why it works
- The sugar and salt mixture draws excess moisture from the cabbage, leaving it with a soft yet crunchy texture.
- Sour cream adds a unique tartness to the dressing, which pairs well with apples.
- Granny Smith apples add fruitiness and complement the sweet and sour flavor of the dressing.
My barbecue side dish game changed forever when I realized that with simple preparation and the addition of a flavorful dressing, coleslaw is a perfect accompaniment to rich, fatty barbecued and smoked meats.
For Kenji’s classic creamy coleslaw, we recommend preparing the vegetables by soaking them in a salt and sugar mixture to remove excess moisture and allow them to better absorb dressings and seasonings. Building on this base, we tried a tangy vinegar slaw, a savory mustard slaw, a regional Lexington-style red slaw, and a spicy Tex-Mex variation.
Serious Eats / Mateja Zvirotić Andrijanic
Another twist is to add shredded Granny Smith apples to the cabbage and carrots to add tartness and fruitiness to this slaw. When deciding on the appropriate dressing to go with this version, I started with sour cream. This creates a richer, more complex base than mayonnaise alone. I added a little mayonnaise to cut it, along with vinegar, sugar, honey, black pepper, and mustard powder, so as not to overpower the other ingredients. I love the texture of celery seeds, but I didn’t think celery seeds would enhance the flavor, so I decided to use the more neutral poppy seeds here. The coleslaw at the end is tangy and tart, adding a new dimension to the classic with the bright fruitiness of the apples.
June 2014
2025-10-21 17:22:00
