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Kitchen & Cooking

Bring home the bacon with this cast-iron griddle cabbage recipe

The cabbage glow-up you never knew you needed.

A close-up of grilled cabbage with crispy bacon. Credit: Reviewed / Tara Jacoby / Kia Damon

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Kia Damon is a self-taught chef and proud Floridian woman. She is the founder of the Kia Feeds The People program and co-founder of Auxilio, two non profit organizations dedicated to combating food apartheid. She has been named one of 16 Black Chefs Changing Food In America by The New York Times and Forbes 30 Under 30 in Food and Beverage for 2021.


My mother told me once that when I was a toddler she used to worry about my food habits because I only wanted to chew on the cores of green cabbage. My late grandmother assured her that I was just fine and thus began my brassica love affair. I continued to eat cabbage growing up and my all-time favorite was my grandmother's cabbage and bacon.

Her version was rich, savory, peppery, and irresistible. She’d make it for me during the holidays. I miss her everyday. This recipe is inspired by her dish—but instead of cooking the bacon in a pot and braising the cabbage for hours, I cook it all on a cast-iron griddle. That way, the bacon stays crispy and the cabbage stays tender and silky from the bacon fat.

Cooking this dish? We want to see! Tag @reviewed and @kiacooks on Instagram so we can share your masterpiece.

What You Need

An illustrated cast-iron griddle.
Credit: Reviewed / Tara Jacoby

The cast-iron griddle will let you achieve gorgeous grill marks you'd get from an outdoor grill without leaving your kitchen,

Ingredients:

1 head of green cabbage 5 strips of thick cut bacon ½ cup neutral oil Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper

Tools

Cast-iron griddle, like the highly-rated Lodge 16.75-inch Pre-Seasoned Cast-Iron Griddle available at Amazon Large bowl Cutting board, like Reviewed's favorite plastic cutting board, the Material reBoard Chef’s knife, like the Zwilling Pro 8-inch Chef’s Knife available at Bed Bath & Beyond Tongs, like the OXO Good Grips 12-Inch Tongs with Silicone Head available at Amazon

Time Needed

30 minutes

Difficulty

Easy

How to make Cast-Iron Griddle Cabbage and Bacon

A plate filled with grilled cabbage and crispy bacon, all silhouetted against a bright blue background.
Credit: Reviewed / Tara Jacoby / Kia Damon

Crispy bacon meets grilled cabbage in this savory dish.

Step 1: Cut the cabbage

Using a sturdy chef’s knife, cut the cabbage in half from top down through the core then lay the halves down and cut them in half again. Slice lengthwise into ½-inch pieces until you have about two or three slices from each quarter.

Step 2: Prepare and cook the bacon

Add bacon to a cold cast iron griddle then turn the burner heat to medium—this is a great way to render the fat while getting crispy bacon. Cook the bacon and remove it from the griddle. Set aside and keep the fat on the griddle.

Step 3: Cook the cabbage

Cook cabbage slices five or six at a time by laying them flat on the griddle undisturbed for four minutes on each side. The cabbage should begin to look tender and browned. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and a few cracks of fresh black pepper before flipping. If you find that you’re running out of bacon fat on the griddle, drizzle with a few tablespoons of neutral oil like canola or vegetable oil. Cook all of the cabbage and set aside on a serving plate.

Step 4: Serve

Use a chef’s knife to cut the bacon into bite size bits. Sprinkle bacon bits over cabbage and serve immediately.

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