Hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend. We stayed home and cooked some pork on our Barrel House Cooker along with the usual picnic sidekicks... My famous potato salad, (yes, it's famous in our family, and Leela will confirm), baked beans, etcetera.
My idea of a good end to a hot holiday and yummy dinner is going into my kitchen (and air conditioning) to make some kraut out of the head of cabbage in the refrigerator that's been begging for my attention.
Jump to:
This recipe is so simple and if you are a lover of the kraut as I am, then you've got to give it a try!
Some folks call it "sour krowt" and other folks call it "sah-er kraht" - regardless, it's delicious and everyone knows it.
✔ Takeaways
- Don't let the fermentation word scare you. Try it ~ It's easy and your family will applaud your success and so will Leela!
- If you don't like kraut, you don't know what it's about.
- Fermented food is good for the gut with all those probiotics.
- Wide-mouth jars work better.
- Don't fret too much about the temperature - my kitchen was 75 degrees
Leela Storm says: "If it's good for the gut, it's good for the butt." We don't know what she means, but she'd like some more peanut butter snacks, STAT.
📖 Recipe
Summertime Sauerkraut
Small-batch, homemade sauerkraut is so easy to do that you'll be making it all year round!
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 6 days
- Total Time: 144 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 quart 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Fermentation
- Cuisine: German
Ingredients
- One head of cabbage, about 3 lbs
- 1 ¾ tbsp salt
Instructions
Prep
- Wash 2 one-quart mason jars in hot soapy water and rinse.
- Make sure your work utensils, cutting board, and hands are also clean.
- Core and quarter the cabbage.
- Slice into thin strips about ¼ inch or thinner.
- Put the sliced cabbage in a bowl and stir in 1 ¾ tablespoon of salt.
- Let sit for about 10 minutes.
Work the Cabbage
- Begin to knead and squeeze the cabbage firmly with your hands or a mallet.
- Work the cabbage for about 10 minutes until it has softened and you have a brine forming.
- Transfer cabbage to the quart jars, packing down with a spoon or mallet before adding more.
- Any brine that is left in the bowl, pour over the cabbage.
- Push cabbage down until it is completely submerged.
- Weight the cabbage down and cover with cheesecloth and rubber band.
Finish Up
- Check each day to make sure the cabbage is still submerged.
- Let ferment for about 5 to 7 days depending on your taste. Start to taste around day 4 or 5. The ideal temperature for fermenting is 65 -72 degrees.
Notes
Use a good quality salt without iodine or anti-caking ingredients.
I used a small one-pint jelly jar filled with water to weight down the cabbage.
Salt helps to pull water from the cabbage and create the brine. It adds flavor and keeps the kraut crispy.
Keywords: sauerkraut, cabbage
David (Doggy Daddy) says
When in doubt, make some 'kraut! I wish Quay was a fan. Either way, this is going on my Fall weekend brat list.
★★★★★