Grandma's Pigs & Blankets

Chef Porkpie's Note:

Meat & rice with seasonings wrapped in cabbage leaves and cooked in sauerkraut (or tomatoes, according to taste). I personally prefer sauerkraut to tomates. (Do not use both!) The quantities of sauerkraut (or tomatoes) are approximate. It depends on how much you like either of them, use as much as you like. I am also a fan of cooking with wine and beer, so once in a while I'll add about 1 cup stout beer to the meat mixture.

• Total Time: 4 hrs
• Prep Time: 4 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 10

Yield: 5.0 quart pot

Filling

• 1 lb ground round
• 1 lb bratwurst
• 1 cup raw rice
• 4 -6 garlic cloves
• 1 large onion

to taste

• salt & pepper
• 1 large green cabbage
• 1 (28 ounce) jar sauerkraut or 1 (28 ounce) jar canned tomatoes

Directions:

1. Using a sharp paring knife, do your best to cut the core out of the cabbage. Rinse it off well. Place in a large dutch oven, core side down, with about 2" of water on the bottom, place the lid on the pot and turn on to medium heat. When the lid is hot, turn heat down to low or med. low. While waiting for the pot to heat, put the meat mixture together.
2. You'll need a large bowl to mix it. Remove the casings from the bratwurst and put the raw ground meat into the bowl. Add the ground round. Finely mince the garlic an and chop the onion and add to mixture. Add the rice, beer and salt & pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly.
3. As cabbage steams, remove each outer leaf when it becomes pliable and just begins to change color. Do NOT let it get completely cooked. You can remove leaves almost all the way down to the core, but stop once they are no longer at least 3 inches in diameter. Stack the leaves curved-side down on a plate.
4. Now comes the time to wrap the meat in the cabbage leaves. How much meat mixture you use depends upon the size of the leaves. You'll want to be able to roll your ball of meat completely half-way up the leave, turn the sides of the leave in, then roll the rest of the way up the leaf. As each roll is done, place it in the bottom of your dutch oven. Usually, 2 lbs of meat is about right to stuff the leaves of one large cabbage. Just keep aligning your cabbage rolls in the pan, stacking them but not above the top of the pan unless you have a dome lid for your dutch oven. When all rolls are in the pan, empty the jar of sauerkraut (or tomatoes) over the top of the rolls. Add about 2/3 jar full of water, or 2-1/2 to 3 cups. Put the lid on your dutch oven, and place over medium heat. Once again, when the lid becomes hot and you can see steam escaping, turn the heat down to low. Do not remove the lid while cooking. It will take approximately 2-1/2 hours to complete the cooking; the cabbage needs to be fork-tender and the rice, of course, needs to be completely done.
5. These make GREAT leftovers!