Moms Sauerkraut Recipes

SPICY SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Rinse your head of cabbage and remove the outer leaves (keep outer leaves for later use). Slice cabbage very thinly using a chef's knife or mandoline slicer.
• Place sliced cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Knead and squeeze the cabbage and salt together for 5-7 minutes until it begins to release liquid. Don't be timid during this step, you really need to KNEAD in order to break down the cabbage. Toss in your diced jalapeños and stir until combined.
• Transfer the cabbage and liquid to clean canning jars, making sure to keep enough brine to fully cover the cabbage.
• Place reserved cabbage leaves over top of the cabbage/brine mixture to help minimize the amount of air that reaches the fermenting cabbage.
• Weigh the cabbage down using something heavy. We've used convenient glass weights made specifically for this purpose, but you can always get creative and find something else around the kitchen that will work. Small glasses or plates are a go-to for many home fermenters.
• Secure an air lock to the top of the jar to prevent contamination. Let your sauerkraut ferment for 1-4 weeks, sampling along the way to make sure it tastes just right.
• Once your sauerkraut is ready, move it to the refrigerator to stop the fermentation process.

VEGAN POTATO SAUERKRAUT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Dice potatoes to 1/2" cubes. Place in a bowl of cold water and set aside.
• Dice onions to 1/4" pieces. Set aside.
• Dice apples to 1/2" cubes and place in a bowl of cold water.
• If using cabbage, shred coarsely. Measure out 1/2 cup of broth and set aside.
• Sauté onions, using a splash of vegetable broth or water to loosen stuck bits of onion, scraping the pan as you splash the liquid in. Sauté until onions are soft. If using cabbage instead of sauerkraut, add the 1/2 cup of broth to the onions and remove from heat and set aside.

EASY SAUERKRAUT RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook bacon until crispy (about 5-10 minutes).
• Drain off most of the bacon grease, leaving about 1 teaspoon in the bottom of the pot.
• Drain sauerkraut, but reserve the liquid from the can.
• Place drained sauerkraut and brown sugar in the pot with the bacon. Heat over low heat until warmed through and sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Add enough of the reserved liquid from the sauerkraut until the dish reaches the desired consistency. Serve right away, or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

MOM'S SPARE RIBS AND SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Empty sauerkraut and stewed tomatoes into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish (use a larger dish if you have a lot of ribs).
• Place onion rings in juice. Arrange ribs on top of everything. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover with foil and cook in a 350 degrees F oven for one hour or until ribs are COMPLETELY done. This may take up to two hours. The leftover juice in the pan is GREAT on baked potatoes with a little sour cream.

JUDY'S SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Place the sauerkraut, bacon drippings, and onion into a slow cooker. Pour in the beef broth, then season with cloves, bay leaf, juniper berries, caraway seed, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine.
• Cook on Low 8 hours.

MOM'S SAUERKRAUT BALLS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender.
• Add ham and corned beef; cook, stirring often, for five minutes.
• Add garlic salt, prepared mustard, black pepper, sauerkraut, 1/2 cup flour, and beef stock to skillet.
• Mix well.
• Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
• Spread sauerkraut mixture on a platter and allow to cool.
• When mixture is cool enough to touch, shape into 1- inch size balls.
• Refrigerate sauerkraut balls for 1 hour.
• Roll balls in remaining flour, dip into beaten eggs, then roll in bread crumbs.
• Fry in hot oil in a deep fryer until golden brown.

MOM'S SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Melt butter in a Dutch oven or a heavy saucepan.
• Add onion and cook until golden yellow.
• Stir in sauerkraut and 1/2 cup water, cook for about 8 minutes.
• Add potato and caraway seed, mix well.
• Pour in about 2 cups of boiling water.
• Cook uncovered over low heat for 30 minutes.
• Cover, and continue cooking for 30 minutes longer.
• If it starts to dry out, add the additional 1/2 cup of boiling water.

CABBAGE SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Clean and dice the potatoes into small pieces. Shred the cabbage and carrots.
• Rinse the meat under cold water. In a large soup pot, bring 4 quarts of water to boil. Add in the meat and the Better Than Bouillon Beef Base and cook for 30 minutes.
• Add in the potatoes and cabbage and simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
• Dice the onions and shred the carrots. In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the onions with a little bit of oil until golden brown. Add in the shredded carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add in the diced tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Remove the meat pieces from the soup and remove the bone. Add the meat back into the soup and toss the bones in the trash.
• Season to taste with salt. Serve immediately and enjoy!

PORK AND SAUERKRAUT (GERMAN PORK CHOPS) - WHOLE30, PALEO

Steps:

• Peel and dice the potatoes, apple, and onion, if using. Set them aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
• While the oven preheats, pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel and season very lightly with salt and pepper. Heat a large dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat.
• Add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering (about 1 minute), add the pork chops. Brown on each side for about 3 minutes per side. They should easily release once they're ready to be flipped.
• Set the pork chops aside and add the saurkraut to the hot dutch oven. With a wooden spoon, gently scrape the bottom to deglaze it. Add the onion, potatoes and apples and then lay the pork chops on top. Sprinkle the caraway seeds.
• Cover and bake in the oven for one hour. Remove the dutch oven, allow to cool slightly, and serve!

EASY HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Start with a clean surface including hands and all equipment you are using.
• Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage. DO NOT WASH THE CABBAGE. The beneficial bacteria is in the cabbage, don't wash it all away. I prefer to use organic cabbage as to avoid pesticide exposure.
• Slice the cabbage by first slicing in half, then in quarters. Remove the core and slice the cabbage lengthwise into thin ribbons
• Place the cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Using clean hands, massage the salt into the cabbage. Continue to massage and squeeze the cabbage for several minutes. This requires putting a little muscle into it. Gradually the cabbage will become watery and limp. This should take 5-10 minutes.
• Your cabbage should begin to look like this once you've properly given it a good rub down.
• If you are using caraway seeds or any other spice add it now.
• Pack the cabbage into your wide mouth mason jars. Really punch the cabbage down with your fist to attempt to pack the cabbage in and allow the liquid to rise to the surface. Ideally you want the cabbage to be fully immersed in liquid (the liquid that you have produced by rubbing the salt into the leaves). Pour any additional liquid from the bowl into the jars with cabbage. Fill the jars a little more than 3/4 full.
• Optional - Use one of the larger reserved outer cabbage leaves over the surface of the sliced cabbage. This will help to keep the cabbage submerged.
• Once all of the cabbage has been placed into jars, use either a pickle pebble or another smaller mason jar filled with pebbles or dried beans to weigh down the cabbage and allow the cabbage to remain submerged in liquid.
• Cover the mouth of the jar with cheesecloth and a rubberband or twine. This will allow air to pass in and out of the jar while still keeping creepy crawlers out.
• For the first 24 hours of fermentation you will need to open the jars and press the cabbage down every so often. I call this step "punch the cabbage". This is to ensure that the cabbage stays submerged and over time the cabbage will become more limp and compact and the liquid will rise to the surface.
• If after 24 hours you find that there isn't enough liquid, dissolve 1 tsp salt into 1 cup of water and add more liquid to the cabbage.
• Ferment the cabbage for 3-10 days. After 3 days taste the cabbage, I tend to like cabbage at the 7 day mark, but if you like a milder ferment you can stop the fermentation process at 3 days. Keep in mind that you reach peak nutrition around day 7.While the cabbage is fermenting you may see bubbles rise to the surface, this is ok! That is fermentation working. If you see scum rise to the surface you can skim that off and if any mold begins to appear remove it and do not eat that bit.
• Once you have reached your desired level of fermentation, remove the cheesecloth, and weights from the jar and close with regular mason jar lid. Store in fridge for 2 months or longer. My rule of thumb is as long as it still tastes good, it's good to eat.