In my experience - yes. Its toughness has nothing to do with freshness or lack of it. That's what red cabbage is like, but it's less bland tasting than the green.

I always mix 2 tablespoons olive oil with 2 tablespoons vinegar, with salt to taste, for about 2 cups shredded red cabbage. Send it to the fridge overnight or for a whole day. It's best marinated this way, at least for me. I don't add other vegetables to it, but perhaps it might be a good idea.

Oh, and I toss the whole thing a couple of times to re-coat the cabbage with the dressing.

Yes, marinating overnight helps. And slicing as thin as possible, as thin as fettuccine, or at least try. : ) You could also cut out/away some of the tougher ribs like you would prep collards, then stack and slice.
Since you are gardening, try the red kalibos. It is a torpedo type and much more tender as you can see by the cross section cut.

Another tenderizing method is to cut into wedges, about 3inch, then slow roast on a sheet pan, 325ish with some onion quarters and cauliflower florets, (just did that). 1/2 hour - 45 minutes.
Still firm but mellows the flavors away from the raw bite.
Then use your usual dressing or pickle. I use ac vinegar, olives, artichoke hearts and fresh parsley/cilantro, etc. cukes and celery. I've got a load of meyer lemons at the moment so that went in this batch.

Here is a link that might be useful: red kalibos cabbage

It is my understanding that the toughness is from the longer growing time for mature red cabbage, compared to green cabbage. It's also higher in fiber than green cabbage.

I make sure I cut it very thin using a cutting mandoline and pound it lightly (with or without salt, but salt will help, and you can always rinse the salt off). Let it sit 10-20 minutes and rinse if using salt.

I also wonder if a brief blanching or short steam treatment would help soften the fibers, then plunge into iced water to stop the cooking process if you want it crisp. Maybe even a brief steaming in the microwave...

-Grainlady

I think the "toughness" of all cabbages varies due to the climate it had while growing. We had a cool wet growing season here last year and all of our cabbages were huge and plump. :)

Using the pressure cooker helps a lot.

dcarch

I like it cooked with the juice of an orange, an onion, a clove of garlic and a little vinegar. Season and cook gently until cooked to your liking.

laceyvail, I just remembered a wonderful coleslaw recipe I found on this forum - it's called Fred Harvey's coleslaw - if you want coleslaw rather than a cooked dish, I'd give it a try. It keeps so well in the fridge that I make a huge quantity and on the 2nd the day cabbage is TENDER. I haven't tried it with red cabbage yet, but I think this marinade will do the trick just as well with the red as with the green.

Fred Harvey Cole Slaw:

Shred one medium head of cabbage and one small onion, cover with 1/2 cup of sugar.

Bring to a boil 1 tsp sugar 1/2 Tablespoon salt 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1/2 tsp celery seed 1/2 c peanut oil 1/2 c cider vinegar.

Pour over the cabbage and let stand at least 4 hours before eating.

Keeps well in the refrigerator