Southern Fried Cabbage Chicken Stew

Submitted by lynda clark

"I just came up with this creation about 3 days ago. I was so good and I found out that bacon fat REALLY does add FLAVOR to your dishes. This has all the flavor and more. Everything is blended together in a medley of flavors! I hate to brag... but this one is no. 1!"

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 45mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 10-12

ingredients

• 2 heads cabbage (small)
• 2 medium onions
• 10 slices bacon
• 2 large chicken breasts (with bone)
• 2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans great northern beans
• 8 medium potatoes (cubed)
• 2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 8 chicken bouillon cubes
• 8 (14 ounce) cans water (from chicken broth can)

directions

1. Render fat from bacon (more rendered bacon fat may be needed if you wish to use any two larger heads of cabbage).
2. Remove bacon from skillet and chop into bite size pieces. Set aside and let drain on paper towels.
3. Shred cabbage as if making coleslaw.
4. Slice onions into thin half moon.
5. Saute cabbage and onion in bacon fat until lightly browned.
6. Mix bacon pieces in with cabbage and onions. Set aside and let drain on paper towels.
7. Peel potatoes. Dice into bite sized pieces.
8. Season chicken with Soul Seasoning and pepper (or whatever you have around).
9. Fry until well browned in skillet with bacon fat.
10. Add chicken broth, bouillon cubes, potatoes and water.
11. Boil until chicken well tender.
12. Set aside two chicken halves to cool.
13. Shred into chunky bite sized shreds.
14. Add chicken, potatoes, cabbage mixture and 2 cans of northern beans.
15. Boil all until rendered down into thick gravy like consistency.
16. Let cook until chicken is tender and all flavors are well blended, at least for 1-1 1/2 hours extra. Remember the longer you cook this, the better it is going to taste, so a crock pot would be "PERFECT" for this particular dish.
17. NOTE: If dish is too fatty for you.
18. After and only after frying the chicken, you may take a paper towel and take the grease out of the pan, if you are cooking in a skillet or pot of some kind do not clean the skillet.
19. You will need all the flavor on bottom of pan for flavoring.

Reviews

[Lorac]

DH woke up at 1:30 this morning and got up for some more stew. He left me a note saying that something that could taste so good cold at 1:30AM should get 5 stars. I didn't have Soul Seasoning and didn't know what to replace it with so it tasted a bit flat - maybe you could add a comment about what to use as a substitute. I made this in 1 hour and 1/2. You can make this quicker, if you brown the chicken (I think you left that step out) after cooking the bacon. Then you can cook the chicken in the broth while you brown the veggies. You could skip browning the potatoes without losing any flavor. I made 1/2 the recipe using extra broth but less cabbage (your cabbages must be smaller). A hearty stew with a great combination of flavors, I will make this again!

 

[sugarpea]

You have every right to brag about this dish lynda clark. This is so INCREDIBLY good! The smells of this cooking took me right back to my grandmother's kitchen forty years ago. Thank you so much for that. I have to say the instructions could be a lot clearer but both Lorac and I got the job done. My experience was a lot easier with Lorac's guidance. I, too, made "half" the recipe using my judgment to decide ingredient quantities based on how much we could eat. I fried the extra lean bacon in a skillet; then fried the boneless, skinless chicken breast with some cajun seasoning to taste; in a saucepan put the chicken into the broth with the diced potatoes, etc. as described in step 14 and simmer; while chicken simmers in broth fry onions and cabbage in skillet as directed in steps 4-7. Add the contents of the saucepan to the cabbage mixture in the skillet and simmer until done to consistency you like in a stew. With a careful choice of bacon and chicken there isn't a lot of fat in this dish. I gave a 5 star review because the flavor of this dish deserves it. I wouldn't want others to be deterred from making it because the instructions are a bit confusing and some of the ingredients a bit nonspecific. It's terrific!

 

[Marlene.]

This is SO very good! I forgot to rate it when I first made it! We just took the leftovers out of the freezer and had them for dinner.. the only thing that doesn't freeze and reheat well are the potatoes , they don't stay in cubes , they turn to mush basically , but it made it seem like a thicker soup then LOL Didn't bother us in the least. The flavors in this soup is just total comfort and delicious! Very easy to prepare and a definite keeper in our favorite soups!!! Thanks so much for being so creative lynda!!! :)

 

[Gidget265]

I had extra white beans, chicken, cabbage, bacon...and so I made this for dinner. It was good, but not exceptional in our book. Thanks for posting.

 

[gwynn]

This stew is the best I have ever tasted. It has so many different flavors. My DH said give it 10 stars! He also said that it was restaurant quality. I'm sure I will be making this from now on. Thanks for posting.