Sauerkraut Recipes

HOW TO MAKE SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Thoroughly wash a large tub or bowl (we used on the size of a small washing-up bowl), then rinse with boiling water from the kettle. Make sure that your hands, and everything else coming into contact with the cabbage, are very clean. It's wise to use a container that will comfortably fit the softened cabbage, allowing several inches of room at the top to avoid overflow.
• Shred the cabbage thinly - a food processor makes light work of this. Layer the cabbage and the salt in the tub or bowl. Massage the salt into the cabbage for 5 mins, wait 5 mins, then repeat. You should end up with a much-reduced volume of cabbage sitting in its own brine. Mix in the caraway seeds and the peppercorns.
• Cover the surface of the cabbage entirely with a sheet of cling film, then press out all the air bubbles from below. Weigh the cabbage down using a couple of heavy plates, or other weights that fit your bowl, and cover as much of the cabbage as possible. The level of the brine will rise to cover the cabbage a little. Cover the tub and leave in a dark place at a cool room temperature (about 18-20C) for at least five days. It will be ready to eat after five days, but for maximum flavour leave the cabbage to ferment for anywhere between 2-6 weeks (or until the bubbling subsides).
• Check the cabbage every day or so, releasing any gases that have built up as it ferments, giving it a stir to release the bubbles. If any scum forms, remove it, rinse the weights in boiling water and replace the cling film. You should see bubbles appearing within the cabbage, and possibly some foam on the top of the brine. It's important to keep it at an even, cool room temperature - too cool and the ferment will take longer than you'd like, too warm and the sauerkraut may become mouldy or ferment too quickly, leading to a less than perfect result.
• The cabbage will become increasingly sour the longer it's fermented, so taste it now and again. When you like the flavour, transfer it to smaller sterilised jars. Will keep in the fridge for up to six months.

EASY HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Mix cabbage, onion, sea salt, and garlic together in a bowl. Firmly pack mixture into a large, clean, food-grade plastic bucket. The cabbage will start to make its own brine as the salt starts to draw out the water of the cabbage.
• Fill a large, clean, food-grade plastic bag with water and place over the salted cabbage mixture so none of the cabbage is exposed to air.
• Allow cabbage to ferment in a cool, dry place, 1 to 4 weeks (depending on how tangy you like your sauerkraut). The temperature of the room you ferment the sauerkraut in should not rise above 70 degrees F (21 degrees C).

HOW TO COOK SAUERKRAUT (BEST RECIPES ROUND-UP)

Steps:

• From hearty sauerkraut soup to sauerkraut martini this recipe collection covers the best ways to enjoy sauerkraut.

QUICK SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine cabbage, vinegar, salt, and 1 1/4 cups water. Cover, and cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender, 30 to 35 minutes (if bottom of pan starts to brown, add 1/4 cup more water). To store, refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• In large mixing bowl, mix cabbage thoroughly with salt, juniper berries, and caraway seeds, using hands or tongs. If using your hands, make sure that they are very clean prior to mixing. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Pack cabbage mixture down into a large plastic food container. Top with a lid smaller than the opening of the container and place a glass jar filled with the quart of water on top of the lid. Place in cool area overnight (65 to 70 degrees F). In a day, the cabbage should have given up enough liquid to be completely submerged. The jar serves as a weight to keep the cabbage submerged and away from air.
• Check cabbage every other day for approximately 2 weeks and skim the surface of scum, if necessary. Let stand for 4 weeks. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

HOW TO MAKE SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Weigh your cabbage to see how much salt you should use.Remove the outer leaves of your cabbage and any that are damaged. Discard. Cut out the core and rinse the cabbage well, allowing the water to flow between the cabbage leaves. Drain well.Reserve 1 outer leaf. Thinly shred the remaining cabbage with a knife or food processor. Place in a large bowl. Sprinkle the calculated amount of salt over the cabbage and toss well. Let sit for 15 minutes. Massage the cabbage with your hands for 5 minutes. The cabbage should release a good amount of liquid during this time.Pack the cabbage firmly into a very clean glass quart jar. Pour the liquid that was released during kneading on top. Cut a circle the same diameter as your jar out of the reserved cabbage leaf. Place it on top of the packed-down cabbage. Place a weight on top of the cabbage to ensure that it stays under the brine. If the brine doesn't completely cover the cabbage and weight, top off with a 2% solution of salt water (1 teaspoon salt per cup of water).Screw a plastic lid onto the jar. Place the jar in a rimmed pan (to catch any overflow) and allow to ferment at room temperature until the kraut is as sour as you like it. This can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks.After it's done fermenting, store the sauerkraut in the refrigerator.

BAVARIAN SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Heat bacon drippings in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Place sauerkraut with juice into a large bowl and cover with water. Stir and use your hands to squeeze out as much of the water and juice as possible. Add squeezed sauerkraut to onion.
• Stir brown sugar, caraway seeds, chicken stock, and cooking sherry into the sauerkraut mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated, 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Quarter cabbages and remove cores; slice 1/8 in. thick. In an extra-large bowl, combine salt and cabbage. With clean hands, squeeze cabbage until it wilts and releases liquid, about 10 minutes. If desired, add optional ingredients., Firmly pack cabbage mixture into 4-quart fermenting crock or large glass container, removing as many air bubbles as possible. If cabbage mixture is not covered by 1-2 inches of liquid, make enough brine to cover by 1-2 inches. To make brine, combine 4-1/2 teaspoons canning salt per 1 quart of water in a saucepan; bring to a boil until salt is dissolved. Cool brine before adding to crock., Place crock weight over cabbage; the weight should be submerged in the brine. Or, place an inverted dinner plate or glass pie plate over cabbage. The plate should be slightly smaller than the container opening, but large enough to cover most of the shredded cabbage mixture. Weigh down the plate with 2 or 3 sealed quart jars filled with water. If using a glass container with a lid, cover the opening loosely so any gas produced by the fermenting cabbage can escape. Alternately, you can cover the opening with a clean, heavy towel. If using a crock, seal according to manufacturer's instructions. , Store crock, undisturbed, at 70°-75° for 3-4 weeks (bubbles will form and aroma will change). Cabbage must be kept submerged below surface of the fermenting liquid throughout fermentation. Check crock 2-3 times each week; skim and remove any scum that may form on top of liquid. Fermentation is complete when bubbling stops. Transfer to individual containers. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

THE BEST 2-INGREDIENT SAUERKRAUT RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash your mason jar, tools, and hands thoroughly with natural soap and hot water. When fermenting, you want to give the healthy bacteria a clean environment to prevent mold. I usually pour boiling water into and over the Mason jar after washing it with soap to kill off any potential lingering bacteria.
• Cut your cabbage into quarters, leaving the root end attached. Discard the outermost layers, then save a few of the next layers to weigh the cabbage down in the jar. Do not wash the cabbage-you're relying on the natural healthy bacteria that live on the leaves for the fermentation process.
• Choose your preferred texture. Thinly slice each cabbage quarter into ribbons, or shred it on a box grater for finer sauerkraut. Same with the other tools, if you use the box grater, make sure it's very clean.
• Add the shredded cabbage to a large mixing bowl and cover with salt. Using clean hands, massage the salt into the cabbage for about 30 seconds. It will start to release more liquid. Let it sit for about 3-5 minutes to allow the salt to draw more juice from the cabbage. Massage again for another 30 seconds. It will be very soupy, which is good! The resulting liquid is your fermenting brine.
• Add the shredded cabbage and all of the liquid/brine to your Mason jar. Use the back of a clean wooden spoon to tamp down the cabbage. It should be fully submerged in the brining liquid. There shouldn't be a lot of excess liquid, but the top of the cabbage should be fully submerged. It can take 4-5 hours for enough liquid to extract out of the cabbage and cover it. Just be sure that the shredded cabbage is covered 4-5 hours after putting it in the jar. Place a few of the reserved cabbage leaves on top of the shredded cabbage to weigh it down.
• Cover the jar with cheesecloth or another loose, clean cloth and use a rubber band or kitchen twine to secure it. This allows airflow into the jar and prevents dust or bugs from landing in it.
• Let the kraut sit out at room temperature for 3-7 days. The longer it sits, the more fermented and tangy it will get. In the warmer summer months, 3-4 days is perfect; I let it sit for 5-6 days in winter. Keep it at room temperature out of direct sunlight as the direct sunlight might overheat it. I let mine sit in the pantry or the back of the counter. Within about 24 hours, you'll start to see tiny bubbles forming. That's the lacto-fermentation in action.
• Once it's fermented to your liking, cover the sauerkraut with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.