As Desired Beef and Cabbage

Let me start by saying that cabbage, boiled, has never seemed like a good idea to me, unless perhaps it was for the purposes of punishment.  I'd eat it raw, in a stir fry, in an egg roll with lots of soy sauce, but boiled doesn't do it for me....................until now.

Some months ago, while it was still chilly here in the soupy south, my sister-in-law (the one who takes most of the gorgeous pictures that end up decorating my blog) served this simple but amazing dish at a small family get-together.  She told me how she did it, but i was afraid i had missed something important, so i didn't want to try it.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, i tried it, and it worked.  It's like some kind of weird cabbage and beef miracle.  There's no way those few ingredients should taste so good together with so little effort.

Before i get started, please let me say that my sister-in-law, i believe, found this recipe - or one something like it - somewhere on the internet.  I have been completely unsuccessful in trying to find it myself so as to give credit where credit is due.  If i ever find the originator of this culinary marvel, i will let you know.

O.k., let's get started.

First, you need the beef.  I used a 3 pound boneless chuck roast.  Use whatever cut you desire.

Cut it into something like 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch bite size pieces, or as desired.

This is the plate of fat that i cut away from the meat.  Don't throw this stuff away yet.

Instead, put it in here.  We don't want all that fat and gristle in our dish, but we do want its flavor.  I cooked it on low in this little sauce pan and then after it was all brown, i cooked it in small amounts of water to drain all the good flavor out of it.  When i'm done getting all the flavor out of it, i'll give it to the dogs, who will be very thankful....or at least eager to eat it.

I put the meat in here and browned it but didn't cook it through.

When it was all browned, i put it in this 9x13 pan - and then into the oven, covered, at 300 degrees, for some amount of time.  As long as desired, or to cook through.

Meanwhile, i deglazed the cast iron skillet (again to redeem flavor), added as many bouillon cubes as desired, and then poured the broth into this 6 quart stock pot.  On top of that, goes a whole head of cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces.

Cook on medium-ish until it's as soft as you desire.

Then add the beef when it's finished cooking through in the oven.  Season as desired before adding to the pot.  I used only salt.  When you cook it down a little more after all the ingredients are finally in the pot, some kind of wonderful buttery cabbage beefy broth thing happens.  It's really good.  Cook as long as desired.

Sadly, i don't have DeAnna and her camera at my daily disposal, so this picture doesn't bring out the beauty of the deliciousness.  I guess you're just going to have to try it out for yourself.  

All together, i ended up using 8 bouillon cubes for this batch.  The last time, i think i used only 5.  These are the basics of how to prepare this dish.  Personalize as desired.

List of ingredients:

3 pounds of beef

one head of cabbage

beef bouillon or broth

seasoning

Enjoy!