From 1912:
Lay a small firm cabbage in cold water for half an hour and boil it in salted water for thirty minutes. Remove it, drain the water from it, and set the cabbage aside to become very cold. When this stage is reached cut the center from the cabbage with a sharp knife in such a way as to leave a good sized hollow surrounded by thick walls of the cabbage leaves. Chop the part you have removed fine with an equal quantity of cold boiled ham or of salt pork which has been fried crisp in its fat and then drained. Add a tablespoonful of bread crumbs. Put the mixtures back into the cabbage box, lay in a baking pan, pour around it stock in which corn beef has been boiled, cover the dish and bake for an hour.
Uncover, strew dry crumbs over the top, dot with bits of butter, and brown.