Top Shelf Traditional Coleslaw
Nothing pairs better than BBQ and coleslaw, period. When I’m invited to any event and I know food is either grilled, smoked or otherwise cooked over fire. My automatic dish to bring is coleslaw. You just can’t lose bringing a solid slaw to a cookout or picnic. Too often, coleslaw is often just the next item in the serving line. Not anymore. The recipe below is going to make the Slaw standout AND maintain it’s place so the BBQ can be the star of the show! To make this a complete Paleo/Primal friendly omit the cream and sweet relish.
Ingredients:
green cabbage: a medium/large head
carrot: one
salt: 1 tablespoon kosher or 1 teaspoon of iodized
mayo: 1/4 cup
heavy cream: 1/2 cup – omit for paleo
apple cider vinegar: 2 tablespoons
relish, dill: 1 tablespoon
relish, sweet: 1 tablespoon- omit for paleo
black pepper: to taste, 1/2 teaspoon or less
raisins: 2-3 tablespoons
Now for the work, chopping the cabbage. To start, you have to cut the leaves of the head off of the cabbage core. So hold the cabbage with the stem facing you and place your knife where the broad leaf stems fade into the cabbage leaves. Now cut at an angle to the other side of the cabbage head. You should end up with three or four cabbage wedges.
Time for some knife skills: Take a wedge and start shaving in quarter inch intervals through the wedge. When complete, chop the long shaved pieces into quarter inch squares. This gives the cabbage a nice uniform size which helps the dressing coverage and absorption. This process is a lot of knife work. An alternative is to use a food processor to chop the cabbage. Use one if you want, it’s all good. Also, peel and grate one carrot. Combine the carrot with the cabbage.
Time for the critical step. Place the chopped cabbage/carrot into a colander and mix the salt with the cabbage. The cabbage needs to steep for 1-4 hours. Taking the time to include seeping into the recipe will separate your Slaw from coleslaw.
Go ahead and mix the dressing while the cabbage seeps. In a mixing bowl combine all the remaining ingredients and refrigerate until you are ready to combine the dressing with the cabbage.
Finally, mix it all together-yum!
