Smoked Cabbage Recipe: How to Smoke Cabbage

Smoked cabbage is cabbage that cooks in a smoker. It’s possible to smoke a whole cabbage, cabbage wedges, or cabbage steaks to impart a smoky flavor to the leafy vegetable, which absorbs other flavors well.

Smoked cabbage differs from grilled cabbage in that smoked cabbage uses wood chips or pellets, depending on the smoker, whereas a grill uses charcoal or gas. For beginners, using a pellet smoker or pellet grill is an easy way to get started smoking foods.

A popular side dish to proteins, especially barbecue (or BBQ), smoked cabbage complements meatloaf, barbecue beef brisket, and smoked corned beef. Prepare a classic corned beef brisket—a traditional Irish dish—for a St. Patrick’s Day–inspired meal. Alternatively, combine chopped cabbage with mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and other seasonings for a smoked cabbage coleslaw.

Raw cabbage has an earthy, bitter flavor, but smoking cabbage mellows out the bitterness. Here are actions you can take to add even more flavor to your smoked cabbage dish:

• Brush the smoked cabbage with barbecue sauce. Use a store-bought or homemade barbecue sauce (or BBQ sauce). Depending on the flavor profile you want to achieve, you can opt for a tomato-based barbecue sauce or a vinegar-based sauce.
• Make a dry rub. Combine smoked paprika, brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, jalapeño powder (or cayenne pepper), garlic powder, and onion powder. To thoroughly flavor a head of cabbage, cut it in quarters, leaving the stem intact. Drizzle olive oil over the cabbage, then rub the seasoning mixture all over and between the leaves before you smoke the cabbage. For a simple, three-ingredient dry rub, try pitmaster Aaron Franklin’s barbecue seasoning recipe.
• Use flavored wood chips or pellets in the smoker. Experiment with hickory, applewood, and mesquite wood chips or others to impart a unique flavor to the cabbage. Keep in mind, the flavored chips or pellets will also enhance any other flavorings you use, such as a dry rub or barbecue sauce.
• Wrap the cabbage in bacon. Wrap sliced bacon around the cabbage, overlapping the slices to account for shrinkage during the smoking process. The bacon adds an even smokier flavor, while the fat keeps the cabbage moist.