WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS The fire of a hot grill tames the crunch of cabbage, resulting in a tender, sweet, deliciously smoky dish. Slicing the head into thick wedges that kept the core intact prevented it from falling apart on the grill. High heat helped develop browning, which created more sweetness. We also wanted to make sure the interior softened before the exterior overcooked. In the test kitchen, we prevent soggy coleslaw by salting chopped cabbage. The salt draws out moisture, which we drain off before dressing the coleslaw. Following that principle, we salted our cabbage wedges so the moisture would turn to steam on the grill. The steam then helped the interior of the wedges cook through. Brushing a simple lemon herb vinaigrette on the cabbage both before and after grilling added bright flavor.

Serves 6 to 8

Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• Salt and pepper
• 1 head green cabbage (2 pounds), cut into 8 wedges through core
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons minced shallot
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons juice

PREPARATION

1. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt evenly over cabbage wedges and let sit for 45 minutes.
2. Whisk oil, thyme, shallot, honey, mustard, lemon zest and juice, and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in bowl. Measure out and reserve ¼ cup vinaigrette for serving.
3. For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter half-filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
4. For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium.
5. Clean and oil cooking grate.
6. Pat cabbage wedges dry, then brush 1 cut side of wedges with half of remaining vinaigrette.
7. Place cabbage on grill, vinaigrette side down, and cook (covered if using gas) until well browned, 7 to 10 minutes.
8. Brush top cut side of wedges with remaining vinaigrette.
9. Flip and cook (covered if using gas) until second side is well browned and fork-tender, 7 to 10 minutes.
10. Transfer cabbage to serving platter and drizzle with reserved vinaigrette.
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
12. Serve.