mom's cabbage rolls a different way

How To Make mom's cabbage rolls a different way

• Step 1
  Core and remove outside leaves of cabbage. Place core side down in 1 1/2 inches of water in a Pyrex bowl covered with plastic wrap. Steam in the microwave until outer leaves are semi-soft and peel them off a few at a time until all are done. (about 10 minutes)
• Step 2
  Heat 4qt saucepan (with tight fitting lid) over med heat. Add butter and rice. Stir and cook until rice starts getting white specks on it. Add salt & water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes (35 min for brown rice). Fluff with a fork and set aside. Remove 2 cups (more is fine if you are needing to stretch the meat further) Set rice aside to cool while making filling. Reserve remaining rice to serve under cabbage rolls.
• 
  Step 3
  Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, onions, garlic and seasonings. Stir in milk and mix until the meat is loosened up. Lastly, add 2 cups of the cooled cooked rice ( Can add more rice if you need to stretch the beef further) Mix well and stuff cabbage leaves. Trim off hard core parts and starting at the widest end place a few tablespoons of filling. Roll up but don't fold ends in (burrito style). Push the ends of the cabbage into the ends of the roll to make a belly button. This works great to hold them together when browning. It eliminates the need for toothpicks. Mom always used them and I almost swallowed one several times. I learned the belly button trick from my Hungarian aunt who first taught Mom how to make them. : )
• Step 4
  When all done making rolls, heat butter & oil in large heavy skillet over med/high heat. Dredge each roll in flour and pan fry until browned on all sides. Remove to large lasagna baking pan or 2 smaller pans. When rolls are all browned, heat a little more oil or butter in the same skillet if necessary to make a roux. Bacon fat is always a plus. ;) Scrape up browned bits. Add abt 2 tablespoons of leftover dredging flour and cook & stir for 1 minute. Whisk in beef broth until it becomes a thin/med gravy. Add white pepper and nutmeg. I usually almost double this gravy recipe. You seem to need more when you use 2 pans, but this recipe makes alot of rolls, plus I make a sm pan of them with no cabbage for my son & grandson who are anti cabbage. Next, pour gravy over cabbage rolls and sprinkle brown sugar over top. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and then heavy duty foil and bake for 1 1/4 hours. Carefully vent and let cool for abt 10 minutes so mouths don't get burned. Serve over remaining cooked rice. Enjoy!!
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