Tender coleslaw?

BrendaLee

I tried homemade coleslaw last night for the first time (coleslaw mix & coleslaw dressing). Although it had that same restaurant taste that I'm used to, it was unpleasantly crisp and "raw" tasting. Does anyone have any tips or tricks for tender and tasty coleslaw?

pucenavel

Cole slaw gets better with age - make it 2 days before you want to eat it.

giggitygoo

Cole slaw gets better with age - make it 2 days before you want to eat it.

Agree.

Also if you want to speed up the wilting process, you can shred up your cabbage, and season with salt. Let it sit for a few minutes (20ish), and the salt will draw out some of the water in the cabbage, softening it a bit. It's a good trick for when you want to prep it and eat it soon after. Rinse and spin dry if you don't want the extra sodium.

Otherwise, make it the night before.

BrendaLee

It's already prepared for tonight's dinner, but I'll have to try to let it age from now on.

prettywoman75

I find that the smaller the cabbage the better. I use my food processor to make a fairly fine chop of the cabbage and carrot instead of the bag mix which is already shredded. I make my mother in law's recipe which tastes ridiculously close to KFC's.

JamesonsMommy

I agree Make it ahead of time.. The brocolli slaw is also very good

tigersword

Like has already been said, you need to shred the cabbage, put it in a collandar, heavily salt it, and let it sit for awhile first. That does two things, it removes water, which helps soften the cabbage, but also makes it more able to soak up the dressing a bit as well, giving it better flavor.

And yes, rinse off the salt and dry it (salad spinner or paper towels) before you assemble.