Recipes

Homemade sauerkraut is something else entirely

Homemade sauerkraut

Sauerkraut, a widely used dish in German cuisine, is a side dish with a particular flavor made from cabbage.

What would a delicious dish be without a side dish to match? With this recipe for preparing homemade sauerkraut, or sauerkraut , you can create a tasty and perfect vegetable side dish to pair with meat dishes, in particular the classic Bavarian frankfurters!

In the original recipe, the raw sauerkraut should be left to ferment for 1-2 months in a barrel with salt, pepper, cumin and juniper. Today we are going to prepare this classic recipe, but first we will teach you a simple preparation that involves cooking the cabbage, flavoring it with juniper and cumin, obtaining an equally delicious result in less time! Let's see how to make this quick and easy side dish !

How to make sauerkraut in a pan with the quick recipe

First, cut the cabbage in half and remove the core and outer leaves. Take the two halves and cut them roughly , then wash them under running water and dry them well.
In a large non-stick pan, fry the thinly sliced onion with a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil. Add the cabbage and immediately add a glass of white cooking wine. Once the alcohol has evaporated completely, add the juniper berries, cumin, salt and pepper.
Cook the cabbages for at least an hour and a half , constantly trying to ensure that they do not stick to the pan. If this is the case, help yourself by adding water every now and then.
Serve your cabbages as a side dish , combining them with your favorite dish. Enjoy your meal!

If you have some of this vegetable left over, we also leave you all our recipes with cabbage to try!

How to make sauerkraut

Now that we have given you the recipe for quick and tasty sauerkraut, we want to explain how to prepare the traditional product at home. Be aware that this recipe needs its time : the cabbage will in fact have to rest for at least a month before being tasted.

1 head cabbage
bay leaves to taste
Salt to taste
juniper to taste
cumin seeds to taste

Wash your cabbage well, making sure to select a fresh, good quality one.
Cut it in half, remove the hard central part and the first leaves, then cut it into strips as thin as possible.
Wash the cut cabbage under running water and then dry everything well with a clean kitchen cloth.
Now weigh the cabbage (it should be around 1 kg) and add 25 g of fine salt for each kg of vegetables, so that the fermentation can be activated.
Mix the cabbage well with the salt for a few minutes, then place it to rest in a large bowl for at least 1 hour .
Once the time has passed, take the vegetables again, which will have released a lot of liquid, at this point take a container, we used a terracotta one, and pour a first layer of sauerkraut alternating it with juniper berries, bay leaves and cumin seeds until you finish the product. Mash the cabbage well to eliminate as much oxygen as possible.
Remember to also add the vegetable liquid so that it completely covers the vegetables. If this is not the case, quickly prepare a brine with water and salt and pour it into the pan until everything is covered, but we don't think it will be necessary.
Now it's time to close tightly and leave to rest . To close the pot, choose a lid that is smaller than the container, so that it comes into direct contact with the sauerkraut.
Also add a weight on top of the lid (which could also be a simple dinner plate) and seal everything well with foil and, if necessary, a twist of kitchen string.
Store the "bundle" in a cool, dry place, away from sources of light and heat, for a minimum of 2 weeks, before placing it in sterilized jars and using it as desired.

Fermenting cabbage, if done correctly, is one of the simplest. To prepare sauerkraut in this way, here is a video recipe very similar to our preparation (but with some more advice):

How to cook sauerkraut

The par excellence combination of German cuisine, if you are looking for the perfect companion for your sauerkraut, the answer lies in frankfurters ! After cooking the cabbage , grill the frankfurters on a griddle until they brown, and then serve everything .

You can make a dish or prepare classic hot dogs, adding a generous dose of mustard . Not only that, if you love this German recipe you can also cook sauerkraut as a side dish with a nice shank, or with the very Italian salamella to blend two European culinary cultures.

If you liked these homemade sauerkraut, then you absolutely must also try the coleslaw , the Irish coleslaw. It will surprise you!

How many types of cabbage do you know?

storage

As for sauerkraut cooked in a pan, we recommend storing it in the fridge, in a special container with a lid, for a maximum of 3-4 days .

However, as regards homemade sauerkraut, if you do not boil the jars full of product to create the vacuum, you can keep them in the fridge for about 1 week and use them as needed. Otherwise you can also store them for a few months in the cellar, or in any case in a cool, dry place.