Bavarian Sauerkraut Recipes

BAVARIAN SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Prepare: Drain the sauerkraut. Finely chop the onions and cut the bacon into small cubes. Peel and dice the apple.
• Heat the fat in a saucepan. Cook the onions and the bacon for about 3 minutes on medium-low heat. Add the apple and stir for another 3 minutes.
• Caramelize: Sprinkle the sugar on top, stir and let caramelize slightly for about 1-2 minutes.
• Simmer: Add sauerkraut, salt, pepper, caraway seeds, cider/white wine/ apple juice. Stir well, cover, and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes.
• Serve immediately or reheat.

BAVARIAN STYLE SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Thinly slice the onions (vertically, halves or whole slices) and set aside. Peel, core and cut the apple into quarters. Slice thinly and set aside.
• Melt a spoonful of bacon fat in a large pot on medium heat. Sauté the onions until translucent and are starting to brown. Add the sauerkraut, stir and let it cook for 5 - 7 mins.
• Add half a jar of water. Place the apple slices on top of the sauerkraut. Arrange so that the flat side is down and there isn't too much overlap. Cover and let it simmer on a low heat setting for 30 minutes.
• If you are adding meat sausages -
• Once the sauerkraut is done, place the sausages on top and let them steam with the lid closed for 15 minutes.
• Serve warm. Delicious with mashed potatoes.

BAVARIAN SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Cook all the ingredients together: Place sauerkraut in a pot. Add wine, onion, apple, juniper berries, salt, pepper and oil. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until the onions are soft.

BAVARIAN SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Place ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer until onions are soft, about 30 to 45 minutes.

BAVARIAN PORK CHOPS AND SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In ungreased 2-quart casserole or 11x7-inch glass baking dish, mix sauerkraut, carrots, onion, water and barley.
• Place pork chops on sauerkraut mixture. Spoon barbecue sauce on top of chops. Cover and bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until pork is no longer pink in center.

TRADITIONAL SAUERKRAUT WITH CARAWAY

Steps:

• Weigh the shredded cabbage (as cabbages vary in size and weight) to ensure the salt to cabbage ratio is correct. The amount of salt you use should come to about 1.5-2.5%, but no more than 3%, of the cabbage weight.
• In a large bowl, mix and massage the salt through the cabbage thoroughly, making sure to distribute the salt evenly.
• Let it sit to sweat a bit-maybe 10 minutes. This is simply to make the next step easier. This is a good time to get your vessel cleaned and to rest up for the next stage.
• With your pounder, pound quite energetically for about 5-10 minutes, until the cabbage is dripping with its own salty water when you pick up a handful. This part is important as you need this liquid-it's your brine.
• You can also use the dough hook of a stand mixer to do the pounding part, which can speed things up somewhat. Don't let it run for too long though, only a few minutes. Using a mixer is easy and great for people who are doing this a lot and in large batches, but it takes quite a bit of the emotional release and fun out of it.
• Next, mix in the caraway seeds (if using).
• Put the mixture into the jar, packing it down tightly as you go using the pounder. Push down well, particularly at the end to coax out any more brine. You need the brine to cover the cabbage.
• Don't pack the cabbage all the way to the top; leave some headroom at the top of the jar to allow for a bit of growth and movement and, of course, the weight. You don't want the liquid touching the top of the lid, as it will end up spewing out of your air-lock or up out of your lid.
• Cover with a cabbage leaf (the follower), the weight and then your chosen lid or system.
• Depending on your ferment, you can start trying it as soon as you'd like, but the less you fiddle with it in the first 2 weeks, the better. It is ready when you think it is delicious. With the right system and temperature, you can leave it to ferment for months before refrigeration.
• If you used a crock, you'll need to decant the kraut to smaller jars before you refrigerate, unless you have a walk-in cool room, or large cellar. (Lucky you.) It will keep in the fridge for 12 months or more. Use your senses.

SLOW-COOKER BAVARIAN-STYLE BEEF AND SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in oil about 5 minutes or until brown on all sides. Sprinkle with caraway seed and salt.
• Place beef in 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Place onions, sauerkraut and 1/4 cup of the beer around beef.
• Cover and cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.
• Remove beef from cooker; cover to keep warm. Mix flour, remaining 1/4 cup beer and the mustard in small bowl; gradually stir into juices in cooker. Increase heat setting to High. Cover and cook 15 to 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve beef with juices.

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.

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.

BAVARIAN SAUERKRAUT - WINE KRAUT

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the bacon drippings and saute the onion until soft (medium heat works well). Place sauerkraut (with juices) in a large bowl. Cover completely with water. Hand stir to mix water throughout the sauerkraut. Collect sauerkraut by handfuls and squeeze out "most" of the liquid and add the sauerkraut (one handful at a time) to the skillet. Then add the caraway seeds, sugar, chicken stock and sherry and combine thoroughly. Heat to a slow boil and then reduce the heat and simmer until just about all the liquid is evaporated. I cooked at very low heat, for about 30-40 minutes. Also make sure you stir occassionally to incorporate all of the ingredients. Serve immediately.
• Fantastic on hot dogs, and perfect used as a side dish with Roast Pork Shoulder and Mashed Potatoes.

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.

BAVARIAN PORK CHOPS AND SAUERKRAUT RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• 1 Heat oven to 350ºF. In ungreased 2-quart casserole or 11x7-inch glass baking dish, mix sauerkraut, carrots, onion, water and barley. 2 Place pork chops on sauerkraut mixture. Spoon barbecue sauce on top of chops. Cover and bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until pork is no longer pink in center. TIPS Barley is one of the first grains ever cultivated. Pearl barley, the most common variety, has the hull, most of the bran and some of the germ removed to shorten cooking time. Barley is available in both regular and quick-cooking varieties. For this recipe, use regular and not the quick-cooking variety.