Smoked Cabbage with Bacon and Onion Stuffing

Preparation

1. Remove the tough outer leaves of a whole cabbage that has been washed and dried. Using a sharp knife cut the hard core out of the centre of the cabbage. To do this cut a cone shape around the core, turn the cabbage upside down and give it a few taps; the core should simply drop out.
2. Fry the bacon slices until cooked and crisp. Reserve 1 tbsp of the bacon fat. Drain on paper towel and crumble into small pieces. Set aside.
3. Heat the reserved bacon fat in a skillet on medium heat and add the diced onion. Sauté, stirring often, until the onion becomes soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the bacon crumbles and ¼ C of the BBQ sauce to the onions stirring to incorporate. Remove from heat. Spoon this mixture into the cavity of the cabbage.
4. Set the Intelligent Temperature Control of the Memphis Pellet Grill to 225 F. Using a long piece of scrunched up tin foil create a ring that fits around the base of the stuffed cabbage. Place the ring on the bottom rack of the grill and stand the stuffed cabbage upright inside the ring. Baste the outside of the cabbage with some of the remaining BBQ sauce. Close the lid and smoke the cabbage for approximately 2 hours basting with BBQ sauce every ½ hour. Being careful, slip the cabbage off the grill and onto a pan.
5. Wrap the cabbage in heavy foil leaving an opening at the top. Melt the butter and combine with the chicken broth. Pour this mixture over the top of the cabbage then seal the foil to fully enclose the cabbage. Place the foil wrapped cabbage back on the Memphis, close the lid and turn the temperature control up to 350 F. Continue baking the cabbage until it becomes soft and starts to lose its shape. Test with a skewer to make sure the cabbage is cooked all the way through before removing from the grill. Depending on the size of your cabbage, this could take from 2 ½ - 4 hours.
6. Spoon the stuffing into a bowl, chop the cabbage into bite-sized pieces and toss with the onion/bacon stuffing. Add some extra BBQ sauce (that’s been heated) if desired. Serve immediately.