Grandma's Cabbage Rolls

This is a recipe I have been meaning to try for quite some time now. I have never made cabbage rolls before...because my grandma always made them. And she made them perfect...so why even try? Well unfortunately my grandmother passed last year...and brought her recipe with her. We had talked about her teaching me how to make them but the time was never right. HOWEVER, she did talk to me about how she made them and her little secrets. She also showed my mother how to make them. So combining both our memories and trying to remember the flavours as best we could, we came up with this recipe. And I have to say...it was pretty bang on! So Grandma, your cabbage roll legacy lives on!

First take your cabbage and place it in a pot with about 1 inch of boiling water. Cover and allow to steam for about 5 Minutes.

Remove your cabbage from the steam bath and allow to cool enough so that you can handle it. Remove the cabbage leaves one by one and place in a pot of hot water. This will soften the cabbage enough to allow you to roll it. Set this aside while you prepare the filling.

In a large bowl combine equal parts Extra Lean Ground Sirloin and Ground Pork.

(About 1 lb of each)

Add 1/2 Minced Onion, 4 Minced Garlic Cloves, 1 Tsp each of Paprika, Cumin, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Sea Salt and 1 Tbsp of Cracked Black pepper. Also add a dash of cinnamon!

Add about 3 cups of Cooked Rice. I know my grandmother used white long grain but I only had brown rice.

Combine the filling mixture well. Adding more spices if you feel it needs it.

Place some of the filling in the middle of a cabbage leaf. Fold the edges in first then roll.

 

Place all the cabbage rolls in an oven proof baking dish.

Now this was my grandmothers secret to this recipe. I used the Extra Spicy Clamato because I love cabbage rolls with a kick to them!

Pour the Clamato over the cabbage rolls until they are half way swimming in Clamato juice. Bake, covered in foil, in a 350F oven for about 1.5 hours. At the 1.5 Hour point I add 1 Large can of chopped tomato's over the rolls. Recover and bake for an additional hour or until the cabbage is pretty translucent.

There you go Grandma! My favourite dish you ever made for me!