Craving Steak? It Might Be Time to Try a Tasty Cabbage in The Kitchen

Cabbage has an interesting reputation. When we have guests at the Courageous Cooking School, cabbage is often a strong dislike amongst at least 50% of our guests. Because most people haven’t eaten delicious cabbage in their lives. Cabbage often evokes a strong and disappointing sensory memory of being limp, smelling terrible, and being flavorless. Or even worse… tasting terrible. More often than not, someone will remember their mother cooking cabbage in the kitchen, and then remembering that strong - and unpleasant - sensory memory. And we get it.

So, what’s the trick to cabbage?

Cabbage should not be treated like a vegetable. Of course, it does have the health benefits of many amazing foods found in nature. It’s packed with vitamin K and other nutrients like magnesium, vitamin C, calcium, and potassium. It encourages healthy digestion and is even touted as an anti-inflammatory with heart health benefits. It’s actually beautiful fresh out of the garden, and incredibly versatile in the kitchen.

And yet, cabbage is often steamed or left to become limp and tasteless like so many vegetable dishes. Cabbage, much like most hearty brassicas, should be treated with the reverence and fervor of an expensive cut of meat.

But, why would we treat a cheap vegetable the same way we’d treat a ribeye?

Flavor, my friends. Delicious, bright, BOLD flavor. And the browning. It’s crunchy, it has a meatiness, and it’s just absolutely delightful. Because cabbage is a vehicle for deliciousness in a way that many other vegetables are not. It’s got a bite to the texture, it has a deep flavor when salted and rubbed with spices. And it is a tasty little morsel when you treat it with this level of reverence.

Grilled or roasted. Basted with butter and fresh herbs at the very last minute, or rubbed like a steak, with strong spices. (You can even do both!)

There truly is nothing like a grilled, trussed, and lovable napa cabbage. The trussing isn’t too fussy. And we must admit, napa cabbage is a magical vehicle for the best thing in the world. BUTTER. While we certainly aren’t saying that napa cabbage is superior to all other cabbages, it is definitely our favorite in the kitchen.

Try out our delectable trussed and grilled napa cabbage recipe on our Substack, and feel free to subscribe to our newsletter for recipes and anecdotes straight to your inbox!