Shred Head Butter and Bread- RELOADED
This application was originally developed for a 2001 episode of Good Eats called "Head Games". It was literally nothing but cabbage, butter, and a bunch of bread crumbs and when we recently made it (we had a lot of leftover cabbage), I was not amused...or at least my mouth wasn't. After a bit of tinkering, the dish morphed into something more like the insides of a classic eggroll...and there's nothing wrong with that.Photo by Lynne Calamia
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes minutes
TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes minutes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds, roughly cracked with mortar and pestle
- 1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup crushed seasoned croutons
- 1 cup crushed pork rinds
- 12 ounces ground pork
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 16 ounces shredded green cabbage (about half a medium head)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons hot deli mustard*
- 1/4 cup golden raisins, chopped**
- Optional condiments: sweet chili or duck sauce, sweet soy sauce, hot sauce
Park a large saute pan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the cracked coriander and caraway seeds and toast until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter, the croutons, and the pork rinds, and cook, stirring constantly until golden brown and toasty, about another 2 minutes Remove the crumb mixture to a bowl to cool. Carefully wipe out the pan with a dry kitchen towel or paper towel and return to the burner.
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan then add the ground pork. Break up clumps of meat with a wooden spoon or spatula and add 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned, 5 minutes.
Add the cabbage, water, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper and cook for 1 minute. Then, add the rice wine vinegar, mustard, and the raisins and cook another minute, ensuring everything is well incorporated.
Serve the cabbage salad warm, topped with the crunchy crumb mixture and a drizzle of the condiment of your choice. ( I also like it room temperature.)
*"Deli mustard" is a pretty loose designation that refers to a wide range of spicy "brown" mustards. Our brand of choice here at BrainFood Industries is Mr. Mustard, which contains a fair amount of onion powder and garlic. Although it does contain some sugar, it tastes less sweet to me than say Gulden's, which still qualifies as deli mustard. What I certainly would't use here is anything calling itself "Dijon," which of course contains white wine...not a welcome flavor in this dish.
**Yes, I do say that raisins are ALWAYS optional, and indeed they are. That said, the pop of sweet that golden raisins deliver here really helps the dish and I can't just dump M&M's in there so...