How do I make Sauerkraut?

April 27, 2006 4:42 PM

Have cabbage. Need help!

I have been given this huge head of cabbage and want to make Sauerkraut. Any good recipes or techniques?

posted by goalyeehah to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

I know it doesn't help you much, but if you're interested in a quick and delicious cabbage recipe: Top wedges of cabbage (steamed in the microwave until just tender) with chili con queso (store bought is fine, home made is better) and sprinkle on a little crumbled bacon. My family goes bonkers over it.
posted by kryptondog at 7:02 PM on April 27, 2006

Warning: anything that is cooked-cabbage--related, but especially sauerkraut, will make your house and everything in it totally stink for some time. That said, recipes that include strong-smelling but pleasant-smelling other ingredients can mask the nasty cabbage reek. One of my favorite cabbage-centric recipes is called a rundown. It's a Jamaican stew sort of thing that involves cooking down cabbage and other things like peppers, carrots, corn, pretty much whatever you want, with a bunch of coconut milk and spices like clove and cinnamon. It tastes phenomenal, and your house will smell great.

As for a good sauerkraut recipe: have you tried Cook's Illustrated? They're a publication, so you need to sign up on the site (but it looks like they have a 14-day free trial). If you're not familiar (they've a tv show, too), they have a slew of test cooks that try variations on the same recipe until they get it right. Maybe they've tackled sauerkraut...
posted by penchant at 7:47 PM on April 27, 2006

I assume you are familiar with epicurious, recipezaar, and various other online recipe sites?

Personally, I don't have any sauerkraut recipes, since it's so easy to buy it pre-made. I say make fish tacos and use shredded cabbage as a topping!
posted by billtron at 8:38 PM on April 27, 2006

Alton Brown of Good Eats made sauerkraut with this recipe. I haven't made this one myself but I find his recipes pretty reliable.
posted by murphy slaw at 8:55 PM on April 27, 2006

If you're willing to do something else, a little olive oil, some curry powder, some sauted onions, the cabbage and some yogurt makes a really nice dish.
posted by geekhorde at 9:11 PM on April 27, 2006

Sauerkraut is a pickle, and as such, takes a long time to make, at least a month. Basically, and I'll leave the proportions to a real recipe, you shred the cabbage, salt it, and then submerge it in its own liquid while it ferments. Since the cabbage loses some liquid your yield reduces. If you like sauerkraut at all one head isn't going to produce enough 'kraut. It is easy to make though, and fun. But if you don't have a month to wait before eating this cabbage consider some of the other recipes here.
posted by OmieWise at 5:42 AM on April 28, 2006

For that matter, if you decide against making Sauerkraut, you can always make various kinds of cole slaws... From the traditional to Asian slaw, etc. You don't like the good ole St. Patrick's Day-style stew? My boyfriend loves boiled cabbage. Fish tacos are also yummy with shredded cabbage (Baja burrito uses some kind of creamy lime-cilantro sauce on theirs.)
posted by mojabunni at 6:12 AM on April 28, 2006

There is a recipe and other info about fermenting foods at Wild Fermentation.
posted by davar at 2:05 PM on April 28, 2006