Weinkraut Recipes

Steps:

• Drain sauerkraut slightly.
• Cook onion in butter or drippings until transparent and very lightly browned;
• Add sauerkraut and stir; cook slowly.
• Wash, peel, and core apples (I usually leave the peel on one of them for color); dice fruit and add to sauerkraut.
• Add wine and enough stock or bouillon to cover. Cook slowly on the medium heat, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Add sugar, caraway if using and celery seeds; cover and finish cooking in moderate 325° oven 30 minutes longer until most of the liquid has cooked off but it is not dried out.

Steps:

• Drain kraut slightly.
• Cook onion in butter or drippings until transparent.
• Add sauerkraut and stir; cook slowly.
• Wash, peel, and core apples; dice fruit and add to sauerkraut.
• Add wine and enough stock or bouillon to cover.
• Cook slowly, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Add sugar and celery seeds; cover and finish cooking in moderate 325° oven 30 minutes longer.

Steps:

• Prepare a jar: Thoroughly wash and dry a wide-mouth quart mason jar in hot, soapy water.
• Prepare the cabbage and carrots: Cut the cabbage into quarters and cut out the core. Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible, working from crown to stem end. Place shredded cabbage into a large nonreactive bowl. Grate your carrots or other vegetables with a box grater, and add to the cabbage. Add the salt and mustard. Using your hands, toss to combine all ingredients, crushing the mixture until it begins to release liquid, about 5 minutes.
• Pack the sauerkraut: Place a wide-mouth funnel in the mouth of the jar. Pack the mixture into the jar, pressing down to squeeze out as much air and release more liquid. Tightly packed, there should be just enough to fill the quart jar to the shoulder, and liquid should rise above the cabbage mixture. Fill a smaller jar, like a half-pint or four-ounce jar, with water and seal. Place on top of the cabbage mixture to keep it submerged under the juices.
• Ferment the sauerkraut: Cover the jar with a clean towel, and allow to stand at room temperature. Check daily to make sure the cabbage is still submerged in liquid. If it is not, give the mixture a good press to release more juices. If the cabbage still does not stay submerged, add just enough water to bring the level up. After two or three days you should see bubbles forming. Eventually you may see scum or even mold on top. This is normal; just skim it away. Begin tasting your kraut after the third day. When it has reached the desired level of tartness, remove the smaller jar, screw on a lid, and keep the kraut several weeks in your refrigerator.

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.