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Homemade Sauerkraut
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All you really need is cabbage, salt, and a bit of patience for some homemade sauerkraut. Great in a variety of German-style dishes.
serves/makes:
ready in:
over 5 hrs
over 5 hrs
6 reviews
1 comment
ingredients
40 pounds heads mature cabbage
1 pound canning salt
directions
Our family learned how to make sauerkraut from my grandfather who was of German decent. In this recipe I am trying to incorporate all my answers to the different questions that I have been asked when I have posted this before.
For best results weigh the cabbage and the salt using a ratio of 40 pounds of cabbage to 1 (one) pound of salt.
We use a kraut cutter and a crock which are over one hundred years old. You can use a bread or cutting board and a large knife to cut the cabbage.
Remove the outside green and dirty leaves. Cut the heads of cabbage in half and remove as much of the core that you can. Now is the time to weigh the head of cabbage. We keep a running total of the cabbage we use to make sure that we use the right ratio of salt to cabbage. When we find out the total amount of cabbage we are using then we measure out the exact amount of salt needed. Shred the cabbage using either a kraut cutter or a knife. We use a kitchen scale to weigh the cabbage and salt.
Put about 5 pounds of cabbage and about 2 ounces of salt into a large bowl and mix with your hands. Put into a crock and pack gently with a potato masher and tamp the cabbage down until some juice comes to the top. The first batch may not bring up juice but, after putting in the second batch of cabbage and salt the juice should easily come to the top. Repeat until you have used up all the cabbage and the correct amount of salt. You must not store your kraut in a metal container.
After the last shredded cabbage and salt are put in the crock work the cabbage with the potato masher until juice comes to the top. We use a piece of white cloth such as a piece of a sheet to cover the kraut. Then we put boards on the cloth and a stone to weigh the kraut down so the juice comes to the top. Some people use one or more large plastic bags filled with water to weigh the kraut down so it is under the juice. If you use plastic bags make sure they are the kind that can be used with food. Garbage bags won't do.
During the curing process, kraut requires daily attention. Remove scum as it forms and wash and scald the cloth often to keep it free from scum and mold and wipe the side of the crock. Fermentation will be complete in about three weeks. The kraut should be kept in a place where the temperature is in the mid 50s to low 60s. It needs just enough warmth to keep it working during the fermenting process. Yet not so hot that it will spoil.
Kraut works from the top down. To check to see if the kraut is ready wait about 2 weeks and dig down in the center of the kraut about 5 or 8 inches. Take a little out and taste it. The kraut should be firm but not crunchy and should have good kraut flavor. If it is not ready let it sit for a few more days and then taste it again.
The following is for canning the sauerkraut. As soon as kraut is thoroughly cured, pack into clean canning jars, adding enough of the kraut juice, or a weak brine made by dissolving 2 tablespoons salt to a quart of water, fill jars to with 1/2 inch of top of jar. Put on cap, screwing the band tight. Process in water bath for 15 minutes. This method cooks the kraut.
We use double bags (one bag inside of another) to pack the kraut in and then we put it in the freezer. When using this method to store the kraut you need to leave some space in the bags because the kraut will continue to ferment until it is frozen. (We learned this the hard way. Had Kraut spill out into the freezer. It really smelled.) By freezing the kraut it is fresh when taken out of the freezer and has not been cooked. I find that cooking the kraut with the pork chops on a low temperature for three hours it turns out the best. Kraut tastes good raw too.
It is not often that we add any sugar at the end of the cooking time but, sometimes if the kraut seems too sour we will add a little sugar.
The main thing is to measure your salt and weigh your cabbage. The ratio of 1 pound of salt to 40 pounds of cabbage is very important. To little salt will make the kraut spoil and to much salt will make the kraut to salty.
Hints: Weigh cabbage and salt to get the correct ratio. This is important. Keep in a temperature where the kraut will work yet not spoil. Check the kraut often and keep it clean. When the kraut is ready remove about the first inch of kraut from the top and throw it away. The top inch of the kraut usually is kind of soft. You may find that at some time during the fermenting process that there doesn't seem to be enough juice. Just add some plain water. Don't put any more salt in the kraut. The good thing about homemade kraut is that it does not have the preservatives that store bought kraut has.
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nutrition data
11 calories, 0 grams fat, 2 grams carbohydrates, 1 grams protein per 1/8 pound. This recipe is low in fat.
Pizza night is always a favorite, especially when you have great tasting pizza from some of the most popular restaurants.
Not to be confused with evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk is very sweet (and very sticky) and used primarily in desserts.
reviews & comments
November 11, 2013
I made Sauerkraut years ago and forgot how much salt etc. Appreciated the recipe. One thing I do different. When finishing packing the kraut down in the crook, I use outside leaves of cabbage that I saved ...they are curved so they pack down all around the top of the kraut. I do several layers. I then put a bowl upside down to hold all the leaves down and I wash and double wrap a brick with seran wrap and set the brick on the bowl, so I don't have to worry about water breaking and spoiling the kraut. I finish by covering with a towel etc. and lid if you have one to yur crock.
October 31, 2013
I cut the recipe down and used the freezer method for storage. It made really good sauerkraut and was a good learning experience. I haven't decided if I'll do it again or not. It is awfully easy to buy good sauerkraut these days but homemade is probably always better, I guess it just depends how much time you have to devote to it.
July 1, 2013
I scaled this down considerably as I didn't really need 40 pounds of sauerkraut (does anyone need that much?). Anyway this turned out great! We'll be using at it our 4th of july bbq this week and can't wait to tell everyone we made it from scratch.
glennana - fill your bag with a lite brine instead of plain water. If it leaks it wont effect the taste of your kraut. 1.5 tablespoons of kosher salt to one quart of boing water. dissolve salt and cool brine before filling the bags.
September 5, 2012
Anybody know what happens if your water bag leaks and empties all the water into the sauerkraut - any saving it?
October 25, 2011
We have used this recipe for over 40 years with excellent results always. Keep up the fine work. Kathleen Gillen
August 18, 2003
EXCELLENT, AUTHENTIC RECIPE FOR GERMAN "OLD COUNTRY" SAUERKRAUT! CONGRATS! THIS IS THE "REAL McCOY"!