Lucskos káposzta – Pork stew with cabbage

by | Mar 10, 2023 | Meat dishes

Lucskos káposzta is similar to toros káposzta, but instead of sauerkraut this pork stew is made with white or green cabbage. The stew is thickened with a mixture of flour and sour cream, and seasoned with caraway seeds, bay leaf, dill and summer savory (the latter can be substituted with tarragon).

Lucskos káposzta / Pork stew with cabbage
Lucskos káposzta / Pork stew with cabbage – photo: zserbo.com

Ingredients:

  • 800 g (~1 3/4 lbs) boneless pork, cubed
  • 1 head of cabbage (gross weight approx. 1,5 kg ~ 3 1/3 lbs)
  • 100 g (~3 1/2 oz) smoked pork fat or slab bacon, diced
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp sweet ground paprika
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp summer savory
  • 1-2 tsp dill, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 1/2 – 1 tbsp vinegar
Diced boneless pork
Diced boneless pork – photo: zserbo.com
Smoked pork fat
Smoked pork fat – photo: zserbo.com

In a pot slowly fry the diced smoked pork fat until it releases enough lard and becomes crispy. Add finely chopped onions and garlic to the hot lard, and sauté until translucent. Add pork and stir fry until meat turns white on each side and releases liquid. Stir in paprika, caraway seeds and a bay leaf. Pour in water (about 800 ml / ~3 1/3 cups) just enough to almost cover the food. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pot with a lid, and slowly simmer for 45-50 minutes. Stir regularly and add more water as needed.

Meanwhile remove the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut into quarters, remove core and chop it.

Once the meat is half-cooked, add the cabbage to the stew and carefully stir until it wilts a little and you are able to pour in some water (about 300-600 ml / ~1 1/4 – 2 1/2 cups). The quantity of water depends on how much cooking liquid the stew has. Season with dill and summer savory, adjust salt and pepper. Cover and slowly cook, while stirring regularly, until tender. In a small bowl mix together flour, sour cream and 50 ml (~1/4 cup) of water. Ladle some hot cooking liquid to the mixture, combine and pour it into the stew while stirring constantly. Cook for further 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat and flavour the stew with a dash of vinegar.

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Hungarian cottage cheese

This is what Hungarian túró looks like

You often ask me what kind of cottage cheese (or curd cheese or farmer's cheese - call it what you want) I use in the recipes. In Hungary the store-bought cottage cheese is dry and crumbly as you can see in the picture. So if a recipe calls for túró, I mean this type. If you can't obtain túró, you can try to make your own from whole milk. Click on the link below.

Metric system vs cup

In Hungary metric units are in use, all the recipes on this website are based on this system, so a kitchen scale is necessary. Since I’m not familiar with cup as a measurement unit, I convert grams to cups by using an online converter. The values in brackets, therefore, are only approximate volumes, so, please, double-check them before you start cooking.

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