Cook's illustrated has touted this method for some time now, and with a little extra time on my hands yesterday, I decided to try it. The results were less than stellar in my opinion. The dressing was extremely bland and nondescript (tasted most of buttermilk), but even if it was livened up, the cabbage turned me off. I followed directions carefully, and rinsed well. It did exude a lot of water during the approximately 2 hours I let it set, but came out quite tasteless. My thought is the coleslaw would be great for people who don't like cabbage. I actually threw out the leftover, something that doesn't happen here very often.
Am I missing something here? Does anyone salt the cabbage and perhaps use a different dressing that is more flavorful? Is the salting a method used often? I've not seen it in any other recipe I can recall. Inquiring minds and all that...the recipe is below, I'm posting it for reference, I don't recommend it.
PS, I don't have any regular table salt in the house and used one and one/half times the amount of kosher, surely that's not the problem.
Creamy Buttermilk Coleslaw
If you are planning to serve the coleslaw immediately, rinse the salted cabbage in a large bowl of ice water, drain it in a colander, pick out any ice cubes, then pat the cabbage dry before dressing.
Makes about 6 cups 1 pound cabbage (about 1/2 medium head), red or green, shredded fine (6 cups)
table salt
1 medium carrot , shredded on box grater
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. Toss shredded cabbage and 1 teaspoon salt in colander or large mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Let stand until cabbage wilts, at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Rinse cabbage under cold running water. Press, but do not squeeze, to drain; pat dry with paper towels. Place wilted cabbage and carrot in large bowl.
2. Stir buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, shallot, parsley, vinegar, sugar, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper together in small bowl. Pour dressing over cabbage and toss to combine; refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. (Coleslaw can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
Am I missing something here? Does anyone salt the cabbage and perhaps use a different dressing that is more flavorful? Is the salting a method used often? I've not seen it in any other recipe I can recall. Inquiring minds and all that...the recipe is below, I'm posting it for reference, I don't recommend it.
PS, I don't have any regular table salt in the house and used one and one/half times the amount of kosher, surely that's not the problem.
Creamy Buttermilk Coleslaw
If you are planning to serve the coleslaw immediately, rinse the salted cabbage in a large bowl of ice water, drain it in a colander, pick out any ice cubes, then pat the cabbage dry before dressing.
Makes about 6 cups 1 pound cabbage (about 1/2 medium head), red or green, shredded fine (6 cups)
table salt
1 medium carrot , shredded on box grater
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. Toss shredded cabbage and 1 teaspoon salt in colander or large mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Let stand until cabbage wilts, at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Rinse cabbage under cold running water. Press, but do not squeeze, to drain; pat dry with paper towels. Place wilted cabbage and carrot in large bowl.
2. Stir buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, shallot, parsley, vinegar, sugar, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper together in small bowl. Pour dressing over cabbage and toss to combine; refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. (Coleslaw can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)