Since my recipe blog has been around since 2006, I've posted this before, but I decided to re-post because I truly think this recipe tops all of the restaurant cole slaws I've had. I had a chance to compare again, as I had a couple bites of a very good cole slaw last night with dinner when we ate 'out' for Mother's Day. Since I'm not doing sugary foods right now and cole slaw traditionally has sugar in it, I only opted for 3 bites; enough to compare the restaurant version to the one I make at home. My homemade version won. Any time I need to prepare a side dish for a bbq, event or summer dinner and want to make cole slaw, this is the recipe I turn to time and time again. Since the mid 1990's this is my all time favorite way to prepare cole slaw. It's very similar to the taste of KFC's or Long John Silver's versions and just so good with everything from BBQ to Burgers, from Fried Chicken to Fish... well, anything!
You can use a sugar substitute of your choice instead of sugar and if you do not have buttermilk, you can sour 1/4 cup milk with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar and let it set until the chemicals react and you see it get thick. Also, if you want to skip chopping the cabbage, you can buy the cabbage/carrot mixture pre-packaged at the store to equal about 6-7 cups of shredded or finely chopped cabbage. It will be dry at first mixing but after it chills for 2 hours it will have formed its own juice. Stir well and serve cold.
The Best Cole Slaw
1 head finely chopped cabbage
1 medium carrot, grated
1/3 cup granulated sugar (optional: sugar substitute equivalent)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup milk
1½ T white vinegar
2½ tablespoons lemon juice
Combine everything but the cabbage and carrot and whisk until smooth. Add the cabbage and carrot. Chill 2 hours and serve.
