From the SCCC Kitchen: Cabbage- bratwurst combo has dual appeal

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jeff Wilkin

“From the SCCC Kitchen” offers Daily Gazette readers tastes from Schenectady County Community College’s nationally accredited American Culinary Federation culinary arts program. Recipes selected by SCCC instructors can easily be prepared at home. Bratwurst is popular at Oktoberfest celebrations, but spring can also be prime time for saucy sausage. Technical specialist (and certified executive chef) Christopher Tanner offers “Braised Red Cabbage with Bratwurst.” Tanner offers more cooking tips at his blog, “Gastronomic Inspirations” at cheftanner.com.

Bratwurst isn’t just for buns and onions anymore.

Not when Chris Tanner is heating up a batch of his braised red cabbage with brats. The sliced sausage, with a bed of red in the background, is appealing to the gourmet’s eye and appetite.

“It’s a simple dish,” Tanner said.

And it’s made with simple ingredients.

“We’re no longer in winter, but we still have a lot of those winter vegetables left,” Tanner said. “With the red cabbage and the apples, it’s easy to find the ingredients.”

Bacon is easy to find, any season. Tanner cautions home chefs to stick to the recipe — don’t use more than four slices.

“If you put in too much bacon, you’ll have an overbearing flavor,” he said, adding that sliced bacon sold at supermarket delicatessens is the right choice, preferred over the meat’s vacuum-packed cousins.

“There’s some good stuff out there that’s vacuum-packed, but the deli stuff is fresher,” Tanner said. “Even that comes to them vacuum-packed, but it’s just a higher-quality product.”

Braised Red Cabbage With Bratwurst

4 ounces bacon, chopped fine

1 onion, chopped fine

1 apple, peeled and diced

1 carrot, peeled and chopped small

1 head red cabbage, quartered, root removed and sliced thin

1 cup chicken broth

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 clove, whole

1 bay leaf

1 sprig thyme, fresh

1 pinch nutmeg

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 bratwurst links

Heat a medium pot over medium-high heat, add the bacon and render. Once the fat has been rendered from the bacon, add the onions and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the apple and carrot and sauté for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the red cabbage, broth, vinegar, clove, bay leaf, thyme sprig, nutmeg, season with salt and pepper and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, cover and put into a 350-degree oven for 2 hours or until tender.

Heat a medium pan over medium-high heat, add a couple tablespoons of oil to the pan and brown the sausage on each side, cooking until heated through. You may add the bratwurst to the pot for the final 30 minutes of the braised cabbage cooking process to heat through.

Slice sausage and serve with red cabbage.