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Writer's pictureChef Matt Basile

Smoked Cabbage Rolls


smoked cabbage rolls with sour cream and chopped chives

I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of cabbage rolls. It's just not something I grew up with, but I can appreciate that for some people, cabbage rolls are a comfort food classic. I will also admit, that cabbage rolls are not usually a recipe you would make on the bbq, but, I find that some of the best things I've made on the Alchemy bbq, were not originally intended to be made on the bbq, so I had to give these a try. And it worked out. Like, really, really well. These were so good.

I decided to use pork sausage for my cabbage rolls, but in theory you can easily replace it with ground beef or chicken. Part of the secret to great cabbage rolls, is that the stuffing needs to be seasoned properly. I used chopped onion, garlic, oregano, paprika, an egg and lemon zest and mixed it with minute rice. Also a very important step, is to use the Alchemy smoker to cook your cabbage rolls. The hit of smoky flavour is infused throughout the whole dish, bringing new complexity to the meat in the cabbage rolls and the delicious tomato sauce it's cooked in. I topped it all off with sour cream and chopped chives and it was an insanely good dish. I would definitely make these again. If you want to learn how to make my Smoked Cabbage Rolls, keep reading or jump to the full recipe.


cutting the stem out of a whole green cabbage

Set smoker to 350F. Place a pot of water on the elevated grill rack and bring to a boil. Cut out the stem of the cabbage.


adding the whole green cabbage to a pot of boiling water on the Alchemy grill elevated grill rack

Add the cabbage to the pot of water and cover. Cook until the cabbage is just softened and the leaves can be pulled off easily.


scooping the pork meat out of the sausage casing

While the cabbage is cooking, prepare the filling. Remove the sausage from their casings and add to a bowl.


zesting lemon into a bowl with the sausage meat, onions and rice

Add uncooked rice and season with oregano, pepper and one egg. Finely chop the onion and add to the bowl. Grate in the garlic and lemon zest.


mixing the cabbage roll stuffing by hand

Mix well, using your hands is the best way to do this. Season with salt and paprika and mix.


pouring passata into a pot on the Alchemy grill

Add a small pot to the plancha and heat up the passata. Keep the bottles of passata for later.


pouring the hot passata into a cast iron pan

Once hot, add about ¼ cup to a 1/3 cup passata to a large cast iron pan, spread to create a thin layer on the bottom of the pan.


pulling a piece of steamed cabbage from the whole cabbage head

Remove 5 cabbage leaves from the head and place on your work surface.


cutting off the spine of the steamed cabbage

Slice off the spine of each piece of cabbage.


rolling cabbage rolls

Fill with the sausage mixture and roll, folding each side in and then tucking and rolling the cabbage to seal in the mixture (think like a mini burrito). Do this until all the filling is done.


placing extra steamed cabbage leaves on the bottom of the cast iron pan with the passata

Pull a couple of leaves of cabbage and fold and place on the bottom of your cast iron pan.


pouring passata over the cabbage rolls in the pan

Lay the cabbage rolls on top of the 'sacrificial' pieces of cabbage and add the passata over top.


adding water to an empty jar of passata and then pouring it in the pot with the hot passata

Fill one empty bottle of passata halfway with water, shake and pour into the pot that was holding the hot passata.


pouring the water and passata into the cast iron pan with the cabbage rolls

Then pour the passata and water mixture into the cast iron pan for additional liquid. Season with salt.


taking the cabbage rolls out of the Alchemy smoker

Place the cabbage rolls in the smoker for 30 minutes or until cooked through.


squeezing fresh lemon juice over the smoked cabbage rolls

Remove cabbage rolls from the smoker and squeeze the juice of one lemon on top.


adding chopped chives to the cabbage rolls with dollops of sour cream on top

o Plate, place the cabbage rolls down and top with sauce from the pan. Season with salt and pepper, dollops of sour cream and chopped chives.


And now for the full recipe...


Smoked Cabbage Rolls

Makes 5-6 cabbage rolls

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour


Ingredients:

1 green cabbage

1 cup minute rice

5 Italian sausages (aprox 1-1.5 lbs of meat)

1 egg

2 cloves garlic

Zest and juice from 1 lemon

1/3 white onion

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

2 jars passata

4-5 tbsp sour cream (full fat)

Chopped chives, for garnish


How to Make Smoked Cabbage Rolls


Set smoker to 350F.


Place a pot of water on the elevated grill rack and bring to a boil. Cut out the stem of the cabbage and add to the pot of water and cover. Cook until the cabbage is just softened and the leaves can be pulled off easily.


While the cabbage is cooking, prepare the filling. Remove the sausage from their casings and add to a bowl. Add uncooked rice and season with oregano, pepper and one egg. Finely chop the onion and add to the bowl. Grate in the garlic and lemon zest. Mix well, using your hands is the best way to do this. Season with salt and paprika and mix.


Add a small pot to the plancha and heat up the passata. Keep the bottles of passata for later. Once hot, add about ¼ cup to a 1/3 cup passata to a large cast iron pan, spread to create a thin layer on the bottom of the pan.


Remove 5 cabbage leaves from the head and place on your work surface. Slice off the spine. Fill with the sausage mixture and roll, folding each side in and then tucking and rolling the cabbage to seal in the mixture (think like a mini burrito). Do this until all the filling is done. Pull a couple of leaves of cabbage and fold and place on the bottom of your cast iron pan. Lay the cabbage rolls on top. Add the passata over top. Fill one empty bottle of passata halfway with water, shake and pour into the pot that was holding the hot passata, then pour that into the cast iron pan for additional liquid. Season with salt. Place in the smoker for 30 minutes to cook through.


Remove cabbage rolls from the smoker and squeeze the juice of one lemon on top. To Plate, place the cabbage rolls down and top with sauce from the pan. Season with salt and pepper, dollops of sour cream and chopped chives.


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Matt Basile

MEET THE CHEF

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Chef Matt Basile is the founder of the Toronto-based street food brand, Fidel Gastro's, which, within four years, went from an underground sandwich pop-up to an internationally recognized food brand. Now almost a decade later, Matt has a still growing business of food experiences, restaurant consulting and new and exciting foodie-filled projects on the way. Matt always strives to be different in an industry steeped in tradition. Matt is also the author of the best-selling cookbooks Street Food Diaries and Brunch Life, and was the host of the travel food show Rebel Without a Kitchen for two seasons. More here!

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