Sauerkraut Capital of the World Wishek, N. Dakota

[Darcie B]

For the past 81 years, on the second Wednesday in October, the tiny town of Wishek, North Dakota has hosted Sauerkraut Day. This event, sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce, is a thank you from the Chamber to the patrons of the local businesses. Each year nearly 3,000 people line up for a free lunch in the city's Civic Center. What is significant about the number of people is that the town's population hovers at about 1,000, so over 2,000 people travel from as far away as California to dine on sauerkraut, wieners, speck (bacon ends), mashed potatoes, rolls and cheese. The (relative) size of the event gave previous town elders the idea that they could call Wishek the "Sauerkraut Capital of the World," an epithet that was proudly displayed on the entrance signs as you drive into town on lonely ND Highway 13. Sadly, these welcome signs aged about as well as the rest of rural North Dakota and are now but a memory.

A view of the line up early on:

Volunteers cook and serve the food and drinks, and the local Lions Club assists.

The wieners are traditionally made by Cloverdale meats, a North Dakota company that must own stock in FD&C Red No. 3. They are tasty despite their bizarre redness, and I am told that Cloverdale supplies the links for at least two major baseball teams - the Arizona Diamondbacks are one but I can't recall the other. You may have eaten Cloverdale meats and not even known it, because 40% of their production is co-packaged for other pork producers. You can read about their product and history at the Cloverdale website.

Here is a shot of one tub of kraut and wieners:

The tubs are being constantly refilled from huge stockpots. I don't know why, but I remember the pots being bigger when I was a kid.

Sadly, the home-cooked mashed potatoes have been replaced by instant potatoes. The sauerkraut and wieners, though, have been the same for at least 40 years, possibly longer. The "speck" that is cooked with the sauerkraut was changed from salt pork to bacon ends, but I find that change to be for the better, since I didn't like the globs of salt pork rind that used to be found in the mix.

Of course, no small town event is complete without ancillary events like a flea market or auction. The Sauerkraut Day festivities included the feed at the Civic Center, and across town, a flea market and raffle. To assist folks in traveling the great distance from one event to the other (OK, it's about 8 blocks), the Kraut Mobile was born:

An enterprising farmer decided that bringing an unwanted cat to Sauerkraut Day would ensure that it was picked up by some sucker. Apparently, he was right. This little fella was trotting around the parking lot while hundreds of cars, manuevered by people who got their driver's licenses through the mail, were circling like vultures for a spot near the door (it was a balmy 30 degrees with a 25 mph wind on this fine October day). The cat sauntered up to us and greeted us with a leg rub. I patted him on the head and we left. I just couldn't take the pressure, though, and we returned to claim him as our own. My mother, the Crazy Cat Lady, informed us that we had to take him home with us, as she had enough cats of her own (last count: 14 cats). I am working on taking over the title from my mom, as this makes cat #6 for me (luckily both of our husbands like cats even more than we do).

We returned to West Virginia with the cat nestled in between us. Aside from an early bout of anxiety that culminated with a present on the floor and on my husband's boots, he was calm and sweet for the entire 1,300 mile trip. We named him Tater Tot, since he was too sweet to call Kraut Kitty and because he jumped up onto my mom's counter and started eating the leftover Tots from the previous meal.

Dedicated sauerkraut fans, mark your calendars for October 12, 2007, the 82nd Annual Sauerkraut Day.

edited for clarity and to apologize for the screwed up title

Edited October 16, 2006 by Darcie B (log)

[ronnie_suburban]

Boy, that looks like it was a lot of fun. Sure, as you point out, the dogs are a bit on the unnaturally red side, but I'm sure they were plenty tasty.

I think I've been suitably inspired to make some sauerkraut this weekend!

=R=

[rlibkind]

Looks like Franksville, Wisconsin, lost the title to Wishek. They used to grow a lot of kraut (cabbage) in Franksville and let it ferment in the field (at least it smelled that way).

[thursdaynext]

Thanks for the post, Darcie! I often travel through the Dakotas & am always looking for new points of interest to investigate.

Is Wishek one of the German settlements of the late 1800s? Are there any local eateries that serve traditionally-influenced dishes the rest of the year?

Thanks,

TN

[Darcie B]

Thanks for the post, Darcie! I often travel through the Dakotas & am always looking for new points of interest to investigate.

Is Wishek one of the German settlements of the late 1800s? Are there any local eateries that serve traditionally-influenced dishes the rest of the year?

Thanks,

TN

←

Wishek was founded by German immigrants in 1898 and remains a traditional, albeit shrinking, German community. There is only one restaurant left in Wishek and frankly, it is very bad. The restaurant used to serve Knephla Soup (German dumpling soup in a chicken/cream base) on Fridays and may still do so; that would be the only reason to eat there.

I can recommend Kroll's Kitchen in Bismarck for traditional German dishes. Here's a little blurb about them (they have two locations, the one shown below and another just off I-94 on State Street, on the north side of Bismarck):

Kroll's Diner On Main

1915 E Main Ave, Bismarck, ND 58501 · 701-255-3850

Dress: CC: Casual

Outdoor Dining: None

BISMARCK. Perhaps better known as "Kroll's Kitchen," this casual restaurant is a true local legend if there ever was one. Cozy and inviting, the downtown location stays busy daily, especially at lunch, when business folks clamor in for a bit of camaraderie and a bite or three of Russian and German-influenced comfort food. Indeed, word has it that their knoephla (a delicious soup of dumplings, potatoes, chicken broth, and cream) and fleischkuechle (spiced ground beef served on deep-fried dough) are nothing short of perfect, and it's not uncommon for the owners to field shipping requests for either to points all over the map.

[thursdaynext]

Thanks, Darcie!

I must have been to Bismarck a zillion times over the years & have never had anyone recommend Kroll's!?!? Next time I'm in town I'll make sure to stop at one of their locations and report back. It's been a long time since I had some good knoephla, and at least a dozen years since any fleischkuechle.