German sauerkraut ????

We were up at Harrison Hot Springs, B.C. this week and ate at the Black Forest Restaurant there in Harrison. Great food and we always have at least one dinner there. They serve sauerkraut with most of their dinners and it is home made, totally unlike the store bought jars and cans here in the states which I am not especially fond of. What do they do with the homemade stuff to make it so good...I could eat and eat! lol
Elizabeth

I don't know what they do different, but I agree with you!!! Fresh is so much better!!!!

Maybe someone else will know....

hello elizabeth,

the thing i have noticed about american canned sauerkraut is that it is way to sour and has a diferent tate from fresh or german one... i would recommend if you buy the canend american kind rinse it very well and then cook it with maybe bacon bits, apple slices and a bit of sugar that should improve the taste a lot...

good german brands are kuehne or hengtenberg...

if you have a aldis near you check their sauerkraut!

hope i could help you -twinkle

We don't have an aldis here. Should have thought to check out the small grocery store they have in Harrison for canned or jarred kraut....it proberably would have been made in Canada and would have tasted different. You're right about our canned stuff down here...too sour for me. I have a friend who was born in Germany and she buys German foods down in Seattle somewhere. I will see her Mon and will ask her to keep an eye out the next time she shops there.
Thanks for responding.
Elizabeth

elizabeth there are also some online german supermarkets in the USA and Canada if you have strong craving - you will also find other products!!

hope you will find your sauerkraut!!

twinkle

Elizabeth, you don't have to go to any German deli or store to get your Sauerkraut. There are some very good canned ones avaliable,like Libby's Bavarian Style Sauerkraut and there used to be Busch's sweet Bavarian style sauerkraut.They have caraway seeds in them already. There is another brand,but I can not think what it is at the moment.
I will post a recipe for you.

Renate

German Braised Sauerkraut,my recipe.

6 slices bacon
1 small onion,chopped
2 lbs. canned sweet sauerkraut,Bavarian style
2 appples,peeled,cored and chopped
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillion
1 bay leaf
2 Tablespoons brown or white sugar(I add 1 pckg.of Equal)
1 cup water
1 cup white German wine

1 raw potato,grated

Fry bacon in skillet over medium heat until crisp. remove from pan,drain,crumble;set aside.
Drain off all but 2 Tablespoons of fat,add onion to pan and cook until tender. Drain and rinse the sauerkraut.Stirr in sauerkraut,apples,sugar ,chicken bouillon,bay leaf,the water and the wine. Simmer for 50
minutes. Add the grated potao and cook until the potato is done,about 10 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf and serve.
PS>: The potato thickens the cooking liquid.
You can adjust the sweet taste and use more or less sugar. I like my sauerkraut more on the sweet side.

Renate

I forgot to add,you can add the crumbled bacon at the end ,if you like.

Renate

Spareribs and Sauerkraut

3 lbs. spareribs
2 lbs.sauerkraut,sweet Bavarian style with caraway seeds
2 cloves of garlic,chopped
1 onion stuck with four cloves
10 peppercorns and 6 juniper berries (tied in a cheesecloth bag)
Dry white wine ( I use half wine and water)

Cut spareribs into serving size pieces and brown on all sides.
Drain and rinse sauerkraut. Put in a kettle,add the garlic,the onion, cloves,peppercorns and juniperberries. Add enough liquid to nearly cover the sauerkraut. Add the browned spareribs. Cover and simmer,one to two hours,piling the sauerkraut on top of the ribs as the cook. I always add one grated potato to the dish, 15 minutes before it is done, to thicken the cooking liquid..

Renate

Just found Kuehne sauerkraut at BIG LOTS for $1.50 a can! MUCH cheaper than found in the international section of my regular grocery store! Check for it if you have this store near by.... G

Thanks for the recipes and suggestions. We do have a Big Lots around here somewhere, just have not been there yet but will check for the canned stuff when I go.
Elizabeth

Renate, the Spareribs and Sauerkraut recipe is the one I make and it is very good. If you like to have pork to it, substitute the ribs with pork shouler. The only thing it is on the fatty side. This is how we Bavarians make it.

Twinkle hope your mom is feeling better. I guess with reading how many people haveing the flue right now, I feel I come down with it too. Well, I slow down this weekend.

 Berny, I agree it was a nice andd cute mistake, but I'm sure I come up with a new one again.

 I'm off playing Hand & Foot.

Bis spaeter

Erna

sauregurke's recipe is so similar to mine.This is very much how I make my ***. I add a shredded potato half way through to thicken it and use finely diced ham that I brown with the onion at the start. I cook it for hours on low then refrigerate and serve the next day. Tastes better that way I think. The key ingredient is the white wine or champagne, if that's what you happen to be drinking while you are cooking. yummy. I've worked up my appetite for a batch now.

Tvmw, your recipe sounds great too. I have some champagne floating around and of course,if you cook with it or with wine,you have to make sure they are tasting good enough to put in the sauerkraut. But one can not find out mit one zip,one has to try several times. Sauerkraut always tastes better the next day. Renate

Those recipes sound fantastic! I'm excited to go and make something now even though I'm still full of chicken chili.

 

Renate - I'm definitely fixing yours soon! That sounds a lot like what I ate in Germany! Wahoo! Do you live in Germany now? My family originates from Austria/Hungary/Germany. I had so much fun trying to learn the language for the short time I was there last year. I would get tickled with myself when I could figure stuff out. There is a place in Dusseldorf called Wilhelm...something, I can't remember the rest of it but it's a big financial building with Wilhelm carved onto the main entrance. I have close relatives with that name so I thought that was cool. The next time I go back there, I'm going to get more spices and seasonings that are native to that country. OH Maybe you can help me with this. I have a seasoning called - krautenbutter or maybe krautenbutten or maybe krauterbutter. It's difficult to read the handwriting. The lady in the shop had very limited English and (of course) I had literally no German so it was difficult to figure out exactly what it was. But I liked the smell of it and I thought that I should buy it since we worked so hard to communicate with one another. It's very herby and salty. Can you help?Thannks a bunch!

 

Shannon