Recipes From The Bygone Era

Red Cabbage - Pork Sausages.


The red cabbage-my harvest

This is a recipe from the nineteenth century, about how to cook red cabbage and sausages.  I think it is exciting. The writing style of the method is so different compared to today's recipes. Some things remain the same: people love to cook cabbages and serve with sausages.

Nineteenth Century's Recipe
Braised Red Cabbage

My Note:
I harvested the red cabbage from my garden, I will be cooking it soon,  the pork sausages I must buy, I do make sausages at home, but I don't do it regularly.  It was fun when I did it. To get the runner (the encasing of sausages) is so complicated now.  A butcher told me that nowadays, sausage skin is made synthetically.  That really turns me off.




The Recipe, From A complete System Of Cookery.
By: John Simpson 1806

The Braised Red Cabbage And Pork Sausages

Red Cabbage and Sausages

'Sausages are generally had of the poulterer, when in London. Red cabbage should be stewed in the following manner: cut the cabbage very thin and put it into a stewpan with a slice of ham and a piece of butter at the bottom, about half a pint of good stock and about a gill (1/4pint) of vinegar.  Set it on a slow fire to stew for three or four hours (or in a slow oven in a casserole with a lid on it); when very tender put a little more good stock, a tablespoonful of sifted sugar and little pepper and salt.  Let it boil until all the liquid is reduced.  Then put the cabbage on the dish and the sausages on the cabbage, the sausages should be pricked with a fork before they are fried to hinder them from bursting.  N.B. The best way is to boil them in a stock pot for a few minutes' ( By John Simpson 1806)

Step By Step What To Do

Sliced Red Cabbage

Bacon and Butter; a part of the ingredients for Braising

Bread is wrapped in muslin, to get rid of cabbage smell
while braising

Placing the bread wrapped in muslin on top of
the cabbage 

The cabbage is almost cooked, and the muslin has to be
removed, and wash straight away to prevent staining

Cooked Soft Braised Red Cabbage.

I did a quarter of the recipe, took me about 39 minutes to cook, the cabbage is soft and delicious.


A tip to get rid of the smell when cooking greens or cabbages.

The Smell
ESPECIALLY in a small house, prevent the horrible smell which arises from boiling greens, fumigating and stinking out your guests, by tying a piece of bread-crust in a muslin bag and keeping it in the pot during the process of boiling.  (From THE  PYTCHLEY  BOOK  OF  REFINED  COOKERY 
by Mayor  L . . . 1886)

(Based on EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURY COOKERY BOOKS - and now devised for modern use by SHEILA  HUTCHINS)





The bread in a muslin bag helped to get rid of the smell of the cabbage.  It worked, it has less smell indeed.

Enjoy the recipe from the past.  Have a good weekend to you all.

Until Next Post
Susy