There are two ways to get your cabbage leaves ready. To blanch or not to blanch, that is the question: Blanching: Core cabbage and place head down in enough boiling water to cover, turn off heat. When cabbage has wilted, carefully remove from the water, let cool, and peel the leaves off leaving them whole. Trim heavy vein down to make it flat. Freezing: Remove the tough outer leaves of the cabbage, rinse, and core the cabbage. Pat dry and place the head in a zip-top plastic bag and freeze. When ready to use, defrost the cabbage and the leaves will peel off easily. Cabbage leaves holds water, so when it is frozen and then thawed, it releases the water to make the leaves wilt. Place your pork neck bones or smoked pork ribs in a large pot. Add half of the sauerkraut.
Heat up 1 cup of rice with ½ cup of water and let it absorb the water. Let cool.
Combine meat, onion, seasonings, and cooled rice, mix well.
In the center of each wilted cabbage leaf place 2-3 Tablespoons of meat mixture. Fold in sides of cabbage leaves first and roll up. Add all of this to the pot.
Put the rest of the sauerkraut on top. Add tomato juice and water.
Bring to a slow boil. Lower heat and simmer for 1 ½ – 2 hours.
Serve with sour cream and crusty bread!
