Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Home made sauerkraut !

Any one else making kraut this fall? This season I have been picking up 5-10# cabbage from a local farm market for $1.25 each. Years ago I bought a 10 gallon ceramic crock that has been collecting dust and I finally got around to making kraut. It's very easy. Just a few tablespoons of salt and some shredded cabbage and your ready to go. My current batch has been fermenting for about two weeks. This time I added onion, garlic and dill seed. I always need to add a little salt water as well.
One of our favorites is kraut, beer and brown sugar mixed together and baked until nice and caramelized with some brats.
Add a little mustard and a cold beverage and your ready to enjoy the game!

we used to do it every winter once it got cold out. just cabbage, salt and usually some caraway seed. When we'd get it right and it wasn't too salty it was the best you could get. Used to cover the bottom of a pan with kraut and put stuffed peppers on top of the kraut, cover and bake for an hour or so........brings back some really good memories of mom's kitchen.

I have always wanted to make sauerkraut but never given it a try. How about a definitive recipe ? You know, how much cabbage, how much water, how much salt, how much something else ????

I've done it by this recipe from Chesman - works great --

5 pounds cabbage
3 tablespoons pickling salt
12 juniper berries
1/2 cup Chablis wine

Shred the cabbage. Layer the cabbage, salt and three juniper berries per layer in a large crock or bowl that holds at least one gallon. Pack firmly to get rid of trapped air bubbles. Cover with a clean cloth and weigh down with a heavy plate. Place this container in another pan to collect fermenting juices that overflow. Place in an area that remains between 70 and 75 degrees.

By the next day, brine will form and cover the cabbage. By the second day, scum will start to form. On the second day, pour the wine over all. Rinse the plate and cloth, and replace each day.

Skim off any scum that has formed after 2 weeks. Skim again after 4 weeks.

To hot pack, heat the sauerkraut slowly to boil. Pack in clean, hot jars. Leave 1/2 inch of headspace. If you run short of juice, mix a brine of 1 1/2 tablespoons pickling salt to 1 quart boiling water. (Divide this mixture among the jars; do not use the new brine to fill just one jar). Seal and process 10 minutes for pints, 15 minutes for quarts to 1,000 feet - 15 minutes 1,001 to 6,000 feet - 20 minutes above 6,000 feet.

It can also be kept refrigerated (much easier). Add more brine if needed.

Rolly I'm using 3 tablespoons of pickling or kosher salt to five pounds of cabbage. Just slice or chop your cabbage any way you like it. I like to slice it thin with a knife but many just run it through a food processor or grate it. Just mix it with the salt, pack it down and let it set over night.Some folks beat the schnikies out of it so it weeps helping to eliminate the need to add brine. If there is not enough liquid to cover the cabbage you need to add some brine. I mix a few tablespoons of salt per quart of water. To that you can add garlic, onions, juniper berry, dill seed, celery seed, caraway or what ever trips yer trigger. The only trick is to put it in a ceramic or non-reactive container and place a plate or some thing similar on top that is as close to the diameter of your kraut container as possible. I'm using a ten gallon crock and the best fit I found is with a large planter base that I have scrubbed up and sanitized. Weigh the plate down with several pounds of weight so the kraut is sub-merged. You may have to skim off the surface after the fermentation process gets going. Keep your crock or container covered (I use a towle over the top) to keep out dust and the cat. I find a few weeks is minimal and a month is about right but that's bound to change with your ambient temperature. I haven't tried it yet but I'm told it freezes just fine. I plan to keep as many jars in the ridge as I can so I don't have to kill the fermentation process.

Take a little flour and mix in a seperate cup with water. Add this to your sauerekraut after it is done. Makes a creamy mild kraut that is surprisingly good