German Red Cabbage

Labor Day weekend and I smoked Tyler's birthday brisket. It started at five in the morning. I set an alarm and drove to his parents house in the dark, which Roy had suggested so we could do it together on his smoker, and Roy was already outside with the fire going when I pulled in at 4:45. He handed me a coffee without comment and we stood in the pre-dawn quiet and managed the fire and talked intermittently about nothing and everything and it was one of the best mornings I have had in a long time.

The brisket was done by five in the afternoon. We let it rest for an hour in butcher paper and then Tyler and I sliced it at the counter together and it was perfect: the bark crackling and dark and salty, the interior pink and tender and running with juice. Debbie made her potato salad and her baked beans and her corn casserole and I made a slaw with a vinegar dressing and we fed fourteen people without difficulty.

Tyler's brothers sang happy birthday with extreme enthusiasm and marginal pitch accuracy and Tyler looked across the table at me with an expression I will not try to describe except to say it was the expression of someone who is glad about where they are. I felt the same. Thirty years old. Ten of them figuring out diesel engines. This particular September evening is one I will not lose track of.

Happy birthday, Tyler Clarke. You are worth smoking a brisket for. That is not a small thing.

When you’re feeding fourteen people off one brisket, you need a side that pulls its weight, and this German red cabbage did exactly that. It’s got that same vinegar backbone as the slaw I made that night—bright and sharp enough to cut through all that smoky, rich bark—but with a sweetness that makes people go back for seconds without realizing it. I’ve made it a dozen times since that September evening, and it still takes me right back to that table.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 medium head red cabbage (about 2 pounds), cored and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 large tart apple (such as Granny Smith), peeled and diced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons red currant jelly (optional)

Instructions

Prep the cabbage. Remove the outer leaves, quarter the head, and cut out the core. Slice each quarter into thin strips, about 1/4 inch wide.
Sauté the aromatics. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the cabbage and apple. Add the sliced cabbage and diced apple to the pot. Toss to combine with the onion and butter.
Season and simmer. Pour in the red wine vinegar and water. Add the sugar, cloves, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Stir well, then bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to low.
Cook low and slow. Let the cabbage braise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until the cabbage is very tender and the liquid has reduced to a glossy coating.
Finish and serve. Remove the bay leaf and cloves. Stir in the red currant jelly if using, and adjust salt and vinegar to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

German Red Cabbage — The Slaw That Fed Fourteen on Tyler’s Birthday