During Pittsburgh's industrial heyday, many small communities sprung up around the steel mills . Western Pennsylvania attracted many immigrants from Eastern Europe who brought with them their wonderful cultural cuisine. This is one of my very favorites!
Halupki (aka Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)
Ingredients:
2 heads cabbage
1.5 pounds lean ground eye of round roast
1.5 pounds ground pork tenderloin
3 cups cooked white rice ( 1.5 cups of uncooked rice will yield about 3 cups cooked. Regular Uncle Ben's works best.)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Sauce:
3 (28 ounce) cans tomato sauce
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
36 oz. of water reserved after boiling cabbage
5 (14 oz. cans) sauerkraut
Assembled and ready to go!
Directions for Cabbage Rolls:
In a bowl, mix the tomato sauce, reserved cabbage water, white vinegar, and white sugar. Pour enough sauce mixture into the bottom of a large roasting pan to coat it. Reserve the rest.
Preheat oven to 350˚ F.
We like to grind the eye of round and tenderloin ourselves.
Directions for Rolling the Cabbage Leaves:
Okay everyone, line up, single file.
Prepare for Oven:
Wait until they cool a bit. You don't want to burn the roof of your mouth!
And this is what I have been waiting for:
Thanks for viewing and I hope you enjoy these as much as I do,
John
Halupki (aka Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)
Ingredients:
2 heads cabbage
1.5 pounds lean ground eye of round roast
1.5 pounds ground pork tenderloin
3 cups cooked white rice ( 1.5 cups of uncooked rice will yield about 3 cups cooked. Regular Uncle Ben's works best.)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Sauce:
3 (28 ounce) cans tomato sauce
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
36 oz. of water reserved after boiling cabbage
5 (14 oz. cans) sauerkraut
Assembled and ready to go!
Directions for Cabbage Rolls:
- Core the heads of cabbage to make the leaves easier to separate.
- Fill a stockpot with enough water to cover the cabbage head.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt to the water and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Carefully place one of the cabbage heads into the boiling water. Turn cabbage every 2 to 3 minutes and remove leaves as they separate from cabbage head and place them in a strainer to cool. Boil until all the leaves have been separated.
- Reserve 36 oz. of cabbage water for the tomato sauce.
- In a large bowl thoroughly mix together, ground beef, ground pork, rice, chopped onion, fresh parsley, eggs, diced tomatoes, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
In a bowl, mix the tomato sauce, reserved cabbage water, white vinegar, and white sugar. Pour enough sauce mixture into the bottom of a large roasting pan to coat it. Reserve the rest.
Preheat oven to 350˚ F.
We like to grind the eye of round and tenderloin ourselves.
Directions for Rolling the Cabbage Leaves:
- Slice through the vein at the bottom of the cabbage leaf and cut off the nub so that the leaf lies flat.
- Lightly pack a spoonful of meat mixture and place in the center of the cabbage leaf. Fold stem end over meat and pull mound toward stem end.
- Fold sides over the filling and start at the stem and roll the cabbage up until the meat is encased.
- Arrange cabbage rolls in a single layer in the roasting pan that has been coated with tomato sauce.
- Repeat with remaining leaves and filling. Recipe makes about 40 rolls using the large leaves from the two heads of cabbage. (Any unused leaves can be used for cabbage soup.)
Okay everyone, line up, single file.
Prepare for Oven:
- Cover the cabbage rolls with a layer of sauerkraut.
- Pour the remaining tomato sauce mixture over the cabbage rolls/kraut.
- Cover roasting pan with aluminum foil.
- Bake in preheated oven until the ground beef mixture is no longer pink in the center, about 2 ½ hours.
Wait until they cool a bit. You don't want to burn the roof of your mouth!
And this is what I have been waiting for:
Thanks for viewing and I hope you enjoy these as much as I do,
John
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