Braised red cabbage is a delectable side dish, marvelous with meat or fowl or on its own. The trick? Long, slow cooking, and don't get upset with me for saying 4-5 hours in the oven. This is adapted from Julia Child.
In your dutch oven, or similar covered baking dish, add a tablespoon or two of your cooking fat of choice: vegetable oil, lard, chicken or goose fat. Add half a cup diced onions, two carrots peeled and sliced, two slices of raw bacon, slivered. Turn heat on, stir until everything is slick with the fat, and cover. Simmer on very low for ten minutes.
As it simmers slice your cabbage to shreds. 6-7 cups worth. Add to the vegetables in the pot, stir until covered with fat, and cover. Simmer on low again, for another 8 or so minutes.
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
To vegetables add: 2 cups red wine, two peeled and minced tart apples, one crumbled bay leaf, one crushed clove, two cups water, two mashed garlic cloves, salt, pepper and two teaspoons instant beef bouillon. Bake.
I check every half hour or so to see if there's enough liquid. I keep adding more.
Three to five hours later, (full disclosure, last time I made this I baked it for 3 1/2 hours) when its scent is driving you wild, when it's cooked, everything will be so tender and flavorful you will swear you've added sugar, or vinegar. But, no. It's just the essence of the cabbage and aromatics, brought out to their very best.
