Recipes

Cabbage and Bacon

Recipe No. 574 from the U.S. Army's WWII cookbook — Vegetables. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Army TM10-412 · Pork · Side Dish · Vegetable

Serves 100 servings, approximately ½ cup each.
View source — TM 10-412 Army Recipes (War Department, 1944) ↗

Recipe No. 574 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Vegetables. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

  • Cabbage — 25 pounds
  • Salt — as needed
  • Water, boiling — as needed
  • Bacon, diced — 8 ounces
  • White sauce — 1 gallon (4 No. 56 dippers)

Directions

  1. Remove and discard outside leaves of cabbage; cut heads into quarters. Shred. Discard center core.
  2. Add small amount of boiling salted water. Heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 10 to 20 minutes or until just tender. Drain; reserve liquid.
  3. Fry bacon; drain.
  4. Prepare white sauce (recipe No. 497) using bacon fat and cabbage liquid; add diced bacon.
  5. Pour white sauce over cabbage just before serving.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Cabbage — 2 lb Salt — to taste Water, boiling — to taste Bacon, diced — ⅔ oz White sauce — 1¼ cups

White sauce may be omitted. Add bacon, salt and pepper to cabbage and serve.

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 574, Vegetables. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.