Sauerkraut

[Oddwookiee]

My knife blade for my bandsaw finally came in, so I'll be slicing up about 50# of cabbage I've been sitting on in the cooler for sauerkraut (some of the heads are 16-20"" through, just too obnoxious to fight with by hand). I have food-grade buckets, kosher salt and I'll be brining it in the back of one of my meat coolers (stays about 35 F, very very slow for fermenting I know) until hunting season is done and I can fiddle with it. My question is does anyone have a personal favorite kraut recipe they'd be willing to share? Google has a bazillion, but I have no idea if they're worth a darn.

[Wunderdave]

Avoid the kraut recipe in Charcuterie, it is way, way too salty.

In fact I think the main difference in recipes you will find will be the salt level. The rest of it is just weight and time...

[wheels]

I recall a couple being put on here - Have you tried the search function at the top?

Phil

[Oddwookiee]

Not yet. I'm at work and only have a moment or two to flip over here in between checking the business emails on my breaks. I plan on searching tonight, but was hoping to get a jump on it this way

[wheels]

In that case - here's one to get you started:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?p=17105

Phil

[DiggingDogFarm]

I use 2% salt and ferment as close to 65 degrees F as possible.

For the best texture and flavor, slice parallel with the point of the quarter, the same way lumber is quarter-sawn. The best thickness is just 1mm. Doing it as described exposes the most cells, which leads to better fermentation, which then leads to better flavor and texture.



I don't like to pound the kraut the way that some do, it's bad for the texture, rather, I salt it and place it in the fridge overnight to soften up some and release water, I them pack it tightly but gently in the fermentation container eliminating any air.

I usually prefer plain kraut, but I do occasionally add juniper berries and/or caraway seeds.

~Martin

[johngaltsmotor]

If you're looking for something different from traditional kraut, Kapusta (Polish sweet & sour cabbage) is worth a taste test. Plus you don't have to wait for it to mature.

To be honest and straightforward, I am biased (this is my Busia's recipe) but kraut has nothing on kapusta. It is simpler, but it doesn't last as long as kraut (#1 it's not fermented, #2 it's so tasty there are no leftovers).

1 quart fresh cabbage
1 Tbsp. Bacon grease
¼ cup vinegar
2 Tbsp. Sugar
½ cup water
1 Tbsp. Salt
caraway seeds

Slice Cabbage. Boil 5 minutes in ample water. Drain well. Combine all and simmer 45 minutes.

[JerBear]

This might be helpful moving forward. I've seen people on another forum who've had some successes with the recipes in this book and it's definately not too expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Sauerkraut-Pickles-Relishes-Stanley-Marianski/dp/0983697329

[Dogfish]

This is timely as I've got a couple cabbages to experiment on. Can it be done with carrots or kohlrabi?

[DiggingDogFarm]

Can it be done with carrots or kohlrabi?

Yes.


~Martin

[JerBear]

I believe that just about any leafy cruciferous and/or root vegetable is fair game. Saw a recipe last night that suggested adding some Brussels sprouts to a standard kraut.

Just started a batch of basic kraut about a hour ago and added about 1 Tbl of juniper berries but I've heard recommendations of caraway and coriander.

[Big Guy]

here is how I do it

Sauerkraut

5 kg cabbage
250 ml coarse salt

select firm , mature heads of cabbage
remove outer leaves and any undesirable portions
wash and drain. cut into halves or quarters and core
use a shredder or sharp knife to cut cabbage in thin shreds
mix each shredded head with 25 ml salt and allow it to wilt
this allows the cabbage to be packed without bruising
continue shredding and salting until half of the cabbages are done
pack salted cabbage and juice in a clean earthenware crock
press cabbage down firmly and evenly.
Continue shredding and salting the rest of the batch
the cabbage should be packed only to within 6 to 8 cm of the top of the crock
cover cabbage with a damp , clean , thin cloth such as muslin
tuck the edges down against the inside of the crock so no cabbage is exposed
rinse cloth daily
place a double plastic bag filled with water on top of the cabbage
to seal the cabbage from air
when fermentation begins , remove scum daily, and replace wet cloth
wash outside of plastic bag and replace the water daily
continue this for 5 to 6 weeks until crock contents look and smell like sauerkraut.
If sauerkraut is to be stored at room temperature on the shelf ,
it must be processed as a home canned product .
prepare jars, lids and boiling water bath
heat sauerkraut to simmering
pack hot in jars, leaving 2 cm head space
cover with boiling liquid. Remove air bubbles
wipe sealing edge of jar Apply lid on rim
process in boiling water bath for 15 min for small ( 500 ml) jars
and 20 min for 1 l jars or process in pressure canner at 35kPa (5 lb. )
pressure for 8 minutes for either size jar
remove jars from canner. Cool . test for seal . label and store.

[Snags]

Family recipe is whole head of cabbage in a bucket cover with water add a cup of salt put a plate on top and a rock to submerge the cabbage then cover with a tea towel.
about 2 weeks later you have pickled cabbage.
Remove the leaves and stuff with minced pork, rice, paprika ,onions, garlic and parsley
boil for an hour.
Pickled cabbage rolls serve with mash

[Kaiser Soze]

I started out on simple sauerkraut, experimented with more complex flavours, and have now gone back to the simple recipe. The simple recipes were always the best tasting.

3kg cabbage
4 tblspn salt
1/2 tspn caraway seeds
1/2 tspn juniper berries
3 cloves garlic
6 peppercorns

Actually, now I look at it, I realise that it's not as simple as it could be. But I guess I've played with lots of 'outside the square flavours' and I realise that the traditional caraway and juniper work well. And for caraway and juniper, you're better off underdoing the amounts rather than overdoing them. They are pretty strong, and can dominate if used excessively.

I also like to add a smoky flavour to the kraut, so I sometimes substitute smoked salt and/or add a chipotle chilli or two. The chipotle is great, in that it adds a background smoky flavour which makes you think of bacon, and a little heat which lengthens the sour taste without actually making it 'hot'.

I have a blog post on how I make it (process)...
http://blog.bentheurbanfarmer.com/2012/05/sauerkraut.html

[Dogfish]

Okay so all I've done is quarter "sawn" the cabbage at about 1 mm then stuffed the seven lbs into a plastic bucket with 4 tbsp pickling salt, then a few leaves, a plastic lid, and a granite mortar on top for weight, then the lid of the bucket. Anybody see any issues here? It's been down about 20 minutes and not much weeping so far, but I did kimchi once almost like this and it worked well enough (although the fermented garlic aspect made me persona non grata with my wife).

Will I need to pour brine on it? It's sitting in a coolish location but I don't want it going bad on me because I like sauerkraut.