Portuguese Sausage and Cabbage Skillet (One Pan, No Rice)

Portuguese sausage and cabbage is the dinner I make when the fridge is almost empty and I still want something that tastes like home. Brown the sausage, let the cabbage soak up that smoky, garlicky fat, and finish it with a splash of vinegar. One pan, no rice, and nobody asks where the rice went.

I'm Mark. The one job here is the label: turn the sausage package over before it goes in your cart.

Yield: 4 servings | Prep: 10 min | Cook: example 20-25 minutes

Hawaii grocery notes

• Foodland / Times: Portuguese sausage in the meat case, mild or hot. Green cabbage, onion, garlic, green onion.
• Don Quijote: more Portuguese sausage choices, plus cabbage and chili pepper water.
• Costco: a big head of green cabbage, garlic in the big jar or fresh heads, butter.
• Check the sausage label for added sugar. Turn the package over and read the ingredient list. Some Portuguese sausage lists sugar, corn syrup or dextrose. Pick a pack where sugar is absent or near the end of the list, and look at the carbs per serving. If your only choice has sugar high on the list, use less sausage and more cabbage.
• No rice, no flour, no sweet sauce.

Ingredients (4 servings)

• About 1 lb Portuguese sausage, mild or hot, sliced into coins (label checked for added sugar)
• 1/2 medium head green cabbage, cored and sliced into thin ribbons
• 1/4 small onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp butter or oil, if the sausage does not give off enough fat
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 tsp chili flakes, to taste
• 1-2 tsp unseasoned rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• Salt, only after tasting

To serve:

• Sliced green onion
• Chili pepper water at the table (optional)

Instructions

1. Read the label. Before you start, check the sausage package. If it says fully cooked or smoked, you are browning it for flavor. If it says raw or uncooked, cook it through before serving.
2. Brown the sausage. Set a large skillet (cast iron if you have it) over medium heat. Add the sausage coins in one layer. Example time: 6-8 minutes, turning once, until both sides are browned and some fat has rendered. Move the sausage to a plate and leave the fat in the pan.
3. Soften the onion. If the pan looks dry, add the butter or oil. Add the onion and cook a couple of minutes until it starts to soften.
4. Fry the cabbage. Add the cabbage and pepper. Toss it in the fat and spread it out. Example time: 8-10 minutes, stirring now and then, until it wilts and picks up brown edges. If the pan is crowded, cook it in two rounds rather than adding water. You want fried cabbage, not steamed cabbage.
5. Add the garlic. Push the cabbage to the side, add the garlic and chili flakes to the open spot, and stir for about a minute until fragrant. Then mix it through.
6. Bring it together. Return the sausage to the pan and toss for a minute or two to heat through.
7. Finish. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar. Toss, taste, and add salt only if it needs it. The sausage is already salty.
8. Serve. Top with green onion and put the chili pepper water on the table.

Notes

• The vinegar is what makes it taste finished. Start with a little and add more to taste.
• Hot Portuguese sausage brings its own spice. Go easy on the chili flakes until you taste it.
• Want breakfast instead? The sausage and cabbage with eggs version is here: Portuguese sausage breakfast skillet.
• Leftovers: reheat in a hot skillet to bring the edges back. The microwave works, but the cabbage goes soft.

Mark Souza
Honolulu

• More pork and cabbage: slow-cooker kalua pig with cabbage.