Halupki (stuffed cabbage rolls)

If you grew up as I did, you crave these things. I spent years trying to duplicate the taste I knew growing up. Came across a Slovak Catholic Sokol cookbook 1976 edition. It calls for pork & beef, but instead of vinegar, you layer a small amount of sauerkraut under & over the rolls. Not too much!!"<br/>"Holubky" If you have to have this but don't have several hrs. to fix it, try this. Chop the cabbage, brown the beef & onion. I like to cook the cabbage a bit in the pan after the beef is done. Layer 12 cabbage, beef & rest of cabbage. Pour soup mixture over & bake 350 For about 1 hr. Same great taste- half the work. Don't forget the mashed potatoes & corn. Take a forkful of potatoe & plunge it into your pile of corn. Alternate this with your holubky. Corn, Holubky, Corn, Holubky....... Only then can you be a real "Hungry Hunky"

First reviewed 9/28/08: This was PHENOMENAL and not HALF has difficult or time-consuming as I thought it would be. My mother-in-law is half Czechoslovakian and grew up just south of Pittsburgh and she said they were the best halupki she's ever eaten!!! Thanks for sharing this with all of us!<br/><br/>Edited on 3/23/11 to add: This is best when you saute the onions and garlic before adding to meat mixture. Also, a trick with the cabbage is to core it, wash it, and freeze the whole head. When it thaws, it is easy to peel and there is no need to boil it first.

This recipe is almost the exact duplicate of my Babci's (grandmother). Only tow slight differences. First she would mix half beef and half pork. She felt the pork kept them from getting dry. Second, she would cover the top layer in the pot with a good smokey bacon. It infuses the "Piggies" with a wonderful flavor. Try it, it's a nice touch.

I made this recipe on 3/10/09 to satisfy my cabbage roll craving. Since I'm the only one that eats cabbage rolls in my home, this recipe was cut way back.I used four large cabbage leaves,boiled just long enough to make them easier to work with. Mixed 3/4 lb. ground beef with the full amount of rice,the egg,a couple of shakes of garlic powder,some instant onion, and a couple of shakes of parsley flakes. And of course the salt and pepper. And since I can't leave a recipe alone,;) I added some red chili pepper flakes and some freeze-dried green and red peppers. I divided the meat mixture into 4 equal portions and placed in the cabbage leaves, rolled and placed in the pan.I used 1 can of tomato soup, mixed with the full amount of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, and the full amount of water. The cabbage rolls were cooked for about 1 hour 15 minutes. After cooking, the heat was cut off and I let them sit in the sauce for about 15 minutes with the lid on.After removing the rolls, I wanted to make the sauce a bit thicker. So I mixed a bit of cornstarch with some water, and stirred it over low heat until the sauce was slightly thickened. This will be made again. Thanks for posting and, "Keep Smiling :)"

Excellent! Growing up I had a Polish Grandmother and everyone raved about her stuffed cabbage (she called it Kapusta) but as a child, I would never eat it. After she had passed away, no one had any of her recipes written down. Now as grown up I always wished I had tried it and when I saw your recipe I knew I had to try it. We loved it! I cut the recipe in half, but didn't stray from the recipe otherwise. We served it with mashed potatos as suggested and it was a wonderful dinner. I will have to make it for my father one day and see how close it is to my grandmothers recipe. Thanks so much for posting.