Whole green or brown cabbage cooked Bremen-style

Ingredients

• 1200 gCabbage
• 500 mlWater
• 30 gLard
• 20 gButter
• 150 gOnion
• 300 gPinkel sausage
• 8 gSalt
• 2 gNelkenpfeffer
• 10 gSugar
• 20 gPotato starch
• 100 gChestnut

Instructions

1. 1

   Preparation

   • Wash the cabbage, remove the core and trim the stem so the head stays whole. If frozen, defrost and clean.
   • Peel and dice the onions. Prepare the smoked sausage. Mix potato starch with a little cold water.
2. 2

   Blanch if strong-tasting

   • If the cabbage tastes very strong or bitter: bring salted water to a boil and blanch the whole cabbage for 10 minutes, then drain.
3. 3

   Cook Bremen-style

   • Heat a large pot: pour in boiling water (about 500 ml) and add goose fat or lard with butter and warm briefly.
   • Layer the cabbage in the pot, salt sparingly overall, add allspice (Nelkenpfeffer) and the diced onions. Place the smoked sausage on top.
   • Close the pot tightly and simmer at low–medium heat for 90–120 minutes until the cabbage is tender but intact. Stir as little as possible.
   • If the cabbage lacks sweetness, add a piece of sugar near the end (about 10 g).
   • Thicken the cooking liquid with the potato starch slurry before serving and bring briefly to a boil.
4. 4

   Serve

   • Serve cabbage garnished with roasted chestnuts. Serve with fried potatoes and roasted or smoked meats as desired.