Crock Pot Choucroute Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Core the cabbage; cut it into wide ribbons and scatter in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Drain the sauerkraut and spread it on top of the cabbage. Halve the onions and nestle them among the vegetables. Tuck in the bay leaves and sprinkle with the caraway seeds or juniper berries and lots of black pepper.
• Put the meat and sausages on top of everything and pour in the wine or other liquid. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and cover tightly with foil. Transfer to the oven and cook, undisturbed, for 2 hours.
• Test the pork shoulder by inserting a fork into the thickest part: If it slides out easily, turn the oven up to 450 degrees, leave the pan uncovered and return it to the oven until the meat and the vegetables brown a bit, another 25 to 30 minutes. If the pork isn't fork-tender, re-cover the pan and return it to the oven for another 30 minutes before proceeding.
• To serve, just break the pork into chunks with two forks and set the pan on the table with a serving spoon and plates, plenty of roughly torn baguettes and crocks of mustard and butter. Don't bother removing the bay leaves unless they really bug you.

Steps:

• Place potatoes in a small pot and pour in water to cover by 2"; season generously with salt. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat so water is at an active simmer. Cook potatoes until fork-tender, 22-25 minutes. Drain; let sit 5 minutes to dry.
• Meanwhile, whisk shallots, oil, vinegar, mustard, hot sauce, and honey in a large bowl; season dressing with salt.
• Add hot potatoes to dressing and let sit, tossing occasionally, until they are just warm and have soaked up some of the dressing, at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour. Just before serving, add tarragon to potato salad and toss to evenly distribute.
• Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 400°F. Drizzle oil in a large skillet. Season chicken generously with salt and arrange skin side down in a single layer in skillet. Set over medium heat and cook chicken, undisturbed, until skin is golden brown around the edges, 12-15 minutes. Using a stiff spatula, lift up chicken, then put it back down, still skin side down. Once chicken pieces have all released from skillet and slide around easily, continue to cook, shifting pieces as needed if browning unevenly, until skin is deeply browned, 6-8 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to a plate and turn skin side up. Pour off all but 1/4 cup fat from skillet.
• Add bacon to same skillet and cook, turning once, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes; transfer to a plate. Cook garlic in skillet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add thyme sprigs and juniper berries and cook, tossing, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add sauerkraut and wine, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is almost completely evaporated, 6-8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
• Place sausages in a 3-qt. baking dish and pile sauerkraut over (sausages should be submerged). Arrange chicken thighs and bacon on top of sauerkraut. Pour in 3/4 cup water and bake choucroute until chicken is cooked through and liquid is bubbling throughout, 25-30 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve with potato salad.
• Potato salad (without tarragon) can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• Stir together the cabbage, carrot, sauerkraut, cider, sugar, garlic, pepper, caraway, and allspice in slow cooker.
• Bury the Canadian bacon in the kraut, pressing down to compact.
• Top with kielbasa & potatoes.
• Cover & cook on low for 7 hours, until potatoes are tender.

Steps:

• Stud each onion quarter with a clove. Layer the bacon, sauerkraut, garlic, onion quarters, herb sprigs, bay leaves, pork chops, kielbasa, apples, and potatoes in the slow cooker in the order listed, then pour the wine and gin over the top. Cover the cooker and set it on LOW. Cook until the pork is falling off the bones and the potatoes are fork-tender, at least 6 and up to 8 hours.
• Arrange the meats, potatoes, apples, onions, garlic, and sauerkraut on a large platter. Serve with pumpernickel rye bread, mustards, cornichons, and horseradish.

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.

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.

Steps:

• Drain sauerkraut well. Place in bottom of crock pot.
• Sauté bacon in hot skillet for 5 minutes. Add oil, onion and carrot, and sauté until onion is golden and soft.
• Stir bacon mixture and grated apple into sauerkraut.
• Add kielbasa to sauerkraut. (I use Hillshire Farms "Light" Kielbasa.) Tuck juniper and bouquet garni into cheesecloth and add to crock pot. Season with thyme, salt and pepper. Add wine, and just enough chicken broth to cover.
• Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours. Remove cheesecloth, then stir in chopped parsley before serving.
• Serve with boiled potatoes and pumpernickel or dark rye bread.

Steps:

• Stud each onion quarter with a clove. Layer the bacon,sauerkraut,garlic,onion quarters, herb sprigs, bay leaves, pork chops kielbasa, apples and potatoes in the slow cooker in the order listed, then pour the wine and gin over the top. Cover the cooker and set it on low. Cook until the pork is falling off the bones and the potatoes are fork tender, at least 6 hours and up to 8 hours. Arrange the meats, potatoes, onions, garlic and sauerkraut on a large platter. serve with pumpernickle rye bread, mustards, cornichons and horse radish.

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.

Steps:

• In small bowl, mix seasoning, salt and pepper. (I didn't measure these, I just seasoned each layer with a little sprinkle of each).
• Coat slow cooker with nonstick spray. Layer potatoes, pork chops, kielbasa, apples and sauerkraut (in that order). Season each layer with spice mix. Pour wine over top of sauerkraut.
• Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Stir in thawed peas and cook additional 30 minutes.
• remove pork chops and cut each into thick slices against the grain. Stir back into mixture and serve.