My grandparents were German (on my mom’s side). Like, fresh off the boat around the turn of the century German. So, they and their families brought some absolutely amazing recipes with them. Since both passed before I was old enough to cook much, I learned most of their recipes from a cookbook Mom passed down to me and from my Great Aunt Annie (Pop’s sister who lived next door and lived until I was in middle school). I absolutely love their cooking. Yes, I became a vegetarian at age 12 so German food could be a bit interesting for me. But, the richness of the flavor and the simplicity of the recipes speaks to my soul. One of my absolute favorites from Grandma’s repertoire is German Hot Slaw with Bacon. After all, since I became a vegetarian purely because I’m not a fan of meat, bacon was a long-time occasional exception. It’s delicious.
Now that I eat a little bit of meat, I make Hot Slaw pretty regularly. Grandma’s original recipe called for white sugar and white vinegar. I spiked it up a bit by using Balsamic and honey granules. And it is FANTASTIC. I highly recommend you give this a try for you or for your next family gathering. It’s relatively inexpensive (mostly cabbage) and it’ll be a huge hit. This recipe makes a half gallon of hot slaw. Half it for a quart.
Hot Slaw with Bacon
Ingredients
2 heads of cabbage, sliced into large strips
1 cup balsamic vinegar (or more to taste)
1/4 cup honey granules
water
1 pound (or about 16 slices) bacon, baked WITH the grease
Method
Bake the bacon like THIS but without the honey granules. Retain the bacon AND the grease.
Meanwhile, add the cabbage, balsamic and honey granules to a large stock pot and water, cover and bring to a boil. You don’t want to add enough water to cover all of the cabbage, that’ll be too much. I add about 4 cups and then check on the cabbage and make sure it’s all steaming well after about 10 minutes. If it’s not, I add some water. Boil the cabbage for about 30 minutes or until basically al dente—tender, but still with a little bite in the spines. Crumble or chop your bacon and add it and the bacon grease to the cabbage. Pour the whole delicious vat of yumminess into a gallon jar if you haven’t eaten it all already and store in the fridge. So, incredibly good. Enjoy!
Love it? Pin it, please!
Hot Slaw with Bacon
Ingredients
- 2 heads of cabbage, sliced into large strips
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar (or more to taste)
- 1/4 cup honey granules
- water
- 1 pound (or about 16 slices) bacon, baked WITH the grease
Instructions
- Bake the bacon like THIS but without the honey granules. Retain the bacon AND the grease.
- Meanwhile, add the cabbage, balsamic and honey granules to a large stock pot and water, cover and bring to a boil. You don't want to add enough water to cover all of the cabbage, that'll be too much. I add about 4 cups and then check on the cabbage and make sure it's all steaming well after about 10 minutes. If it's not, I add some water. Boil the cabbage for about 30 minutes or until basically al dente---tender, but still with a little bite in the spines. Crumble or chop your bacon and add it and the bacon grease to the cabbage. Pour the whole delicious vat of yumminess into a gallon jar if you haven't eaten it all already and store in the fridge. So, incredibly good. Enjoy!
