Mel Markon's Sweet-And-Sour Cabbage Soup

"Mel Markon's was an old Southside Chicago delicatessen, which has long since closed. This is the best Jewish-style cabbage soup I've found. Source: Gourmet Magazine December 1980."
 
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Ready In:
2hrs 15mins
Ingredients:
10
Serves:
10-12
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ingredients

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directions

  • Boil meat in water using a stainless steel or enameled kettle. Skim froth as it rises; then simmer for 1 hour, Transfer meat with a slotted spoon to a cutting board and trim away bones and fat. Skim fat off broth.
  • Cube meat into small pieces then add back to broth. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 to 60 minutes.

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Reviews

  1. I used stew meat instead of short ribs to lower the fat. I also added sliced carrots and golden raisins. I found simmering the soup for 60 minutes after adding the cabbage instead of 30 improved the taste and consistency.
     
  2. Sooo good and very easy! I added a few extras - celery seed, worchestershire, and caraway seeds. Ate it over hot cooked rice. Everyone loved it!
     
  3. I ate at Mel's back in the day and haven't found a Sweet-N-Sour Cabbage Soup to match it UNTIL now. Made as written - it is wonderful and I know it will even be better tomorrow. Thank you!
     
  4. This recipe will do right by your cabbage soup cravings! Back in the day, I would have said Mel Markon's for French Onion soup, and that little deli behind Michigan Avenue (Was is Mel's?) for Sweet 'n Sour cabbage soup. Either way, this recipe meets the challenge. Add 9 whole allspice berries and a couple of bay leaves, and it's even better. Easy to make -- and (for soup) it's also quick. Thanks!!!
     
  5. Love this soup! I've always made it with tomato paste in place of tomatoes because I want the smooth consistency. Otherwise, made as written. Best take to work lunch in winter/fall months. Thanks for sharing!
     
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Tweaks

  1. Very Good Easy to make. Just like the original I use to have at Markons on Lincoln Park West in the 80s. Used sirloin top roast instead of the short ribs cut in small pieces and used beef broth. Otherwise as is. Yum!!!
     
  2. I used stew meat instead of short ribs to lower the fat. I also added sliced carrots and golden raisins. I found simmering the soup for 60 minutes after adding the cabbage instead of 30 improved the taste and consistency.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I recently celebrated my 19th anniversary living in SW Florida. I moved here from Massachusetts, just north of Boston. As much as I miss family back home, I truly love living here - the beaches, the tropical beauty, the people, and the weather (except the hurricanes!). Everyday is just another day in Paradise. I work at the new international airport here in Fort Myers. I have an opportunity to meet many different and interesting people from around the world. I've had an interest in cooking since I was a little boy, following my grandmother around the kitchen. Since I wasn't blessed with any artistic or musical talent, I think cooking was my way of being creative. My passion is my family and friends. My second passion is cooking for them. My favorite way to entertain is informally...brunches, cookouts, and small dinner parties. Just relaxing, enjoying each other's company, some good food and drink, and a little fun are the only rules of the house.</p>
 
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