cabbage. Add salt very carefully. Feel free to leave out the salt completely if your cabbage is very salty.
This dish is even tastier when reheated the next day.

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