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k9narc

05/16/25 2:19 PM

#34115 RE: Wayne R #34114

I make them the same way, but using either beef or chicken.
The sauce is tomato based with stock, lemon juice, seasonings and a bit of brown sugar.

Mine are a knockoff of a Jewish recipe.
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janice shell

05/16/25 6:01 PM

#34116 RE: Wayne R #34114

Gramma's recipe was rice, onions and ground beef, mixed up and stuffed into the cabbage. Then tomato juice, sourkraut and cook it on a stove top for a couple hours.

C'mon, if there's no paprika or sour cream, it's just not Hungarian. This person's recipe is from her Hungarian mother. It's very much like yours, except for the paprika (of course) and the use of ground pork rather than beef, and bacon as well. It's served with sour cream on top. The author omits the sauerkraut, perhaps because she doesn't like it.



https://thehungarysoul.com/hungarian-cabbage-rolls/

I do not think you need to bother with the Himalayan salt, if you don't happen to have any.

Now here's another recipe, also declared to be "authentic". Its author says:

Traditionally, Hungarian stuffed cabbage rolls are made with a pickled or fermented whole head of cabbage, which tastes like shredded sauerkraut, already soft and easy to work with. I know that it is not available in North America, and it is absolutely OK if you just boil the whole cabbage head by putting it in a large pot, and then take the leaves off.

That's kind of interesting. As you'll see, she uses prepared sauerkraut in the recipe, as well as cabbage:



https://budapestcookingclass.com/hungarian-stuffed-cabbage-rolls-recipe-toltott-kaposzta/

This one also features another ingredient that's important in Hungarian cooking: caraway seed. And as you'll see, you shouldn't be shy with the paprika. Hungarians tend to use a lot.

And a commenter had an interesting idea:

I discovered a better way to prepare the cabbage for this recipe. Freeze the head for at least 24 hours and then let it defrost in the fridge until completely thawed out. You can now core it and the leaves are already wilted and ready for stuffing. No more over a hot pot of boiling water to get the leaves limp.

That sounds just wrong. But another commenter said her grandmother used to do the same, and that it worked.

And speaking of caraway seeds... I needed some to make another recipe. So I went to Amazon, where I found this truly incredible value:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MOZCJG2?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Seven ounces of caraway seed is a LOT. And it only cost $2.59.