Best Ever Cabbage Bredie! – A delicious Beetham Family Stew that all the little 5 Beethams grew up on, including me!

Best Ever Cabbage Bredie! – A delicious Beetham Family Stew that all the little 5 Beethams grew up on, including me!

Delish for both summers and winters, too!

Fell asleep! The meat got a bit stringy but still delish as always!

Notes:

To avoid cooking oils and GMO’s. You may omit the oil and replace with chicken schmaltz or whatever you prefer. Stock or soup powder (optional) may replace your own natural gelatinized chicken stock.

Mutton is preferable to lamb as it has more flavor, is less inclined to fall apart and become stringy during the long slow cooking process.

Use very low heat and simmer gently. Remember the faster you cook your meat the more meat shrinkage you are going to have not to mention flavor loss.

Cooking times for lamb: 2 – 2.30 hours

Cooking times for mutton: 5 hours

If using the wine, you may heat and dissolve your stock or bouillon cubes in it.

If pressure cooking the lamb: Pressure cook 30 minutes on 1st simmer ring (low pressure).

I have a rule of thumb: In making stews or bredies I always or at least mostly use an equal amount of weight of cabbage to meat. Usually, I do the same for potatoes.

This dish may be cooked with beef, but I far prefer it firstly with mutton followed by lamb, which is the way we all had it growing up.

Ingredients:

1 kg stewing lamb or mutton

30 ml (half and half) mixture of butter and oil

2 large onions (3 medium), sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste

10 ml of salt

A sprinkling of black pepper, freshly ground – just a sprinkling

1 (bouillon) beef stock cube to taste

1 cup white wine, dry or extra dry

500 g potatoes, sliced or halved, however, you may prefer

1 whole cabbage (as large as you wish), chopped or shredded

Maggie Fondor or Aromat seasoning to taste

Sprinkling garlic salt to taste

A sprinkling of onion salt, to taste

A sprinkling of celery salt, to taste

1 packet brown onion soup powder, or Royco beef and onion Soup, or whichever brand you prefer (optional)

250 ml (1 cup) chopped celery

1 – 2 small carrots, diced or grated (Optional)

5 ml dill (Optional)

Sprinkling nutmeg, freshly grated, or to taste (Optional)

To Serve:

100 g rice per person

Method:

Heat the butter-oil mixture in a large saucepan and saute onions and garlic until translucent. Add meat and brown quickly.

Add your seasonings to taste a little at a time, together with stock and simmer covered until meat begins to get tender.

Add potatoes, cabbage, celery and dill (optional) – Simmer for an hour or until almost done.

Add freshly grated nutmeg to taste (optional).

Sprinkle over brown onion or beef and onion soup powder (optional) follow package instructions.

Adjust seasonings and serve with fluffy, white steamed rice.

Enjoy!