Golupki (Golumpki) – Mania’s Polish Recipe

The first meal that I made for my future in-laws was a family favorite, golupki. You may know it as pigs-in-a-blanket or stuffed cabbage.

My mother-in-law made me many Greek dishes, including a delectable Mediterranean Chicken, and the flavors were spectacular. I wanted to introduce her to some of my ethnic specialties.

We grew up eating this cabbage and beef dish during the cold, winter months.

When I was a kid, I didn’t like the cabbage. I left it on my plate and just ate the filling. Nowadays, I love the cabbage.  And that’s a good thing because cabbage contains some great vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

The long cooking time and low oven heat, along with the acidity of the tomatoes results in delicious golupki.

I’ve tried other recipes, but they don’t have the same rich flavor. It’s my mom’s recipe, so it has been under construction for 50+ years.

I’ve also had great results making this dish in the slow cooker. In fact, it’s now my favorite way to make it because I can “set it and forget it.) Just add enough liquid to cover the rolls.

I set the cooker to high for about 5 hours. Then I set it to low until dinner time.

How can you beat that?

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Mania’s Golupki

Meatloaf mix (veal, pork, and beef) makes the softest golupki.

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Polish

Keyword: golupki

Servings: 8

Calories: 310kcal

Author: A. JoAnn

Ingredients

• 1 head cabbage
• ½ c. uncooked rice
• 1 onion
• 2 ½ lbs. meatloaf mix ground hamburger, pork, veal
• 2-3 rashers bacon
• 2 qt. tomato juice
• 1 T. rubbed sage
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Be sure to have a large covered casserole dish, or use foil to tightly cover when baking the golupki.
• Preheat oven to 325°F
• Steam in a large pot, or microwave, a large head of cabbage, until the leaves become soft and pliable.
• Meanwhile, chop and saute one yellow onion until soft.
• Mix thoroughly the meatloaf mix, rice, sage, salt, pepper, and sauteed onions.
• Peel off a cabbage leaf. If the leaf rib is too thick, place the leaf on a cutting board and cut out the rib with a sharp knife.
  
• Place about 1/3 c. seasoned meatloaf mix in center of leaf. Roll up long ways, tucking sides in.
  
• Place cabbage rolls, seam side down, in a large casserole dish. Repeat until all meatloaf mix is used. You can pack the rolls tightly, they’ll be fine. Pour enough tomato juice over rolls so that they are covered. Add bacon rashers (uncooked) on top.
  
• Cover and bake for 3-3 1/2 hours at 325°F. Check occasionally. If more liquid is needed, add tomato juice.
  

Notes

This dish is even better reheated the next day!

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