Source Attribution
Original Cookbook Name: Big Mama’s Old Black Pot
Published By: Stoke Gabriel Enterprises, Inc.
Year of Publication: 1989
Page Number: 40
Category: Vegetables
Author / Contributor: Ethel Rayson Dixon
Heritage & Cultural Context
Cabbage Rolls represent a beautiful intersection of culinary traditions that found a home in African American Southern cooking. While cabbage rolls have roots in Eastern European cuisine (known as golabki, holubsti, or sarma), they were embraced and adapted in Black American kitchens, particularly in communities where diverse cultural foodways blended. The use of ham hocks in this recipe—a cornerstone ingredient in soul food cooking—transforms this dish into something distinctly Southern and resourceful. Like many heritage recipes, this method demonstrates the art of stretching ingredients: ground pork, rice, and affordable vegetables wrapped in tender cabbage leaves and slow-cooked with flavorful ham hocks to create a complete, satisfying meal. This dish would have been served at Sunday suppers, potlucks, and family gatherings, where the time invested in rolling each cabbage leaf was an act of love and care for those being fed.
Ingredients
- 1 head of cabbage
- 1 pound ground pork sausage
- 2 Tablespoons onion (chopped)
- 1-1/4 cups rice (cooked)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1-1/4 cups tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 3 pounds ham hocks
Instructions
- Wash the head of cabbage and submerge it in boiling water for 5 minutes.
- Remove from water and allow to drain. Add onion, rice, eggs, salt, and pepper to the sausage.
- Roll the meat mixture in cabbage leaves and secure with a toothpick.
- Place the ham hocks at the bottom of a cast-iron pot, covering them with enough water to reach the bottom.
- Place cabbage rolls over ham hocks.
- Make a mixture of tomato sauce and 1 cup of water. Pour over cabbage rolls.
- Cover and cook over medium-low heat for approximately 1 hour.
Yield: Serves 4-6
Editor’s Note
For easier rolling, carefully separate cabbage leaves after boiling and trim the thick center rib if needed. If you can’t find ham hocks, smoked turkey legs or necks provide a similar depth of flavor with less fat. You can also use ground turkey or beef instead of pork sausage. The cast-iron pot helps with even heat distribution, but a Dutch oven works beautifully as well. Check occasionally while cooking and add more water if the liquid evaporates too quickly—you want a gentle braise, not a dry pot. Leftover cabbage rolls reheat wonderfully and often taste even better the next day as the flavors meld. Serve with cornbread or mashed potatoes to soak up the flavorful tomato broth.
Cultural Insight
This recipe showcases the adaptive genius of Black Southern cooks who took dishes from various cultural traditions and made them their own through ingredient choice and cooking technique. The addition of ham hocks—a cherished element of soul food that transforms stocks, beans, and greens—marks this as distinctly Southern. In an era when whole-animal butchering was common and nothing was wasted, ham hocks provided deep, smoky flavor at little cost. The careful preparation of cabbage rolls, each one individually filled and rolled, reflects the tradition of time-intensive cooking as an expression of hospitality and family care. This is food made with intention, where the labor of preparation becomes part of the love served at the table. “Big Mama’s Old Black Pot” evokes the central importance of cast iron cookware in Black kitchens—vessels passed down through generations, seasoned with history, and used to feed families and communities through joy and hardship alike.
Visual Reference
