DIY sauerkraut

2014-01-14 a.o.

Making your own sauerkraut is easy and quite safe as long as you take a few precautions. It takes only 2 ingredients: cabbage and canning salt. (5 lbs. / 3 tbsp.)

1. For successful fermentation the correct salinity has to be maintained: 3 tbsp. canning salt per 5 lb. cabbage will yield 3 quarts of sauerkraut in 2% brine. Use only iodine-free salt. Unlike kitchen salt, canning salt is pure salt with no additives.
Extra added brine needs to be 2% as well = 2 grams of salt per 100 grams water.
2. Use a jar that can be closed without being airtight. Fermentation releases gas and a tightly closed jar could explode. A finger-tight mason jar works fine.
3. The cabbage needs to be completely submerged in the brine at all times to avoid mold development. I place a clean plastic bag on top of the cabbage and fill it with brine. That creates a ‘lid’ that allows the fermentation gases to escape.
4. Place the jar in a larger container to catch the expanding liquid that may seep out of the jar.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 4-5 quarts:

12 lbs. white cabbage
7.2 tbsp. salt.

Pic1: sauerkraut
2015-04-01 = @ 6 weeks

Directions

2015-02-17 Making sauerkraut - first attempt. Day 0 (Pic3)

12 lbs. of cabbage, 7.2 tbsp. salt.
It is amazing to see how quickly the salt draws the liquid out of the cabbage and how much the cabbage shrinks while this happens. You really don't need to add any water.
I am using a 3-gallon glass jar. ($12 @ Walmart) The lid does not make an airtight seal. When fermentation starts producing gas, the internal pressure will lift up the lid to release the excess pressure; but the lid is heavy enough, the seal tight enough to prevent contamination from entering the jar.
The clear layer on top is a food-grade plastic bag with 2% salt water that I placed on top of the cabbage to keep it submerged in the liquid. That helps prevent spoilage.
And now we wait, and wait, and wait. At least 6 weeks.

2015-03-09 sauerkraut fermenting, day 19 or so.

When I lift the lid, I can smell the fermentation is going well, even though there has not been much gassing that I noticed. It needs at least another week before I'll open it up.

2015-03-17 Sauerkraut - day 28. (Pic4)

I opened the jar and checked. Looks good, smells great, not a sign of mold. I may have been a bit heavy-handed with the peppercorns, but not bad at all. Definitely acidic and rather different than what you buy in the store.
I added some brine. Without the water-bag on top there wasn't any liquid over the cabbage anymore. I think I'll let it go another week or two. I'd say definitely something to do again.

2015-04-01 Done at last: Sauerkraut! 6 weeks (Pic1)

After waiting for six weeks, I opened the big jar and portioned it out into 5 quarts. Three will go to in the freezer, the other two in the refrigerator for near future consumption.
It looks good, smells good—Marielos disagrees on that one—and it tastes good even though I probably was a bit heavy-handed with the spices.
It has a definite acidic taste, but not anywhere close to the vinegar-soaked store-bought stuff. Compared to this, that stuff is pure vinegar.
This is the result of 6 weeks of hard labor! :-) I’m enjoying it while I'm writing this.
Next time, I won’t be adding any spices at all.

Pic2: green / white cabbage
Pic3: day 0 — 2015-02-17
Pic4: day 28 — 2015-03-17

Pic5: day 0 — 2015-12-07
Pic6: day 6 — 2015-12-13
Pic7: day 31 — 2016-01-07 = 4 1/2 weeks

Sauerkraut with sausages

2016-02-03

A golden oldie.

Whether you make it yourself (see above) or buy it ready-made, sauerkraut is always a nice treat.

For some reason, the sausages I serve with sauerkraut are always pre-cooked commercial varieties, never the fresh ones like Italian. I use different kinds of sausages for extra variety.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 4-6 servings:

2 lb. of Sauerkraut
1½ lb. total different precooked sausages
½ cup of white wine

optional:

4 slices of bacon.

Directions

Cut thick sausages in slices of about ½ inch thick.
- Fry the sausage slices with optional bacon in a hot skillet until they start turning dark brown.
- Pour off excess fat.
Add the sauerkraut.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes.
If the cabbage gets too dry, add some water.
Adjust seasoning.
Serve immediately. Enjoy.

Pic22: smoked sausage
Pic23: kielbasa a.o. sausages
Pic24: smoked mini-links

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more and avemariasongs.org

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more
and avemariasongs.org