Sauerkraut

[guajolote]

After you add the salt to the cabbage cover it with whole leaves. the ziploc bags are full of of brine and weigh the kraut down so that it is submerged.

Wow!  How exciting!  (I know, that's what guajolote said, too  )  I'm fired up to try this; it looks beautiful and tasty!

I would like some elaboration, though, especially on the photo that's half shredded cabbage and half whole leaves.  (Just try to write that bit clearly.)

←

[ronnie_suburban]

Wow!  How exciting!  (I know, that's what guajolote said, too  )  I'm fired up to try this; it looks beautiful and tasty!

I would like some elaboration, though, especially on the photo that's half shredded cabbage and half whole leaves.  (Just try to write that bit clearly.)

←

I must say that everything I've made from Linda Ziedrich's Joy of Pickling has been fantastic, although I've still never attempted to make the sauerkraut.

=R=

[woodburner]

Personally, I think variations of procedure are most likely minimal. We have a few certain criteria which seem to work well. Freshness and Strain/Variety of cabbage can change the taste and texture. Also waiting for at least one good hard frost to hit the picking field seems to do more good than harm.

As far as slicing, we use a krauthobel.

http://www.rollingpin.com/index.asp?displa...manu=Krauthobel

Variation of taste and flavor can vastly differ, concerning the cooking procedure.

Cooked in a bit of wine, baked, it's all good.

woodburner

Edited September 13, 2004 by woodburner (log)

[Marlene]

I adore saurkraut, but I must confess I've never made it. I always get my fix at Oktoberfest in Kitchenerwhich is coming up soon

I'm thinking I'll have to make this my new project. Learn to make saurkraut

edited to add link

[NulloModo]

nothing is more exciting than pictures of shredded cabbage 

helen, a cookbook i have, the joy of pickling, has a recipe for kraut with gewurtztraminer, which i have been wanting to try. it's much easier to shred the cabbage using a food processor w/ a shredding disk installed.

this pic is a little more exciting:

←

That photo is making my mouth water right now. What all goes into that?

[helenjp]

North Dakota notes on making sauerkraut

Don't recall if that was the site I used, but it has much the same info, with more exact temps in that weird Fahrenheit system .

Plastic containers are good, but if you plan to re-use, a stoneware crock may be better.

Food processor with shredding disk? Don't I wish I had any kind of food processor at all!

Thanks for the sauerkraut blog, I did a sauerkraut search, but didn't find it

That photo half covered with cabbage leaves is, I guess, the leaves rolled back to show the pickle in progress!

I use outer leaves for that purpose too, saves the kraut, as any minor spoilage etc is likely to occur on the top anyway, and the very top usually is not as tasty as further down the barrel - a good reason to use reject leaves on the top. Make sure they're salted, though!

So how does everybody like to eat sauerkraut? I like it heated with a little apple...

[Toliver]

That photo half covered with cabbage leaves is, I guess, the leaves rolled back to show the pickle in progress!

←

Yes, and to show the difference in color.

My favorite way is to eat it is when my mom makes her Bohemian Pork Roast and Sauerkraut, with dumplings added last. The pork roast is first oven-cooked (use a knife to put slits in the roast and then put pieces of garlic in the slits...then season the outside of the roast and roast it until almost done). Remove the roast from the pan. Then add the sauerkraut to the pan (my mom uses store-bought jarred sauerkraut and does not use the juice from the jarred sauerkraut since she thinks it's too sour...fresh-made sauerkraut may be different, of course). Make sure sure you leave in all the roast drippings that are left in the pan since it will add great flavor. To the sauerkraut add a diced onion, some carroway seeds and a little brown sugar to balance the tartness of the sauerkraut...my aunt adds shredded carrot instead of brown sugar...mix together and then water is added so there's lots of juice but it's not swimming in it. Then the roast is put back on top of the sauerkraut and it's all put back into the oven. Once the sauerkraut browns (so it's not stark white anymore) it gets taken out of the oven. The roast is set aside for carving while the sauerkraut (still in the pan) is put on the stove and brought to a boil. Once boiling, you add the dumplings. You cook them for a short bit with the pan lid off and then you put the lid on and don't peek. After 15 minutes the dumplings have plumped and eveything's ready to eat. Sometimes my mom will make potato pancakes on the side which aren't really Bohemian but she learned how to make them from a Polish neighbor when she first got married.

I went through a phase of hating it since we ate pork roast and sauerkraut so often when I was young but now I crave it. Ain't Life funny?

edited to add my mom's version.

Edited September 14, 2004 by Toliver (log)

[McDuff]

I have a plastic barrel down in the cellar right now which has been there for several weeks, and it's not really cool down there. I peeked at it the other day, it has white film on the brine that's sticking up around the plastic bags I used to hold it down. I don't know. I'm scared to eat it. I was away for 8 days and couldn't tend to it, not that I was doing anything to it other than looking and obsessing. It was cheap enough that I don't care if I need to pitch it. But it sure looks and smells like pickled cabbage. How does one know if it's gone off?

[woodburner]

Now I'm starting to re-think our entire process.

Test.

That's always the answer.

We mash our shredded cabbage, with a wooden masher, in our stone crocks.

Our procedure is as follows:

Peel outer leaves and do not discard.

Core the cabbage.

Cut into quarters.

Shred two or three whole head into crock.

Add salt, and mash.

Maybe more like beat to death, to start the juice extraction.

Repeat until the crock is full.

Lay full leaves from first step over the top, and cover with muslin and (weight down for about 2 weeks.)

Start new crock.

After two weeks, reassemble workers and can into quarts. (about 100)

Tomorrow I will pick up fresh kraut in the dairy section of the market, purchase a can of kraut, and open a fresh quart from my pantry from last year.

I'll take some photo's and post, my taste findings.

Does anyone else mash the shreded cabbage?

woodburner

[helenjp]

McDuff, I would carefully scoop off the film, remove the bags of brine (make more in advance to cool and use), and scoop off any more filmy stuff. Now, is the brine underneath clear or cloudy? As you say it smells like sauerkraut, you may be in luck. If it's clear, get some alcohol and kitchen towels, wipe around the plastic, maybe spray a little alcohol on the surface of the brine (just a little), and replace lid and weights (clean plate preferably boiled or doused in boiling water, clean new bags freshly filled with cool brine). Cover, and heave a sigh of relief, but keep a sharp eye on it, as mold will reappear easily.

Woodburner, yes, I mash, tamp, bash that kraut as firmly as I can! Your method sounds the same as the way I make it. (Whew!). Except that I don't can it, just eat fast...

[Marlene]

[so how does everybody like to eat sauerkraut? I like it heated with a little apple...

←

spareribs and saurkraut!

2 lbs of ribs, some lard, a little coarse salt and pepper. Season the ribs first with the salt and pepper

Broil the the ribs first under the broiler, or if you don't care about your fat content, melt some lard in a roasting pan (be sure the roasting pan has a lid for later), and brown the ribs first. The lard method does "give a little something" to the taste.

remove the ribs from the pan. Put a layer of saurkraut in the bottom, then a layer of ribs, then a layer of saurkraut, beginning and ending with saurkraut. You could also add some peeled apples to this for some extra taste.

Set oven to 325, cover the roasting pan and bake for 2- 3 hours. Each hour, "turn the saurkraut" moving wetter saurkraut to the top and the drier to the bottom of the pan.

The ribs are falling of the bone, and the saurkraut is to die for.

This is probably one of my all time favourite dishes.

[woodburner]

I like it baked.

Small casserole dish, say 9x9, a few inches deep.

Load with kraut, add four or five teaspoons of bacon drippings, shred one apple over the top, lay two smoked pork chops on top, cover and bake.

woodburner

[NulloModo]

I will eat kraut on anything.

I have to say I prefer the canned stuff to the crunchy/sweet "new kraut" though. To me sauerkraut should be salty, tangy, and a bit chewy, but never crunchy. How is the texture of the home made stuff?

[Marlene]

I like it baked.

Small casserole dish, say 9x9, a few inches deep.

Load with kraut, add four or five teaspoons of bacon drippings, shred one apple over the top, lay two smoked pork chops on top, cover and bake.

woodburner

←

ooooh, I like the sounds of this. You always have such great ideas woodburner.

[helenjp]

NulloModo, if it's crunchy, I don't think it's finished fermenting! Maybe people eat it half-pickled so that it's not so sour??

[ronnie_suburban]

A lot everyone's 'sauerkraut favorites' sound great and I have a serious weakness for well-constructed reuben sandwiches but that Choucroute Garni that guajolote made (pictured above) was the stuff of legends

=R=

[TJHarris]

So how does everybody like to eat sauerkraut? I like it heated with a little apple...

←

Cold, straight out of the fridge, with my fingers!

Often will braise a pork but in the kraut.

Other times will render some bacon, saute a couple of apples and simmer with kraut.

[kellycolorado]

I just took the Joy of Pickling out of the library earlier this week to try my hand at sauerkraut when it cools down a bit outside. I've been reading a lot about the health benefits of eating fermented foods. Plus I just love kraut.

The site for the book Wild Fermentation has more info as well as sauerkraut making instructions.

[tejon]

This is my favorite sauerkraut dish. It's supposed to be an Amish custom to eat pork and sauerkraut together on New Year's day, and this recipe came from a friend's Amish grandma.

Take a 3-4 pound pork roast - sprinkle with salt and pepper, roast in a 325 oven for several hours.

Toss into a crockpot with drained sauerkraut and around 1/2 cup chicken broth. Add in some brown sugar and caraway seeds, or skip. Both ways are wonderful.

Cook on low for 24 hours (yep, you read that right - 24 hours!), adding additional broth if needed. The pork ends up completely falling apart into shreds and the saurkraut and meat meld together in a wonderful way. This is incredible served over mashed potatoes with some caramelized onions along side.

[elrap]

Someone in this long and juicy thread asked about buying crocks. In my area (New England) I recommend the glass crocks at Kohls. They come in many sizes, including enormous.

I'm in the sauerkraut mood myself, having made some last year for the first time. I think I'll do one straight up- orthodox, just salt, organic cabbage and maybe a few bay leaves, but the other I think I might try layering with pickling cucumbers. Has anyone tried that?

[thebaker]

Does anyone have a good recipe for sauerkraut

thanks..

[helenjp]

Ohio State University Extension recipe - this is the one I base my sauerkraut on. I don't make it until November in Japan, as the weather can become unpredictably warm before then.

I agree with the "chop it finer" thing - it makes all the difference to the finished product. I wish I had one of those special sauerkraut slicers, though - it's very hard work and if you can get a friend of 10 to help you, don't turn them down!

[JEL]

i got this recipe from my great great aunt carrie volkening as she was nearing her 100th year. we were at a family function and she grabbed my arm asking me to fill her beer cup from the pitcher full i was carrying.......

it goes like this......

ac (aunt carrie): hey john, how bout a little bit of that keg beer you got there, just a little now, ( i filled the glass and she drank it)...

john: ya know, i've been meaning to ask you about your saurkraut recipe and what i need to make it....

ac: ya, well there's really not much of a trick to it, ya chop up your cabbage, add a little salt and vinegar, cover your crock with a towel, put a board, and a big rock on top of it. when the rock gets moldy, the kraut is done.......

john: really, how much cabbage, salt and vinegar, and at what temperature, and for how long.....

ac: ya, well that's the trick right there...........

i laughed. refilled her beer cup gave her a hug and walked away........

[woodburner]

Last week I stopped at my local farm stand which officialy ended it's selling season, (10/16) to procure our cabbage. The heads were barely bigger than a softball which is unusual for fall cabbage. Excessive rains and above average temperatures were to blame for the low yields, I was told. I inquired to the owner (who happens to be a friend of my wife's) if she could try and locate some larger heads for our yearly sauerkraut production. She called me at work last Tuesday to confirm the she was able to find larger heads, for $1.25 each. I agreed to two cases, which turned out to be 26 head. I picked them up yesterday, and we will be slicng and packing this coming week. This time I will get images and post them.

As a side note, I am in the northeast, upstate New York and the cabbage was grown in Canada.

woodburner

[woodburner]

We start out with two different sources of cabbage heads, both from Canada. While not exactly sure of the boxed heads, which contain 12 each and the 50lb bags, which are marked in French, each bag contains twelve head.

We use a wooden style mandolin which contains recently sharpened blades to do the shredding whilst the small wooden box is slid back and forth to slice the cabbage in three layers.

The heads are cored and quartered for the proper size shredding.

Gentle tamping during salt addtions to pack the cabbage, and to initiate the brine.

While somewhat hard to see, the larger halved head in the center of the image, shows a head that was taken from the plastic bag lot. It clearly shows a more dense cabbage than the boxed heads, but proved to have much less flavor, which was very intresting.

This image shows a full crock of shredded cabbage with water starting to weep about 2 inches from the top of the crock.

We will skim any scum that forms for the next few weeks, and then onto the canning process after that.

woodburner