I am sure you all
have heard the phrase “absence makes the heart grow fonder”. Well I am not so sure it applies to food
blogs, but hopefully you all are salivating in anticipation for my first post
in several weeks, and thankfully Heather has been carrying the torch. As I was trying to think of the next great
idea to share with you I received a text from my wife. She informed me that I had forgotten my obligations!
“What did I forget!??” I had forgotten to make coleslaw for one of
her co-workers. One of the lovely ladies at jenniffer and co. had our coleslaw once and fell in love. She asked Heather several days ago if we
could make her some whenever we had and order. In turn Heather had asked me , and I then did
my part in this information chain……I promptly forgot. So, while chopping up cabbage at midnight
following a long shift at the ambulance company (for those of you who may not
know, my primary source of income these days is as a paramedic) I decided this
post would be on homemade coleslaw.
Pythagoras had his theorem,
Boyle had his law, Dr Heimlich his maneuver, and I am now revealing the
coleslaw equation!! Here it is in all
its mathematical perfection: Cabbage+ acid+ sugar =coleslaw. That is coleslaw in a nutshell. If you put all that in a bowl and mix it up
you’ll end up with very basic coleslaw. Of course there are a few caveats. One is the cabbage needs cut up, preferably
either minced or shredded. Secondly,
though one can use many different types of acidic substances for the acid part
of the equation, it is preferable that you stay within the bounds of food
products, Battery acid coleslaw though having quite a bite tends not to be very
appetizing. Finally, do keep in mind that ratios come in to play here as well.
Though you can dress the veggies to your taste remember this is a salad and not
a soup. Now, like I said this is a very
basic recipe and we can definitely expand here. I am going to share with you how we make
coleslaw at BlaZe. Do keep in mind this
is the normal preparation, not the “I just finished work and am sleeping while
chopping recipe” so you’ll need to start this somewhat in advance.
The first step in making amazing
coleslaw is prepping your cabbage. This you are going to need to start at least 5
hours prior to serving, though the night before is ideal, more on this in a
moment. For my “software” I like to use a 1: 1/2 ratio green to red
cabbage. This is an easy ratio to create
as most green cabbages are 1 ½ to 2 times the size of the red cabbages. This recipe will be for a normal human
amount of coleslaw (feeding 6-8 people), and will call for only half of both
heads of cabbage, but as such is obviously easily doubled. So, start by washing and coring ½ of a head
of both green and red cabbage. Cut the halves
into quarters. Next, very finely shred the cabbage using a mandolin or very
sharp knife. Now, layer the cabbage in a
salad spinner (if you don’t have one a colander will do) liberally sprinkling
each layer with kosher salt. Cover the
salad spinner and let stand for at least 4 hours, though overnight is
best. If using a colander be sure to
place it in another bowl as this process will produce a surprising amount of
liquid. I know you're now saying to
yourself “what in earth am I doing? I wanted coleslaw not salt cabbage! With
all this sodium I’ll need to serve this with a Beta-Blocker” (sorry paramedic
humor), not to worry. Your blood pressure will be fine. By salting the cabbage and giving it time to
work, you are removing some of the water out of the cabbage, thereby making crunchier coleslaw. As for the salt,
well once we’ve let our cabbage sit the next step is to rinse the cabbage
thoroughly removing the salt. Once
you’ve rinsed the cabbage either let it drip dry in the colander or use your
salad spinner to get as much water from the cabbage as possible. Next, dump your crunchy cabbage into a large
mixing bowl and add: 2 large carrots shredded, and half a red onion cut first
in half then finely sliced. In our basic
equation the only 2 ingredients listed for the dressing was acid and
sugar. Many a fine coleslaw has been devoured
dressed with a vinegar base. These typically sweet and tart slaws fit just fine
into our equation, though most of us are accustomed to having a third element in
our coleslaw equation, mayonnaise.
Though a delicious addition we can see not a definitive part of the base
equation. I however, happen to enjoy my
coleslaw nice and creamy so our recipe today calls for mayo. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together 1 ½
C mayo, ¼ C cider vinegar, 2 T balsamic vinegar, 3 drops sirachia (or your
favorite hot sauce), 2T sugar, 1 T honey, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 T celery
seed. Notice this did not call for any salt in the dressing. Though we
thoroughly rinsed our cabbage some salt will remain. Once the slaw is assembled you’ll need to
taste it to make sure it is properly seasoned. You can always add more salt
later. Thoroughly mix the cabbage,
carrot, onion combo and add ¾ of the dressing.
Mix well, adding more dressing as needed to completely cover the
veggies, but do not overdress. Remember you want to eat this with a fork not a
spoon. Finally, cover your bowl and let
rest inside the fridge for at least ½ an hour to let the flavors mingle a bit
before serving.
That my friends,
is how we do it at BlaZe! Feel free to
change this recipe to suite your tastes.
Change your acids from different vinegars to even citrus juice (just no
battery acid please), use brown sugar or even molasses for the sweet, or even
try other types of cabbage. Napa cabbage
with a sweet and smoked sesame coleslaw dressing is amazing! You can also add other veggies or herbs to
change the flavor profile. The sky is
the limit here. So, hope you all enjoy
yourself and have fun making this or your own slaw. Till next time…….Stay hungry my friends…..Oh
wait I forgot I am not the most interesting man, so just have a tasty day!
