We eat loads (and I mean - loads) of sauerkraut here in Estonia, but I've never made it with apples before. Sounds like a really delicious recipe (please say thanks! to your dad from me, Elise:)

Silly question but why white vinegar? wouldn't cider vinegar be better? How would it effect taste? Just curious.... :-)

Note from Elise: Good question. I have no idea. You can probably interchange them just fine for this recipe.

While sauerkraut is less common in this part of Texas than it is in East Texas, we still manage to get some pretty good local varieties, even at the Mega-Mart.

The cool thing is I just picked up some Granny Smith apples, so I may have to give this a go!

Yum, this sounds so good. I, for one, am a sauerkraut lover. This sounds like a wonderful dish, especially for fall. Can't wait to try it. Thanks so much!

Mmmmm, sauerkraut. Count me in!

My daughter wrote to me:

Sauerkraut is a traditional Thanksgiving side-dish in Baltimore. Maybe you should give it a go for your Thanksgiving as well, since The Wife seems to express a mild preference against Brussels Sprouts? For example:

Sauerkraut

6 slices of smoked bacon, cut into 1/4″ wide strips
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely grated
1 2-lb. jar of German-style sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
2 c. dry white wine
1 1/2 c. beef, pork, or chicken stock
2 TBSP gin
1 TBSP caraway seeds
4 juniper berries, crushed (optional)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place bacon, onion, and carrot in heavy large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sauté until onion is tender but not brown, about 5 minutes. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from sauerkraut. Add sauerkraut to Dutch oven. Add wine, stock, gin, caraway seeds, and juniper berries. Bring to simmer. Cover tightly, place in oven and bake 1 hour. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring frequently.)

Serves 4.

Note from Elise: Thanks for the recipe, Leisureguy!

I am looking forward to trying this recipe, my family loves sauerkraut. How long will sauerkraut last in the refrigerator? Any tips for storing it?

hon, ya really gotta rinse the kraut first... then imbue it with YOUR flavors... and trust me, it keeps some of its own...

K

Note from Elise: Hi Kevin, given that my dad is in his late seventies, he's been eating sauerkraut his whole life, and he loves sauerkraut almost as much as he loves his own children, if he says "don't rinse it" I trust him on that one. He uses a high quality sauerkraut - Bubbies I think is the brand. He's had sauerkraut every way you could imagine, rinsed or unrinsed, from cans and jars. He likes his sauerkraut strong, and he says that at least the stuff he gets from the jar is better not rinsed. But then again, to each his own, eh?

Hi Elise,

This looks so good! I really want to try this soon. One quick amateurish question...is this meant to be a side dish or a main dish? It seems like a side dish...what would be a good main dish? Pork of some sort, I'm assuming.
Thank you! Love the site. :-)

Jen

Elise, this looks great. I'm a huge fan of sauerkraut (comes from having german-russian family roots) and I can definitely appreciate the sweet/sour balance that this dish would give. can't wait to try it as a side dish with sauteed pork chops and mashed potatoes.

You can totally tell a person with true eastern european roots by how much they love/are passionate about sauerkraut. we ate it all the time growing up, with smoked sausage, pork country-style ribs, pork chops, german sausage...heck, even hot dogs.

I will echo one sentiment from above tho...the sauerkraut in the bag (I believe the brand name is Krisp Kraut) is really good, just as good as (or maybe just a little better than) the cold jarred brands (I've tried both bubbie's and clausen).

I live at the southern end of the san francisco bay and just recently made some of my own sauerkraut, and it was incredibly easy!

You basically just chop the cabbage up, add a whole bunch of salt, and let it sit on the counter for a few weeks, topping off with more brine to keep all the bits well covered. The cabbage apparently has the required bacteria naturally occuring on it, and the salt makes an inhospitable environment for any "bad" bacteria. This guy Sandor Katz has a more precise recipe at wildfermentation.com.

Anyways, I highly recommend making your own, as it was a great way to use up the extra cabbage we get from our CSA, and really delicious!

And I'll be trying this recipe when our next batch of sauerkraut is ready to be eaten!

Has anyone used a sauerkraut maker like this: http://store.therawdiet.com/pisaandkimch.html ?? It looks like it might make it easier (and less 'scummy').

Also, does it smell while you make your own? My wife can't stand the smell of sauerkraut. I have to wait til she is gone for the evening to cook it.

I've never tried it with apples, but it sounds yummy, and bacon is never wrong...

To Tom: I made my sauerkraut in a large cylindrical flower vase, and it was neither smelly nor scummy. I'm thinking maybe scum happens when you leave bits of cabbage above the level of the brine where it can rot? And I only left mine on the counter for two weeks, making a very young and mild sauerkraut which did not smell. It has continued to develop more of that nice tang in it's jars in the fridge.

Thanks for the recipe Elise!

I LOVE sauerkraut! can't have enough of it, I eat it raw or cooked, equally good! apart from the vitC content, it's really good for your skin... or so they say.
Although the addition of bacon is common back home in austria, I've never tried it paired with apple... sounds like a great idea!

My mom made sauerkraut a lot when I was growing up. She used spareribs and caraway seed sometimes hot dogs or smoked sausage, sometimes all of the above. We had mashed potatoes with this, and it was the meal. I make this also, but I do put brown sugar and apple cider vinegar. I use the bag sauerkraut, my mom used the jar, and we did not rinse the kraut. She cooked it all together. I cook the meat first and drain most of the fat water away. I do cook it for a few hours. We have this every year for the New Year. It's to bring in good luck for the new year. We have German in our family as well and my mom grew up eating the same meal. YUM, YUM, YUM.