Classic Choucroute Recipes

CLASSIC CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Boil ham hocks in unsalted water until tender, at least 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, wash sauerkraut in cold water; drain. Wash again, in hot water; drain and squeeze dry.
• In a heavy, ovenproof pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the fat over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook it until soft and tender; do not brown. Add wine and 1 cup water, then bacon. Cover,and cook 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Season sauerkraut with pepper and a tiny bit of salt; add to pot,covering bacon. Combine garlic, juniper berries, caraway and bay leaf in cheesecloth and tie into a sachet. Bury this in the sauerkraut. Lay a circle of parchment paper directly over sauerkraut, cover, bring to a boil, transfer to oven and bake 1 hour.
• Add pork loin, top with potatoes, and return to oven for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
• About 15 minutes before potatoes are done,add bratwursts and frankfurters to the pot with hocks. Reduce heat to simmer, and heat through. Heat remaining fat in a skillet, and carefully brown blood sausages (they burst if overcooked).
• Add kirsch to sauerkraut; taste and add salt if necessary. Discard herb sachet.
• To serve, slice bacon and pork loin.Cut sausages and hocks into pieces. Put sauerkraut on large platter with meats and potatoes on top and around it. Serve with hot mustard and beer or white Alsatian wine.

ALSATIAN CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Wash sauerkraut thoroughly, put aside. In a rondeau melt the duck fat and saute the onion until tender, add garlic bay leaves, juniper berries and thyme. Saute until golden brown, deglaze with Reisling wine. Add 1/2 of the sauerkraut, place bacon slab and ham shanks in the middle and then top with remaining sauerkraut. Pour chicken stock over making sure it covers the sauerkraut (if not enough, add water). Cover the pan with foil and place in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 1 1/2 hours. Wash red bliss potatoes and steam whole for 30 to 40 minutes. Peel potatoes and set aside. Cut sausages in half and warm in boiling water. Place pork chops in oven to warm. Take sauerkraut out of the oven and remove bacon and ham shanks. Slice the bacon in half. Remove pork chops out of oven. Place sauerkraut in the center of a large oval tray, place all meats around sauerkraut, place bacon and ham shanks, on top of sauerkraut. Place warm potatoes around with the meat, Serve Dijon mustard on the side.

EMERIL'S FAVORITE CHOUCROUTE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the sauerkraut in a colander and rinse briefly to remove some of the salt from the brine; don't rinse it too much, or you will lose a lot of the flavor. (Alternatively, if the sauerkraut is not excessively salty, use as is.) Press to release most of the excess liquid and set aside. In a large nonreactive skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat and add the pancetta. Cook for 5 minutes; don't let the pancetta brown. Add the onions and continue to cook until they are soft but not browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon-onion mixture to a 3 1/2 or 4-quart non-reactive casserole or ovenproof Dutch oven. Add the drained sauerkraut and toss to combine. Using a small piece of cheesecloth, make a bouquet garni with the thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper berries, and garlic and place in the baking dish. Add the ham hocks, chicken stock, and beer and stir to combine. Cover the casserole and bake, undisturbed, for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over high heat and brown the sausages on both sides. Set aside.
• Place the new potatoes in a saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes. (This will depend on the size of your potatoes.) Drain and set aside.
• When the sauerkraut and ham hocks have baked for 2 hours and the hocks are tender, remove the casserole from the oven. Place the sausages and potatoes on top of the sauerkraut. If the liquid has reduced to less than 2/3, add a bit more water. Cover the casserole and return it to the oven. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender and the sausages are heated through. Remove the casserole from the oven and discard the bouquet garni. Serve immediately, with each person receiving some of each of the sausages, part of a hock, some potatoes, and sauerkraut. Pass the mustard at the table.

SHORTCUT CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Wash sauerkraut, and drain well.Combine with onion, juniper berries and wine in a large skillet or broad pot. Add enough water to come about two-thirds of the way up the side of the sauerkraut (in some pots,the wine may provide enough liquid). Turn heat to high and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat, and nestle the bacon in the sauerkraut. Cover,and cook 1 hour; then, add sausages and pork chops,Recover,and cook another 30 to 45 minutes.Sauerkraut should be tender but retain some crunch.Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Cut meat into pieces and serve on platter with sauerkraut, hot mustard on the side.

CHOUCROUTE GARNI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or heavy-based pan. Fry the onions for 10-15 mins until soft. Add the wine and vinegar, along with the herbs and spices, and reduce to a glaze.
• Add the carrots, celery and garlic to the pan, mix well, then lay the wedges of cabbage on top. Snuggle the sausages and bacon between the cabbage chunks before pouring over the stock. Put the pan on the heat, bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 1 hr 30 mins, stirring halfway through.
• Once cooked, serve in bowls with mashed potato, if you like.

QUICK CHOUCROUTE GARNIE

Steps:

• Cut the sausage into 3-inch lengths, then halve lengthwise.
• Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, cut side down, and cook until browned on bottom, about 3 minutes.
• Turn over sausage; add onions, and sauté until onions are beginning to soften, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until flavors blend, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

HOMEMADE CHOUCROUTE GARNI

Steps:

• Place sauerkraut in a colander set in the sink; rinse with warm water, and drain.
• Make bouquet garni: Place peppercorns, coriander seeds, cloves, juniper berries, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves on square of cheesecloth; tie with kitchen twine.
• Melt goose fat in very large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sliced onions; cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent but not brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add wine, chicken stock, and 2 cups water to Dutch oven; stir to combine. Add dry-salted bacon, smoked bacon, pig's knuckles, pork butt, carrots, garlic, salt, and bouquet garni. Lay washed and drained sauerkraut on top of mixture in Dutch oven. Add enough cold water to bring liquid to 1 inch below sauerkraut. Cover, increase heat to high, and bring liquid to boil. Reduce heat to low; cook at strong simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
• Add potatoes; simmer, covered, until potatoes are just becoming tender, about 30 minutes more. Add sausages; simmer, covered, until heated through, about 10 minutes more.
• Remove bouquet garni and discard. To serve choucroute garni on platter, remove meat, potatoes, and carrots from Dutch oven. Drain sauerkraut, and place in middle of serving platter. Slice bacon and pork butt. Arrange meat, potatoes, and carrots around sauerkraut on platter.

QUICK CHOUCROUTE GARNIE

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, cut side down, and cook until browned on bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn over sausage; add onions, and sauté until onions are beginning to soften, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until flavors blend, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

CHOUCROUTE GARNI

Steps:

• In a 24-quart pot with a lid, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent. Add sauerkraut, and stir to combine; transfer half of the mixture to a large bowl.
• Place pork loin, pork belly, pork butt, and both bacons in pot; top with reserved sauerkraut mixture. Place cloves, bay leaves, juniper berries, and cumin in a piece of cheesecloth; tie with a piece of kitchen twine to enclose. Add to pot along with wine, and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer and cover; cook until meats are cooked through and tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Add all sausages to pot, and cook until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Generously salt water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Drain.
• To serve, place mound of sauerkraut in the center of a large platter. Slice meats and add to platter along with potatoes; garnish with parsley and serve with mustards.

ALSATIAN PORK AND SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Place the bacon in a large, deep pot, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring to turn pieces occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon pieces on a paper towel-lined plate. With a paper towel, wipe the bacon grease out of the pot but keep as much of the brown bits as possible. Stir in the onion, sauerkraut, brown sugar, and chicken broth, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the potatoes and apple slices.
• Place the juniper berries, peppercorns, cloves, parsley, and bay leaf into a small cheesecloth square, and tie the ends together to make a spice bag (or place the spices into a stainless steel tea ball). Place the spice bag into the pot, and add the pork chops and kielbasa sausage pieces. Add more chicken broth, if needed, to just cover the ingredients. Bring the pot to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the potatoes are very tender, about 1 hour.
• To serve, use a slotted spoon to remove the sauerkraut, potatoes, and apple slices to the center of a serving platter. Arrange bacon, pork chops, and kielbasa pieces around the outside of the platter.

LA PETITE CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until fat begins to melt, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage, onion, pears, caraway and bay leaf. Cook until cabbage wilts and onion is tender, tossing frequently, about 10 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover and cook until liquids are almost absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.