Gordon Ramsay’s braised red cabbage is shredded cabbage and grated apple cooked slowly in butter, dark brown sugar, sherry vinegar and port. The recipe comes from Great British Pub Food, serves four as a side and takes about 1 hour 40 minutes.
The dish appears in four of his books, and in Cooking for Friends he writes that it “features again and again on our restaurant menus”. Each of the four versions is different, which makes comparing them half the fun.
The step that matters comes at the end, with the lid off. The last 15 to 30 minutes reduce all that vinegar, port and sugar to a syrupy glaze. Pull it too early and you get boiled cabbage sitting in liquid.
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Gordon Ramsay Braised Red Cabbage
Course: SidesCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes1
hour25
minutes415
kcal1 hr 40 min
The braised cabbage Ramsay serves under roast partridge in Great British Pub Food, sweet and sharp from port and sherry vinegar, with bay, star anise, cinnamon and a pinch of cloves doing the Christmas work.
Ingredients
1 small red cabbage, about 600g (1.3 lb), quartered, cored and finely shredded
1 Braeburn apple, peeled, cored and grated
100g (7 tbsp) butter
150g (¾ cup) dark brown sugar
75ml (5 tbsp) sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
75ml (5 tbsp) port, or fruity red wine
3 bay leaves
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
Pinch of ground cloves
Small handful of chives, finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Quarter, core and finely shred the cabbage. Peel, core and grate the apple.
- Build the braise: Put the butter, sugar, vinegar and port into a large flameproof casserole and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon, cloves and a good pinch each of salt and pepper.
- Coat: Tip in the cabbage and apple, stir well and bring to the boil.
- Braise: Cover with a lid or foil and transfer to the oven for 1 hour, giving the cabbage a stir a few times.
- Glaze: Remove the lid and cook uncovered for another 15-30 minutes, until the cabbage is tender and the sauce is syrupy. Sprinkle with chives to serve.
Notes
- The Sunday Lunch version strips this right back: just malt vinegar, brown sugar and butter, no apple, no spice. The plainest possible partner for a roast if the spiced version fights your menu.
FAQs
Can you freeze braised red cabbage?
Yes, and it is one of the best freezer sides there is. Portion it once cold, freeze for up to three months, and defrost overnight in the fridge.
Reheat it gently in a pan with a splash of water rather than the microwave, because all that sugar catches easily. The glaze goes back to glossy within a few minutes.
What meat goes with braised red cabbage?
Rich meat, and Ramsay names them himself across the books: game birds, duck, pork, venison, sausages and turkey. The sweet and sour glaze cuts through fat the same way apple sauce does.
The roast pork loin on this site already points readers at this exact side, because crisp crackling needs something sharp beside it. Ramsay’s whole roasted duck is the other natural match, and that bird comes with an apple and sage stuffing that echoes the apple in the cabbage.
Can you make braised red cabbage in advance?
Yes, and Ramsay says so twice. Great British Pub Food notes it “can be cooked in advance”, and Cooking for Friends goes further: it “keeps well in the refrigerator for about a week”.
I make it two days before a roast, and it honestly tastes better on day two. The spices keep settling in while it sits.
Is braised red cabbage healthy?
The cabbage is, the braise is not shy. Red cabbage brings fibre and vitamin C. The braise carries 100g of butter and 150g of sugar across four servings, which is why this is a Christmas side, not an everyday one.
Each serving comes out around 415 calories. Halving the butter and sugar still works, you just get a looser, sharper glaze.
Why does Ramsay put apple in red cabbage?
The grated apple melts into the braise and rounds out the vinegar, so the sweet and sour balance comes from fruit as well as sugar. A tart variety works best, and the book names Braeburn.
Not every version handles the fruit the same way. Cooking for Friends thickly slices a whole baking apple instead of grating it, cooked under a wet parchment lid so nothing dries out.
Can you braise red cabbage quickly?
Yes, Ramsay has a 15-minute version in Quick and Delicious, cooked on the hob with red wine and mixed spice instead of the oven. The line there is “red cabbage is for life, not just for Christmas!”
He pairs that quick one with juniper venison steaks. If venison is on the menu, the loin of venison on this site is the Sunday Lunch version, seared and served pink in 25 minutes. For the festive table, this slow cabbage alongside the Ultimate Christmas roast turkey is still the one.
