For this satisfying sarma dish, cabbage leaves are stuffed with a seasoned mixture of rice, ground beef, pork, and ham. They are then laid on a bed of sauerkraut and simmered to completion. This is the best stuffed cabbage recipe I've ever tried.
Ingredients
- head cabbage, frozen for 3 days, then thawed overnight in the refrigerator: 1 piece
- lean ground beef: 1 pound
- ground pork: 0.5 pound
- ground ham: 0.5 pound
- uncooked long-grain white rice: 1 cup
- onion: 1 piece (chopped)
- egg: 1 piece
- salt: 1 tsp
- coarse ground black pepper: 1 tsp
- garlic powder: 0.5 tsp
- sauerkraut: 1 pound
- tomato juice: 1 cup
- water, or as needed to cover: 1 cup
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Remove the leaves from the head of cabbage.
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Mix beef, pork, ham, uncooked rice, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together in a bowl until well combined. Form mixture into oblong balls, using 1/2 cup of the mixture at a time. Wrap a cabbage leaf around each ball.
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Spread sauerkraut in the bottom of a large pot. Layer cabbage rolls on top, placing them seam-side down. Pour tomato juice over rolls, then add enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 3 hours, adding more water as necessary.
