Vincent’s Garlic Cole Slaw
Vincent’s is a seafood place that was opposite the Dr. Pepper plant on Mockingbird in Dallas, when I was growing up. I visited their new location in Plano, TX and confirmed their garlic slaw is as good as it used to be. Goes great with grilled or broiled seafood.
Ingredients:
1 medium head green cabbage, shredded
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 c cider vinegar
3 T garlic*, very finely chopped and then smashed
1 1/2 t Kosher salt
Method: To smash garlic, chop it very fine on a cutting board then dump the salt on top. Use the flat side of a chef’s knife to rub the salt and garlic together so it becomes atomized. Transfer garlic and salt to a jar then add oil, mayo and vinegar; shake to mix. Pour over cabbage, stir to mix and allow to cure at least 2 hours. Mix again before serving.
Note: There are some truly strange recipes for Vincent’s slaw circulating on the internet, including one claiming to be “official” which would be inedible if you followed the measurements accurately. Most of them recommend soaking the cabbage in ice water overnight and this is not a bad thing to do; I tested with and without soaking and by the time the slaw is ready to serve, the difference in crispiness between soaked and non-soaked cabbage is negligible to nonexistent.
* Yep, that’s a lot of garlic!
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I am a fan of Vincent’s too. I am wondering what kind of vegetable oil to use. My preference would be olive oil, but I want to make it right.
I have never smashed garlic. I am going to give it a try. Would crushed garlic in a jar work? Then, add the salt to it.
Thanks
These are two great questions, Cathy. Regarding the oil, I wouldn’t use olive. I would use a neutral flavored vegetable oil–peanut or corn. Generic Wesson oil has a fishy taste to me so I would not use that. Olive oil is great but if you use it for this it will give you a different taste than the classic Vincent’s.
Regarding smashing the garlic, you could probably use the crushed garlic with separate salt but I’d encourage you to try the technique the way I describe it. It’s just a great way to get an intense garlic taste in all kinds of recipes so it’s a good trick to know.