Sour Puss?--no, Sour Cabbage!

The sour cabbage saga begins here:  Linda's Market Garden in Smoky Lake.  The reason it doesn't begin in my garden is that I didn't water the 18 cabbage plants that I had so carefully weeded, so they remained small in our heat wave, and I didn't powder them in time to stave off the ravenous cabbage worms.  We can still eat most of them, but for sour leaves for holubtsi (Ukrainian cabbage rolls), I want large, unblemished leaves.

So I made a little road trip last Saturday with the intention of bringing home 50 lbs of cabbage.  50 lbs was 5 large heads-- the number 5 seemed kind of small, 10 sounded better, so I came home with 100 lbs instead.

Some folks sour the whole head, in new plastic garbage cans (which scares me, cause I wonder if they are food safe with brine),
some do the heads alone, some amid their sauerkraut.  I prefer to take off the leaves and sour the leaves--the process is faster, and it takes less room while they are souring.

What is needed: 
Cabbage, pickling salt, vinegar, lots of water.
A large pot for steaming off the leaves, and I put a vegetable steamer with the stem removed at the bottom.
Two sturdy meat forks, colanders, bowls,  potato masher, clean sink, oven mitts.
Containers for souring the cabbage leaves:  I have a 3-gallon stone crock, and 3 large food-grade plastic pails that I bought from a local honey producer.
Plates that fit into the top opening of the containers, and quart jars to fill with water to weigh down the cabbage below the brine (I used plastic food storage containers this time).
Clean tea towels to cover.
What to do:
1.  Bring the big pot of water to boil, core a few cabbage heads.
2.  Prepare the brine:  Ratio of 14-16 c water, 1 c salt, and  1c vinegar--heat and stir till salt is dissolved.
3.  Carefully immerse the cabbage into the water, cook only long enough to make the outer leaves  limp but not fully cooked.
4.  With forks, carefully tease off the leaves, place in strainer.  When the leaves won't tease off, remove head, allow to cool a bit, and re-cut core.
5.  Put several inches of brine in bottom of pickling container.
6. Place all leaves that have been partially cooked,  flat into container with brine, layer evenly, every so often press down with potato masher, add brine as needed.  As the leaves accumulate and are softened more by their own heat and that of the brine, pack firmly.
7.  Put head back in water to soften the next layers of leaves.
8.  Continue until all the leaves are off the head.  You can pickle the smallest leaves in the heart of the cabbage as well and use them in lazy cabbage rolls.
9.  When the pickling container is full to about 2" from rim,
 put plate in, push down, add brine if needed, add weight and cover with a clean tea towel. Don't let the tea towel dip into the brine, since it will wick the solution out, and you may find a kitchen counter and floor "brined" (ask me how I know this).

10.  Check daily for scum (rarely happens if everything was done hygienically).  If the kitchen is warm, it is ready in 4-6 days (taste, since sourness is a matter of preference).  It may take longer if it is cool.
11.  When sufficiently soured, drain the leaves.  Now I cut out any thick veins, and save them for lazy cabbage rolls.  I weigh out 3 lbs of  prepared leaves and bag them for the freezer.  That is enough for a meat  or foil roaster of cabbage rolls (4 cups of raw rice).  Then I chop up the trimmings:  veins, leaves that overcooked, ragged leaves--and put them in 1-2 lb packages for lazy rolls.
12.  Freeze.  They keep for years.  And can be re-frozen if an opened package isn't all used up.

What the heck are lazy cabbage rolls?  You can make these with sauerkraut or the cabbage trimmings:  Cook rice as for cabbage rolls, but layer the rice and onions and cabbage (and optional chopped cooked bacon) in a casserole and bake them the same as cabbage rolls.

I bet you thought I would share the recipe for the cabbage rolls--that's a family secret.  But lots of comments to this post might persuade me☺☺

Update:  We now have no cabbage (or kale or brussels sprouts, or swiss chard in the garden)

 Until next time:  When life gives you cabbage, make cabbage rolls!