Need to see your filling recipe. If there is a lot of celery in it, this could account for the pink color, as celery has natural chemicals in it that stains the meat pink.
A favorite stuffing recipe for stuffed cabbage:
2 parts Ground Beef
1 part Italian sausage (I use Cudaghi Sausage, but it isn't widely available)
2 tsp. rubbed sage
1 minced onion
1/4 bread crumbs, or farina
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. salt
2 tbs. coarse-grind black pepper
2 tbs, minced basil
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 tsp. red (Cayenne) pepper
Sauce: - your favorite marinara sauce/w mushrooms (I love mushrooms)
Here's a mostly authentic Cudaghi Sausage recipe:
Ingredients:
6 lb coarsely ground pork (Boston Butt is best)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbs. Crushed red pepper
6 tbs.. Salt
1 1/2 tbs. fennel seed
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tbs. ground sage
Have the pork run through the grinder twice. Add the other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Shape into eliptical patties for the famous Cudaghi Sandwich, where the patties are place into a hoagie roll, and topped with Mozzarella Cheese, and Marinara Sauce. I like to combing the sausage with beef to make meatballs, meatloaf, and other such things. Adn me, I often change the recipe, simply because I'm that kind of guy.
Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North