SOUTHERN CABBAGE RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Fry your (6)bacon slices; while bacon frys, core your cabbage and chop onions and cabbage. Remove bacon from pan and sit aside on paper towel to drain.
• add chopped onions to bacon drippings in skillet and saute'. Add your chopped cabbage and stir up well coating with onions and bacon drippings. Place lid on cabbage and reduce heat to simmer.
• chop (2)jalapenos (you may use more or less and you have the option of seeding before chopping). Add your jalapenos to cabbage mixture in skillet, crumble your bacon that was set aside earlier and add to skillet then salt and pepper to taste (I use a lot of pepper at this point-everything is covered)stir together and recover with lid.
• Your cabbage does not need any water added to skillet and it will cook down so don't be alarmed if your skillet looks super full. You only need to cook this until tender...you don't want to cook all the nutrients out. Don't forget to stir this well, you don't want any cabbage or onion pieces getting burned left on bottom.
• Best served hot, but left overs the next day are delicious as well...just a bit warmer as they have sat together overnight! Enjoy, this is a wonderful side dish to just about any meal, but my favorite is meatloaf and brisket!

Steps:

• 1. To make the brine, toast the peppercorns in a large pan on a high heat for 1 minute, then add the rest of the brine ingredients and 400ml of cold water. Bring to the boil, then leave to cool, topping up with another 400ml of cold water.
  2. Meanwhile, slash the chicken thighs a few times as deep as the bone, keeping the skin on for maximum flavour. Once the brine is cool, add all the chicken pieces, cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge for at least 12 hours – I do this overnight.
  3. After brining, remove the chicken to a bowl, discarding the brine, then pour over the buttermilk, cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for a further 8 hours, so the chicken is super-tender.
  4. When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.
  5. Wash the sweet potatoes well, roll them in a little sea salt, place on a tray and bake for 30 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, make the pickle – toast the fennel seeds in a large pan for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. Pour in the vinegar, add the sugar and a good pinch of sea salt, then finely slice and add the cabbage. Place in the fridge, remembering to stir every now and then while you cook your chicken.
  7. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder, cayenne, paprika and the onion and garlic powders.
  8. Just under half fill a large sturdy pan with oil – the oil should be 8cm deep, but never fill your pan more than half full – and place on a medium to high heat. Use a thermometer to tell when it’s ready (180°C), or add a piece of potato and wait until it turns golden – that’s a sign it’s ready to go.
  9. Take the chicken out of the fridge, then, one or two pieces at a time, remove from the buttermilk and dunk into the bowl of flour until well coated. Give them a shake, then place on a large board and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
  10. Turn the oven down to 170°C/325°F/gas 3 and move the sweet potatoes to the bottom shelf.
  11. Once the oil is hot enough, start with 2 thighs – quickly dunk them back into the flour, then carefully lower into the hot oil using a slotted spoon. Fry for 5 minutes, turning halfway, then remove to a wire rack over a baking tray.
  12. Bring the temperature of the oil back up, repeat the process with the remaining 2 thighs, then pop the tray into the oven.
  13. Fry the 4 drumsticks in one batch, then add them to the rack of thighs in the oven for 30 minutes, or until all the chicken is cooked through.
  14. Serve with your baked sweet potatoes, cabbage pickle and some salad leaves.