Fried cabbage over an open fire – sweet, roasted and ready in fifteen minutes

Shredded at home, fried hard until the edges turn sweet and roasted

4 servings
Time: 10 min at home + 25–35 min by the fire
Difficulty: Easy
14 ingredients
9 steps

Photo: gran, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Half a cabbage looks as if it will never fit in the pan. It fills it to the brim, sits like a pale mountain over the embers and looks impossible. Ten minutes later the mountain has shrunk to a third, the shreds have turned glossy and the ones closest to the iron have deep golden-brown edges. It smells sweet, a bit like fried onion, and it's hard not to pick at it with your fingers straight from the pan.

Fried cabbage is one of the cheapest and hardiest things you can take to the fire. A whole cabbage can handle a day in the rucksack and a night in the car, and it copes with cold better than most fresh vegetables. At home you can shred it in five minutes. By the fire it becomes a side for pork and sausages, or a dish in its own right with apple and caraway. All the cabbage asks for is heat, and for you to leave it alone.

Sink, rest, taste

Everything that happens in the pan can be summed up in three words:

Sink. The cabbage sizzles in the fat and collapses. Turn it often for the first few minutes, so every shred gets fat and heat.
Rest. Once the mountain has collapsed, stop stirring. Let the cabbage lie still for a minute at a time between turns. That's when the edges caramelise.
Taste. Salt, acidity and a final knob of butter go in at the end, once the cabbage has already taken on colour.

Stir all the time and you get soft, pale cabbage. Never stir and you get a black bottom and a raw top. The minute in between is the whole trick.

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Caraway is the Swedish spice with the small, curved seeds found in caraway cheese and sauerkraut. Cumin is a different spice with a completely different flavour and doesn't belong here.

White cabbage or pointed cabbage

Both can be fried the same way, but they behave differently over the fire.

White cabbage has thick, dense leaves. It needs 12–18 minutes, turns distinctly sweet and can take being fried hard. It's also the one that keeps longest, both whole and shredded.
Pointed cabbage has thinner, softer leaves and is milder from the start. It's done in 6–10 minutes and easily goes limp if it's given too long. Shred it a little wider than the white cabbage.
Red cabbage can be fried the same way and turns a beautiful purple, but it stains everything it touches. The classic braised version can be found in red cabbage.

At home and by the fire

At home

Remove the outermost leaves if they look tatty. Cut the cabbage into wedges and cut out the hard core in the middle. Shred the white cabbage into strips about half a centimetre wide and the pointed cabbage into one-centimetre strips. Thinner strips brown more evenly but easily go soft, and wider strips keep a little bite.

Peel and slice the onion. Put the cabbage and onion in a sealed bag, squeeze out the air and keep it cold. Shredded cabbage keeps for a few days in the fridge. It may darken a little at the cut edges, but that disappears in the pan.

Cut the pork into one-centimetre pieces and put it in its own airtight container. It's a chilled food and should stay in the cool box until it goes in the pan – no more than two hours out in summer heat, and never in the sun. More about the cool box and keeping raw and cooked food apart can be found in hygiene and washing up outdoors.

By the fire

On a day trip you can just as easily bring the cabbage whole and shred it on a chopping board at the fire pit. A whole cabbage is hardy, doesn't weigh as much as it looks and won't be ruined by sitting at the bottom of the rucksack.

How to see, hear and smell that the cabbage is done

It has shrunk to about a third of what you put in.
The shreds are soft but not limp. Bite into one from the middle of the pan. It should give but still have a little spring.
The edges are golden brown, and some are a little darker. Most of it should be golden and pale green, not black.
It sizzles. If you hear it simmering and bubbling instead of sizzling, there's water in the pan and the cabbage is boiling.
It smells sweet. A toasty, almost nutty smell is right. If it smells of sulphur and old cabbage soup, the cabbage has had too long, often under a lid.

When it goes wrong

| What happens | Why | How to fix it | |---|---|---| | The cabbage stews in its own liquid and turns pale | Too much cabbage in a pan that's too cool, or salt added too early | Take out half, let the rest sizzle dry and fry it in two batches. Push more embers under the pan | | Black bottom, raw cabbage on top | Pan too hot and too little turning at the start | Lift the pan higher, turn it thoroughly and put a lid on for two minutes so the top softens in the steam | | The cabbage is tough and woody | The strips are too thick, or not enough time | Sprinkle in two tablespoons of water, cover for 2–3 minutes and then let the water sizzle off without the lid | | It tastes flat | No acidity, too little salt or too little colour | A few drops of vinegar, a knob of butter and another minute without stirring | | Bitter taste | The caraway or the butter has burnt | Remove the most burnt bits, add a fresh knob of butter and a little honey or apple | | Sulphur smell | Too long, often with a lid | Take off the lid and fry the last few minutes uncovered over high heat. Next time: less time |

Cabbage that copes with the cold

Cabbage copes with cold better than most fresh vegetables. A whole cabbage keeps longest when it's cold and damp, around zero, which is one of the reasons cabbage has long been winter food in the Nordic countries. A few cold days in the tent porch or the pulk are usually fine, as long as the cabbage doesn't freeze.

If it gets well below zero, the cabbage will eventually freeze. Frozen cabbage is fine to eat, but the leaves turn soft and wet as they thaw and release more water in the pan. Fry it in smaller batches, then, and allow a few extra minutes before it starts to colour. If the cabbage is going to be out in hard frost, pack it inside the rucksack or in the middle of the pulk with clothes around it.

The fat behaves differently too. Butter and pork fat set quickly in a cold pan, so let the pan get really hot before you add anything. More about cooking in the cold can be found in cooking outdoors in winter.

Safety at the pan

Raw pork: fry the pork until it's crisp, and never put the cooked pieces on the same dish or board where the raw pork was. Wash your hands after handling it. If you're using raw sausage or mince, it must be cooked through, and 70 degrees in the centre is a good benchmark. Falukorv and cocktail sausages are already cooked and only need to get hot and browned.
Golden brown, not burnt: Livsmedelsverket (the Swedish Food Agency) advises cooking food over a fire until golden brown rather than dark brown and burnt, and that applies to vegetables too. Aim for golden edges, pick out anything that has turned black and lift the pan if it starts to smoke.
Spitting: wet cabbage in hot fat spits. Shake the cabbage if it's damp, and add it with the spatula, not with your hand over the pan.
Fat fire: if the fat catches fire, put the lid on and never pour on water. If you don't have a lid, a tight-fitting baking tray or a double-folded piece of foil will do.
Burns: cool with cool water for about a quarter of an hour, no longer, and never with ice or snow. Seek medical care if blisters form that are larger than the injured person's own hand, if the burn is on the face, the hands or over a joint, and always if the child is one year old or younger.
Fire bans: the county administrative board's or the municipality's decision determines whether you're allowed to light a fire. Check the rules in lighting fires outdoors before you set off.

Fried cabbage with children

Cabbage is perfect for letting the children help with, because it's almost impossible to get wrong. At home an older child can shred it with a sharp knife under supervision, while a younger child can tear the outer leaves into pieces by hand. Torn pieces end up a little uneven and get even more browned edges.

By the fire the children can sprinkle in the caraway, count the minute between turns out loud and be the one who listens for whether it's sizzling or simmering. Let them compete to find the most toasted shred. The pan, the fat and the spatula are handled by an adult, and the children stand on the other side of the fire while the pork is frying. More ways to let children join in can be found in cooking with children over a fire.

Lots of children who say no to boiled cabbage like fried cabbage, because it turns sweet instead of watery. A little honey or an apple in the pan usually settles it.

Tips for fried cabbage over a fire

Dry cabbage. If the cabbage has been rinsed, let it drain properly. Water in the pan means boiled cabbage.
Butter and oil. The oil copes with the heat and the butter gives the flavour. That's why the butter goes in last.
Cast iron. A well-kept cast-iron pan holds its heat when you add the cold cabbage and gives the best browned edges.
Salt last. If you salt early, the salt draws out water and the cabbage starts to boil.
A splash of acidity. Vinegar, apple cider vinegar or a wedge of lemon makes the cabbage fresher, especially with fatty pork.

Common mistakes

Too much cabbage in too small a pan – it boils instead of frying. Two batches are better than one.
The cabbage is stirred all the time – it goes soft and pale with no browned edges.
The pan is put over flames instead of embers – the bottom burns black in a few minutes.
The butter goes in first over high heat – it burns and turns bitter.
The lid on the whole time – the cabbage steams, goes limp and smells of sulphur.
Forgetting that the pork has already salted the dish – the cabbage ends up too salty.

Ways to vary the fried cabbage

With pork and onion sauce: fry the cabbage in the fat from the fried pork belly with onion sauce instead of serving brown beans or boiled cabbage.
With mashed swede and sausage: a spoonful of fried cabbage next to mashed swede with sausage adds crunch and acidity. Fry the falukorv in slices first and the cabbage afterwards in the same pan.
In pyttipanna: fold a handful of shredded cabbage into the pyttipanna for the last few minutes, once the potatoes have already taken on colour.
With potato cakes: vegetarian cabbage with apple and potato cakes makes a complete vegetarian dinner on one griddle.
With egg: make a hollow in the cabbage, crack in an egg and put the lid on until the white has set. Swedish eggs are fine with a runny yolk, but eggs from other countries should be fried until the yolk has set. More about eggs at the fire is explained in boiled eggs over a fire.
Asian: swap the caraway for grated ginger and garlic, and fry the cabbage with sesame oil and soy sauce.

Allergens

The butter and soured cream contain milk protein. Ordinary Japanese soy sauce contains wheat and soya. Use gluten-free tamari if anyone can't tolerate gluten, or leave out the soy sauce and add salt instead. Sausages can contain milk, wheat and celery, so read the ingredients list. Cabbage, apple and caraway are free from the most common allergens.

Frequently asked questions

How long should you fry white cabbage?

Allow 12–18 minutes for white cabbage shredded into half-centimetre strips, of which the first few minutes go on getting it to collapse. Pointed cabbage is done in 6–10 minutes. The cabbage is done when it has shrunk to a third, is soft with a little bite and has golden-brown edges.

Why does fried cabbage go soggy?

Usually because there's too much cabbage in a pan that's too cool. The water that comes out doesn't have time to evaporate, and the cabbage boils instead of frying. Fry it in two batches, let the pan get really hot and don't add salt until the end.

What goes well with fried cabbage?

Fried pork, sausages, mashed swede and boiled potatoes are the classics. The vegetarian version with apple and caraway goes well with potato cakes, eggs or just bread. Lingonberries, mustard or a little soured cream round it off.

Can you fry cabbage in butter?

Yes, but it's best to mix the butter with oil or add it towards the end. Butter burns at a lower heat than oil, and over embers the middle of the pan easily gets too hot.

Can you take shredded cabbage on a trip?

Yes. Shred it at home, put the cabbage in a sealed bag and keep it cool. It keeps for a few days. On a shorter trip it's just as easy to bring the cabbage whole and shred it by the fire.

Is it dangerous if the cabbage gets burnt?

It's the browning that gives fried cabbage its sweetness, but the aim is golden brown, not black. Remove any pieces that have burnt completely and lift the pan if it starts to smoke.