A Great Fall Side: Pan-Fried Cabbage

     It’s cheap, it’s easy and it is a great side dish, especially for fall. We like it with brats and other pork dishes. Barry starts out with bacon and onions but the bacon could be omitted, using olive oil or another vegetable oil to sauté the onions. Or, for a main dish, add sliced brats to the frying pan and even some potatoes (Barry uses leftover baked potatoes, cut into chunks) for a “casserole” type meal. We generally use green cabbage but red could also be substituted.

Pan-Fried Cabbage  6 servings

3 slices bacon, chopped

About 1/4 cup chopped onion

6 cups cabbage, cut into thin wedges  -- see tips for prepping that follow the recipe

Fresh thyme sprigs, optional

About 2 tablespoons water or broth

Pinch granulated sugar

Kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper to taste

About a tablespoon cider vinegar

1.   Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Remove bacon, and set aside.

2.   Cook onion in the hot bacon fat until tender.

3.   Add cabbage, and stir in thyme, water, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook until cabbage wilts and is tender, about 15 minutes, adding lid after about the first 5 minutes.

4.    Stir in bacon. Splash with vinegar before serving.

Prepping the cabbage:

After washing the cabbage and removing any damaged outer leave, cut the cabbage in quarters
(a large knife works best for this task). Then cut out the core, as shown above.

Cut the cabbage into bite size pieces.