Southern Style Coleslaw

photo courtesy of everystockphoto.com ¹

Ever notice that your homemade coleslaw never tastes quite as good as the slaw from your favorite BBQ restaurant?   Not anymore!  The secret is using an old-fashioned cooked salad dressing as well as mayonnaise.  Go ahead and have your favorite grill-master get the (beef) ribs ready--its BBQ tonight!

What you need:

1 head cabbage (red cabbage looks very pretty in this dish, though green in more traditional)

1/2 medium onion (or more, if you like)

1-2 carrots (omit if using red cabbage)

1 egg

1/4-1/3 cup (60-80 ml) sugar (depending on how sweet you like your slaw)

1/4-1/3 cup (60-80) white or apple cider vinegar (amount depends on how tangy you like your slaw) 

3/4 to 1 scant tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper or less

1 Tbs flour

mayonnaise to taste (I usually use an equal ratio of mayonnaise to cooked dressing)

mustard to taste (Optional.  I've lately been using a spoonful of fresh ground mustard seed and am thrilled with the results.  You can use your favorite bottled mustard)

1 Tbs celery seed  (optional)

Paprika  for garnish (optional)

What you do:

Slice your cabbage using a knife or the slicing (not shredding) blade of your food processor.  If  your machine comes with two blades, use the larger. 

Shred the carrots with the larger blade

Slice, chop, or shred your onions (I prefer mine sliced very fine.  I use the smaller slicing blade on my processor.  Its worth cleaning two blades to me)

Mix together in the serving/storage bowl you will be using remembering that the salad will shrink in volume as the vegetables soften.  Use a bowl that is big enough to toss and mix the salad but not so big that you will be wasting space.

In a small saucepan beat your egg with the sugar.  Sprinkle the flour, salt, pepper, and ground mustard if using evenly over the egg mixture and beat in.  Beat in the vinegar.  Cook and stir on low heat until the mixture thickens--it may begin to "plop" as well.  If it hasn't thickened in a few minutes, just turn the heat up to medium low stirring all the while.  When completely cooled add mayonaisse and bottled mustard and celery seed if using (all to taste).  Mix with the cabbage and chill until the vegatables have softened. Garnish with paprika if desired.

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^{1. http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=11138748&searchId=5c51492941376641d7bfc2d45bf157dc&npos=162↩}