For years now, my husband and I had a running joke about a small restaurant chain here in California called “Clearman’s North Woods Inn.” We’d never been there before and I’ve always wanted to go. Steve kept saying he’d take me and it just never happened. It became funny! This year, for our anniversary, guess where we went for dinner? :-)
North Woods Inn is one of those places where you can get a steak the size of your head, you throw peanut shells on the floor and the decor is something straight out of the early 40’s. The interior is full of dark wood, low lights and a dusty old stuffed bear in the lobby. Their marinated cabbage salad with blue cheese dressing however, is the stuff of legends!
A closely guarded secret, our waiter would say no more, other than there were a lot of ingredients and it took days to make. Hmmmm… Lucky for us, he did let one specific ingredient slip.
I was on my iPhone looking up recipes as soon as we were done eating. (Who is a foodie? Yeahhh…) None of the copy cat recipes mentioned the secret ingredient from our waiter. And trust me, there are a lot of copy cat recipes out there! Finally, we stumbled across a link to a recipe containing this mystery ingredient… BINGO!
I could hardly wait to get home, print the recipe and try it ourselves!
They say good things come to those who wait… and I waited four days for this salad!
Worth. Every. Minute.
The cabbage is tangy and sweet, all at the same time. It does take four days to marinade, so plan accordingly! Use red cabbage and a good quality olive oil for best results. Add the olive oil the last day because otherwise the oil protects the cabbage from the vinegar and will slow down the marinade process!
Here is what I found, straight from Jim in Montana, for the North Woods Inn Cabbage Salad Recipe!
Ingredients:
1 head red cabbage
3/4 cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
5 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp salt
1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 and 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 extra large zip-lock bag
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Preparation:
Split the cabbage head in half. Cut out and remove the tough core of the cabbage — discard.
Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible. The slicing disc on your food processor will help. Go back through the sliced cabbage and cut the longer parts into smaller pieces — discard thick/white parts. Place cabbage in a large zip-lock bag. You can use a large bowl if needful, but is harder to marinate that way — and takes up fridge space.
Mix together all of the other ingredients, except the oil. Pour into the cabbage and mix it up – purge the bag of air and then smush the bag to get the vinegar mixture all through the cabbage.
Twice a day (or more often) — for the next several days — smush the bag around and get the marinade all over the cabbage. The red cabbage will soften quite a bit and the marinade will become deep purple. The flavors will meld over the next few days and the cabbage will soften and seem to shrink. Continue to purge air from the bag as the cabbage softens and the air pockets collapse.
The day you plan to serve the salad, add the olive oil and smush it around. Try to give it at least an hour or more before serving.
Serve in a small bowl at the table so the juice does not turn other items red. Use a slotted spoon to drain well — or use the colander. If using the colander, save the liquid and put the excess cabbage and the liquid back into the bag for another time.
We served this delicious salad on top of lettuce wedges, with blue cheese dressing!
If you have ever been to North Woods Inn, this is a very close version of their delicious salad. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Till next time!
I agree that the Purple salad they serve now doesn’t compare with what they served decades ago….unless it’s just us old customers with enhanced memories….LOL
Tell me was “Hungarian Paprika” mentioned by Liliana Aranda really one of the secret ingredients? Or was she just guessing? I don’t remember the salad being so salty…just really vinegary. Do you think that a little bit bacon fat substituted for part of the olive could have been added years ago? That would have added salt without adding so much extra. It seems “taste and take notes” is the only way to figure this out, unless you can bribe the chef at the Northwoods. LOL
Secret spice: **Hungarian** Paprika, 1/4 tsp
Enjoy!
This recipe sounds delish, though I have been going there for 37 years and I can promise you there is another secret ingredient or two or three! They will never tell, though my uncle thinks he’s close, lol! In my experience, even the closest copy cat recipes miss the mark ever so slightly, even my own! Thanks for sharing and I am excited to test out your recipe! Now about their awesome blue cheese salad… ;)
Hi! Oh, I’m sure it’s missing a few things, but it’s darn close! We love going there for lunch, just for salad and bread. Soooooo good!
This salad is truly a memory from the 50’s, 60’s through today!! I ordered salad and bread to go recently from the Buena Park location and thought it wasn’t as good as I remembered (the purple salad) it lacked the tang but the green and blue cheese dressing and bread were great!!! I look forward to trying your recipe
Tried your recipe No go. My husband still ate it though.
I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. What about it didn’t you like?
I’ve been making this salad for years and I’ve always added the balsamic vinegar. I’m on a salt-restricted diet so I cut the salt in half but use sea salt because it seems to give it more flavor. My family has been eating at Northwoods Inn for at least the last 55 years – it’s the only place for anniversaries, birthdays and other celebrations. This recipe is definitely the closest to the original.
Hello there.. just wondering what the secret ingredient was? Also, am wondering if the inn serves this with blue cheese dressing, or was it your addition.. I cannot wait to try this.. Thanks in advance!
Hi Steve! The secret ingredient is always love! In this recipe however, it’s love AND the addition of the balsamic vinegar. It gives an extra punch of flavor. Northwoods serves this salad alongside a plain lettuce salad with blue cheese dressing. The majority of patrons mix the salads together, so that’s what I did too. It’s amazing! I hope you enjoy it and please let me know how yours turns out!
You didn’t happen to get the recipe for their blue cheese dressing, did you? It is the only blue cheese dressing that I will eat. And I live in Northern California, so it isn’t easy for me to get some.
Hi Heather! No, I didn’t. It’s great dressing though, isn’t it? I’ll have to ask next time I’m there!
I have been marinating this red cabbage recipe for 5 days now exactly as instructed and it still has not broken down to the consistency of Northwoods Inn cabbage. Something is incorrect with the measurements or you have to have a mandolin to shred the cabbage super thin. Wondering how to get the cabbage broken down so I don’t have to waste it? Possibly sauté/steam it? Was a good idea but nit even close to NI.
Thanks.
Sheri B.
Hi Sheri, I do shred the cabbage very thin. I use a sharp knife, but a mandolin would work well too. Also, I throw out all the large “white” pieces because they are very tough. Did you add the oil in with the marinade already? I did that once and it didn’t break down. The oil is supposed to be added the day you serve it. I’m sorry it didn’t work out! I hope you’ll try again.
I did throw out the tough white pieces and did not add the oil yet. It could be shredded a little thinner. Not sure if I should just throw it out or maybe steam it to soften the cabbage?
Thanks for your response.
Sheri
I’ve never tried steaming it before, but you could certainly give it a shot. If you’re considering throwing it out anyway, try steaming just half and see what happens! Can I ask what you marinated it in? We use a big plastic bag and massage it every time we open the refrigerator. Let me know what you decide to do! I’m so curious now!
Used a plastic bag and massaged it every time I went in the frig as well. Going to try to steam it tonight. Stay tuned… :)
Sheri
SAVED! Added the oil and a little water, covered it and slow cooked it for about an hour until it was FINALLY tender. Keep an eye on it and add a little more water if necessary. It was yummy (even warm) and the flavors were still there! Chilling the left over for another day.
Cheers!
Sheri B.
That’s great!!! Thank you so much for sharing with me! I’m glad it worked out! Happy eating! :-)
My husband grew up going there and tells me about it all time time! I can’t wait until I get to pay it a visit! :) I’m definitely going to try this out! Thanks so much!! :)
Yes, you have to try this! Your husband will love it! It is the closest recipe we have found to the actual North Woods Inn delight. If you do it, please let me know what you think!!
This looks delicious and will be perfect in the fall when cabbage is so abundant here! I have a favorite blue cheese dressing I will make for it: )
FOUR days?! I think you have me beat. I’m trying to recall ever making a recipe that far in advance and I’m drawing a blank. Way to go with a great copycat dish!