1 pound none fresh sweet Italian pork sausages or bulk sausage meat
1 large none green or Savoy cabbage 2 pounds, cored and thickly shredded
to taste none Salt
to taste none black pepper Freshly ground
For serving none bread Crusty
For serving none mustard Coarse
Equipment
Large pot
9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish
Colander
Parchment paper
Aluminum foil
Directions
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and butter a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish.
If using sausages, remove casings and discard them.
Place cabbage in boiling water, cover, and let water come back to the boil.
Uncover and boil for 3 minutes. Drain cabbage in a colander and run cold water over it to stop cooking. Drain well.
Put about 1/3 of the cabbage in buttered dish and cover with 1/2 the meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and dot with butter.
Repeat, ending with a final layer of cabbage, and dot top with butter.
Cover dish tightly with a layer of parchment paper, then top with a lid or a layer of aluminum foil.
Cook for about 2 1/2 hours, until cabbage is soft and sweet, and top is lightly browned.
After 2 hours, uncover the dish; if there is a lot of liquid in the bottom, leave uncovered for the rest of the cooking time. If not, re-cover and finish cooking.