Bacon Wrapped Beer Braised Cabbage

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A whole head of cabbage wrapped in bacon and braised in beer is a thing of glory. Make it on the grill or in the oven for a flavorful side dish.

Make cabbage a favorite side dish with this fabulous recipe. It’s cooked with bacon and beer until the cabbage is soft and flavorful. It’s an easy and fun way to make the side dish the star of the show.

I saw the inspiration for this recipe on a Facebook video this spring.  It looked really tempting so I shared it on my page and decided to patiently wait until we got cabbage in our CSA boxes.

You see my husband is not a fan of cabbage, so I didn’t want to burn him out early. We generally get several cabbages in our share during the summer, so I figured I had better wait.

Meanwhile his aunt saw the recipe when I shared it on Facebook and made it before our lasagna cook-off.

Their family was telling me how good it was that night, so I resolved to not forget to make it. Fast forward two months and we got out first heads of cabbage in our produce box…. it was finally time!

My husband loves to grill, so I figured cooking the cabbage that way would help win him over. He looked a little shocked when I told him we’d be putting a cabbage on the grill for a couple of hours, but was happy to light the charcoal.

Step by step pictures and instructions for making you own bacon wrapped beer braised cabbage

Putting it together was easy. I made an x out of two large sheets of aluminum foil then placed the cabbage in the middle.

After cutting 2 slits most of the way through the cabbage on each direction I stuffed the openings with a small amount of butter.

Then it was bacon time! Wrap that puppy up with some of the good stuff.

We had some homemade thick cut bacon from my brother, but whatever you have should work. You could always use turkey bacon if pork isn’t your thing.

Now start to wrap the foil around the cabbage to make a bowl and pour about a half can of beer over the top.  You could use a cup of chicken broth if you prefer, but I think I’d add a Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar for a bit of tang.

Now sprinkle that bad boy with some salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic. Feel free to adjust those to taste, use whatever you like on your cabbage.

Wrap the foil the rest of the way around the cabbage and seal it up. Now you’re ready to cook it.

You could put it on a 350 F oven for a couple of hours. We put it on the grill instead.

Our grill was at a steady medium heat, not a big fire but plenty hot to get it cooked.  I used the rest of the pack of bacon to do bacon wrapped pork loin on the grill as well.

We soaked up some corn on the cob and threw it on for the last half hour of cooking. A whole summer meal without heating the  kitchen!

Let me tell you, everything was so good! It was great to have a really nice meal and get to still spend the afternoon outside watching the boys play.

Usually I have to spend some of the afternoon inside missing the fun to get dinner on the table. This time other than a few trips in to get the next item for the grill, it was all done outside!

I was curious to see what my non cabbage loving hubby would think and he enjoyed it. I’m not sure he would request it for his last meal, but he did get seconds and comment on how good it was!

We already have more cabbage coming and we can only eat so much coleslaw.  I plan to make some Carlee’s cabbage (cabbage with potatoes and Parmesan cheese) and possibly some cheesy cabbage casserole but I could use more ideas!

What are your favorite ways to eat cabbage?

Bacon Wrapped Beer Braised Cabbage

Carlee

A whole head of cabbage wrapped in bacon and braised in beer is a thing of glory. Make it on the grill or in the oven for a flavorful side dish.

4.93 from 13 ratings

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Side Dishes

Cuisine American

Servings 8 Servings

Calories 113 kcal

Equipment

• Zyliss Chefs Knife, 7 inches, White
• Cutting Boards

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 head cabbage
• 6 slices of bacon or more!
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• ½ can beer
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional

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Instructions

 

• Make an x out of two large pieces of aluminum foil.
• Place the head of cabbage in the middle and cut two slits most of the way through each direction. 
• Place little bits of butter in each of the slits. Then arrange the bacon over the cabbage. 
• Start to wrap the foil around the cabbage forming a bowl and holding the bacon on. Pour the beer over the cabbage.
• Season with salt, pepper, garlic and crushed red pepper.
• Finish wrapping the foil around the cabbage and seal.
• Place on the grill over medium heat for about 2½ or 3 hours. Or bake at 350 F for at least 2 hours.
• Let rest for about 10 minutes then unwrap. Remove the core from the cabbage. Dice the bacon and sprinkle over the remaining cabbage. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 113kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 5gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 446mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4g

Tried this recipe?Mention @carleecooks or tag #cookingwcarlee!

Thanks for sharing!