This Southern-style cabbage recipe has to be one of the best stovetop cabbage recipes online. It’s full of flavor, juicy, and packed with smoked salty fat meat. I am a fan of cabbage so it’s no surprise this is the 2nd cabbage recipe I’ve posted. Check out my fried cabbage recipe, it’s a fan favorite and received tons of views on YouTube and Facebook. Cabbage goes with anything and it’s so simple because all you need is a big skillet.
Give this succulent soul food-style cabbage recipe a shot. It’s tasty and has a flavor you’ll die for. Making it the perfect vegetable side dish for a big family dinner.
There was no experimenting process with this recipe because it’s one of my favorite veggies and I’ve made this dish a thousand times, literally!
Looking for another recipe to go with this? Search for it here!
Why I love this recipe
Not only is it crowd-pleasing, and I know this because every time I take some to a big get-together, people rave about how good it is… but it’s sort of an all-in-one dish!
You get your veggies and protein all in one serving, I can eat this ALONE, don’t even need a main course but that’s usually how I serve it. Lol!
And it’s so convenient, all you need is one skillet, two heads of cabbage, some smoked meat, and a few simple ingredients and you’re all set.
Ingredients you’ll need:
Here are all the ingredients we’ll be using for this fiya cabbage recipe. I’ll explain why you need them and give you some ideas on what you can substitute some with in case you don’t have some of them in the crib!
- Liquid: I’m using chicken broth to cook the meat and simmer the cabbage.
- Smoked meat: I’m using smoked turkey tails for a smoky meat flavor.
- Vegetables: Onions, Peppers, carrots, and minced garlic are my add-ins for depth of flavor.
- Seasonings: Seasoning Salt, Tony’s, Garlic & Onion Powder, Parsley, Sugar, and black pepper.
- Heat: Crushed Red Peppers
Don’t have some of these ingredients? I got you!
Ok so as my grandma would say, when things don’t go as you want, IMPROVISE!!! Lol! If you don’t got some of these ingredients, let me give you some alternatives.
When your teacher decided to call out, school wasn’t canceled… when one of your friends say they can’t make it to your party, it doesn’t stop right? Well, neither are we… we gone make this thang work! Lol!
- Liquid: Ok so if you don’t have any chicken broth, which yall know I’m in loooove with, you can use vegetable broth. If you don’t have that either, make your broth by combining 1 qt water and bouillon cubes.
They say 1 cup of water and 1 bouillon cube = 1 cup of chicken broth but I would just use 2 bouillon cubes for 1 qt of water first, and if you feel you need to use 4 then do so.
If you don’t have bouillon cubes, just up the amount of seasonings and season the cabbage until it’s to your liking. - Smoked meat: Now let me just say, I switch it up from time to time anyway and use whatever I have on hand.
And to be honest, I like using turkey necks and ham hocks but this recipe is for you all and people are health conscious nowadays so I decided to use turkey tails for this recipe.
But if you don’t have any, turkey necks, and ham hocks are great alternatives, even bacon just fry it first. Now if you decide to go with turkey necks and ham hocks, you will need to use more liquid because it takes them longer to cook.
Just make sure you add the cabbage to about 2 cups of liquid by the time your meat is done, that’s about the amount of liquid your cabbage needs to cook in.
Covering it, will help to produce the moisture and steam you need to cook it through. Cabbage produces a lot of liquid as I talked about in my FRIED CABBAGE RECIPE so a lot of liquid isn’t needed. - Vegetables: Now to me, onions, carrots, and peppers are a MUST when it comes to add-ins for cabbage and they really can’t be replaced in my opinion…
Now the minced garlic isn’t needed but I’ll be the first to tell you garlic powder and minced garlic taste different so you’ll find me adding both to a lot of my food.But you don’t need the minced garlic… a good replacement is garlic paste if you have some on hand. But you can just up by garlic powder by adding 1/2 tsp more. Again it’s not necessary, I just like the flavor of minced garlic and throw it in my cabbage just because it feels right.
- Seasonings: You can use your favorite complete seasoning if you don’t have seasoning salt and Tony’s, or just use salt.
If you don’t have garlic powder, hopefully, you have minced garlic, if so, just add a few teaspoons to replace the garlic powder.
Onion powder, Parsley, and black pepper won’t alter the taste of the cabbage much so you’ll be fine without those seasonings.
But I’m assuming y’all will have most of these ingredients, everybody has garlic, onion powder, and black pepper in their cabinet.
If you don’t you don’t need to be cooking! Lol! Those are the basic seasoning that most non-cooking people have in their cabinets. - Heat: Ok so you have a few options here. If you don’t have any crushed red pepper flakes on deck which I love because they add heat and COLOR, you can simply replace it using either cayenne pepper, slap ya mama seasoning, smoked paprika, or a hint of tobacco.
I add a little heat just to spice the cabbage up. Yall know me, I like balanced food with layers and depths of flavor.
Why do you add sugar to vegetable dishes?
I get this question so much under my vegetable recipes, ‘Why add sugar to a savory dish”. Sugar isn’t just to make things sweet… it provides moisture for cakes, and it’s a great ingredient to add to acidic dishes that may be a bit too bitter, like spaghetti sauce or collard greens.
So don’t worry, I’m not gonna have y’all cooking sweet cabbage, it just balances all the acidity and heat in the dish. See it as a water hole or fire extinguisher putting out a fire. Lol!
Do you wash the cabbage?
I get this question a lot from people on YouTube and I always tell them, that washing cabbage is not necessary. Cabbage is different because it’s in a ball!
So unlike collard greens for example where each leaf and its crevices are exposed, cabbage is protected from dust particles, germs, and debris by its outer layer.
How to cut cabbage
So when it comes to cutting the cabbage, doing so is very simple once you get it down pack, all you trying to do is get rid of the very inner core and outer layers of cabbage. Why?
Because the very inner core, the STALK, is too hard, bitter, and doesn’t taste good and the very outer layer is dirty.
So I’m going to assist you in cutting the cabbage with step-by-step instructions and photos for illustration.
1. First, remove the outer layer and slice off the rough stems.
2. Then cut the head of cabbage in half and remove the hard circular stalk at the bottom.
3. Remove the very white and very inner core. You can keep most of it but remove the hard pieces if any.
4. Then chop all the cabbage up into small pieces.
5. Weigh the cabbage on a scale! You want 2 lbs worth of chopped cabbage.
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In my opinion, cabbage tastes good with pretty much anything but below are some main course recipes I think it taste EXCEPTIONALLY WELL WITH and greatly compliments!
- Grandma’s Sunday Dinner Meatloaf
- Baked Whole Chicken Recipe
- Baked BBQ Chicken Recipe
- Slow Cooker Smothered Turkey Wings
How to make southern cabbage
1. Add your meat to a pot or skillet with some liquid, cover with a lid leaving a crack to the side, and let it simmer until tender.
2. Meanwhile chop up your cabbage and vegetables.
3. Once the meat is tender, remove and chop it up into small pieces if you choose.
4. Then add the chopped meat back to the pot or skillet with the cabbage.
5. Add in the chopped vegetables, butter, and seasonings, then cover with a lid leaving a small crack to the side, and cook until it reaches your desired tenderness. (Add the parsley and crushed peppers last)
Tips for success:
- If you’re new to cooking, add the salt last because this dish does have quite a few high-sodium ingredients, and if you’ve made any changes to anything, to ensure the cabbage doesn’t come out on the salty side, add a little salt at a time once the cabbage is done ok?
Frequently asked questions
- How long does cabbage last? I’d recommend finishing it off no later than 3 days after cooking it. If it sits in the refrigerator for too long, it can sog up and just not taste as good after a while as with most food.
- How to store cabbage? You can keep it sealed tightly in a glass bowl covered with a lid or aluminum foil in the refrigerator.
- How to reheat cabbage? You can heat it up in a microwave or warm it up in a small pot or skillet over medium heat until warm.
Enjoy, later!
PBJ~
The Best Southern Stove Top Cabbage (With Tender Smoked Turkey)!!!
This Southern-style cabbage is succulent and tasty with a flavor you’ll die for, making it the perfect vegetable side dish for a family dinner.
- Total Time: 2 Hr 30 Mins
- Yield: 8
Ingredients
2 Heads of Cabbage
1 Qt Chicken Broth
1 Lb Smoked Turkey Tails
1/2 Cup Onions, finely chopped
1/4 Cup Carrots, grated
1/4 Cup Green Bell Peppers, finely chopped
1/4 Red Bell Peppers, finely chopped
2 Tsps Minced Garlic
2 Tbs Butter
1 Tbs White Sugar
2 Tsps Seasoning Salt
2 Tsps Tony’s Creole Seasoning
2 Tsps Parsley Flakes
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp Crushed Red Peppers
Instructions
1. Place a skillet or pot over medium heat, add in the broth and turkey tails, then cover with a lid and simmer until tender, for about 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, chop up the cabbage making sure to remove the stalk.
3. Chop the vegetables into small pieces.
4. Once the turkey tails are tender, remove and chop into small pieces.
5. Add the cabbage and chopped vegetables to the pot or skillet along with the chopped meat.
6. Add in the butter and seasonings (except the parsley & crushed red peppers), cover with a lid, and cook for 45 mins to 1 hour or until cabbage reaches your desired tenderness.
7. Sprinkle in the crushed red peppers and parsley once done.
- Prep Time: 30 Mins
- Cook Time: 2 Hrs
- Category: Vegetable Sides
- Cuisine: Soul Food
by
5 Responses
Looks delicious, do you think I could use a ham steak as the meat?
If that’s the flavor you’re going for.
Hey PBJ, glad to see ya!!
Hey, queencourtney 🙂