I bought a Kraut Source fermenter, last week, and made my first batch of sauerkraut this morning. Now I wait! Any suggestions of ways to use it would be welcome.
I’m on a kick to follow through and actually try these things I’m interested in! Next will be making and canning applesauce.
What new things have your tried?
Reuben soup.
Haven’t made them, but have eaten them–Reuben egg rolls or potato balls (stuffed with same/corned beef and sauerkraut).
My fav is browned pork or sausages, nestled into a mix of the drained kraut, grated apple, grated (or better yet caramelized) onion, with a little balsamic, and baked in a slow oven until it begins to dry. Bonus points if you deglaze the pan with the kraut mix and a splash of dark beer before assembling.
I humbly suggest that, if you like kraut, you will want a much larger fermenter. 6 weeks is typical for a ferment, so you won’t be getting much out of that small jar. The good news is that you can use these for your gherkins, pearl onions, string beans and asparagus spears for pickled cocktail garnish.
Verstehen Sie?
Aloha,
Kaleo
Thanks for that recipe suggestion. It sounds great! Since this is my first foray into fermented, this jar will be fine. If I enjoy doing this I’ll get more.
This is a fun and comforting recipe from the old playground. I tried it years ago and loved it:
Oh! My mother used to make these meatballs…without the kraut…um gonna make these!! Thank you!
Sure. And here’s the reuben soup recipe, just in case you had no idea what I meant:
It’s like a reuben sandwich in soup form.
Of course there’s the usual reuben, brat, or hot dog topping. Since I’ve been making my own kraut, I’ve discovered that it’s a spectacular combo with walnuts. Sometimes my side salad is just kraut and walnuts. I also like grilled cheese with kraut (or kimchi) mixed in with the cheese.
Don’t overlook roast pork w/ sauerkraut or pork chops with sauerkraut. Especially if you make either one with mashed potatoes. Also, although I’ve never made it, I’ve had some very good sauerkraut soup.
Just an additional comment, my kraut ferments a lot faster than 6 weeks. It’s usually ready in about 3 weeks. Your results may vary… One of our local farmers grows the real sauerkraut cabbage. I forget the variety but the heads are much denser & harder than the typical green cabbage. I’m picking up a couple dozen today to try it out. I’m really interested to see the difference.
i do a wild ferment for kraut and it takes 7-10 days. a bit longer in winter because i keep my condo so cold, lol.
Hi, Joe:
I think this is a matter of personal taste, the bacterial count, and temperature. You might like 3-finger poi, but I’ll take 1-finger any day. I like slow ferments better, too.
Aloha,
Kaleo
I should have known to do this spring, I had a number of cabbage from my garden this spring, not eating them fast enough and let them in the soil…some became too hard and too fibrous.
Shadon how’s your sauerkraut doing?
I am going to sound like a complete idiot but I always used ready to heat bagged sauerkraut. Is there a big difference with homemade?
My sauerkraut is pretty good…
I’ve been sampling little bits and enjoying it. The brine is less complex than I expected…simply salty. I’ll have to explore more for the next batch.
Tom, a raw kraut has the benefit off the pobiotcs, beneficial bacteria, that occur with fermentation. As I understandit, most commericially produced 'kraut is suject to high enough heat that these beneficial bacteria are killed off.
My mom used to make pork/sauerkraut/dumplings in a pressure cooker. If I recall, the pork & bagged kraut were cooked under pressure and the dumplings were placed on top with the lid off and allowed to cook/rise. She used to do the same thing with left over ham but she used fresh cabbage & potatoes. Both were heart warming delicious during the winter months.
Yes Tom. Once you make your own you won’t eat the commercial stuff again. With regard to saltiness… With a little practice & experimentation you can vary the amount of salt you use. The recipe I started with used 1# salt to 50# cabbage. I use less than that now.
The greatest benefit of making your own saurkraut is that it is loaded with probiotics, which are extremely helpful in keeping your “innards” AND immune system healthy. BUT…! Heating the probiotic laden saurkraut kills the lovely bacteria. Bummer! I mean, how delicious is a Reuben sandwich made with cold saurkraut? Or a hot dog, for that matter! But I do love really good “natural” saurkraut! Shadon, I’m in awe of your patience and in the size of your kitchen! 
Meanwhile, Just for general information, for those of us who have difficulty finding naturally fermented saurkraut, I’ve taken the lazy route and buy naturally fermented, unpasteurized, and put up in glass jars from Poland, where they’ve been making it that way since the first cabbage took root. I buy it through Walmart’s on-line shopping with free shipping, which means I have to buy it by the case. If you have lots of cabinet space, it’s not a bad way to go… In case anyone is interested.
If anyone goes to the trouble to ferment their own, OR to the bother of finding unpasteurized saurkraut on a store shelf, please eat most of it without heating or cooking, which kills all of the beneficial bacteria. Which is not to say I never heat any of mine. Just not all of it all the time! 
Is that the Kuhne Barrel sauerkraut, or something else?
Taking this a bit further, a couple of years ago, Joe Yonan of the Washington Post published a recipe for Guacachi, a combination of acocado and Kim chee. It’s very delicious, but why wouldn’t it work with a homemade sauerkraut?
