Hot Slaw

If you aren’t from East Tennessee, chances are you have no idea about hot slaw. It is a household staple in my area and once you have it, you can never go back. It hits all the marks- savory, sweet, salty, tangy. Star-vue Drive In had a famous hot slaw recipe back in the day and our entire town tries to replicate it.

Try it on a hamburger, hot dog, bbq sandwich or as a side dish.

My version is simple- cabbage, mayo, mustard, hot pepper, sugar. And it gets even better after it has set in the fridge overnight. Even though this version is simple, there are some controversial ingredients. Mayonnaise conversations in the south can turn into a fight in a heartbeat. Just use your favorite. Pepper conversations usually end in “watch this”, again- use your favorite.

If you find you have cleaned up the entire kitchen and the slaw still isn’t hot enough, I have been known to throw in ground cayenne. It always works in a pinch.

I also like to make 2 or 3 batches and give some away to friends.

Hot Slaw

• Servings: 4-6
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Simple, easy, spicy, sweet- hits all the right notes. The hardest task is shredding the cabbage.

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage, shredded
1-2 cups mayo
1/4 cup mustard
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (splenda works well also)
5-7 jarred hot peppers- Mezzetta’s Pickled Hot Chili Peppers works well or you could use 1-2 fresh jalapenos.

Directions

1. Shred the cabbage. You can use a use a food processor or a hand grater.
2. If using a food processor, after you remove the shredded cabbage, throw in your peppers and the remaining ingredients and let it spin for a minute or two. If not, dice the peppers and add the remaining ingredients to the bowl.

Make this recipe your own- use as many peppers as you like. Remember as it sits, it does draw additional heat from the peppers. If you like your slaw sweeter, add more sugar. Experiment!