Cabbage Is Boring Until You Try It Cowboy-Style

Let's face it: Cabbage isn't exactly what comes to mind when people talk about exciting vegetable dishes. Sure, we wouldn't have traditional coleslaw without it, but it's never quite had its moment the way Brussels sprouts and kale have. However, that could change in your kitchen if you round up your first batch of cowboy-style cabbage, a dish so flavorful that it may incite the urge to shout "yee-haw!" at the dinner table.

Made with plenty of mix-ins such as veggies, spices, condiments, and meats, cowboy-style cabbage is highly adaptable. You can eat it hot or cold, so it would make an excellent side dish for occasions like summer cookouts or meals on chilly winter nights. The warm version tends to contain ample amounts of protein like beef, sausage, and bacon, while the cold adaptations are very much like coleslaw in that they're held together with a creamy dressing. But both have chopped or shredded cabbage as their base.

The dish doesn't have an obvious historical connection to cowboys. However, it arguably contains some elements of an Old West diet. Cowboys ate a lot of meat, and this cabbage creation uses generous amounts of it. There is also the fact that cold versions exude major Tex-Mex vibes. That style of cuisine blends Native American, Spanish, Anglo-American, and Mexican influences. Notably, it originated in Texas, a state that was heavily influenced by cowboys.

Cold cowboy-style cabbage should be crunchy and bursting with flavors, and this isn't hard to achieve. Looking to Tex-Mex as your inspiration, you can incorporate canned, fresh, or frozen corn as well as canned beans. You can also toss in some chopped or pickled jalapeños, bell peppers, green onions, and fresh cilantro. If you want to add meat, then chicken, steak, pork, bacon, and cooked chorizo would all be delicious. For the dressing, chipotle ranch makes a good choice. (You could also try our copycat recipe for Chick-fil-A's creamy avocado lime ranch.) Some folks include crushed tortilla or corn chips, which not only add crunch, but a wonderfully toasted corn flavor. You can even use a simple spicy coleslaw recipe and throw in a few of these extra ingredients to make your own version of cowboy-style cabbage.

Warm cowboy-style cabbage involves sautéing the chopped vegetable in a pot, pan, or on a griddle and flavoring it with ingredients like bacon, chunks of steak, onions, and bell peppers. To further tenderize the cabbage, cooks sometimes braise it in a liquid like chicken or beef stock. You can add spice mixes that include chili powder, cumin, and paprika, and extra vegetables such as poblano peppers and tomatoes. Because there's so much protein in a dish like this, it could be a hearty meal in itself or perhaps served with some mashed potatoes.