It's been a while since writing something on my blog so I was going through my recipes on my system and found this one I got straight from my mother. We used this when we catered for the 20 some odd years when I was growing up and even before I used to help.
I know 'Eww Sauerkraut', but this is a sweet German Sauerkraut. This was a old recipe that goes back a while and I thought to preserve it I would put it out for people to enjoy. I haven't made this in the new house, well because it will stink it up for a few days :o)
Anyway for the daring here is the recipe that is a few generations old.... Oh just a side note when making this purchase the sauerkraut in the jars. Used to be in bags when we did catering, but the jars help in setting this up...anyway here we go...
Ingredients:
3 Jars of Sauerkraut
1 pound of bacon per 3 jars
3 Regular size onions (yellow or white NOT RED)
Water (this is where we use the jars)
1 Tsp of Granulated Garlic
1 Tsp of Salt
1/3 of a cup of sugar and add more to taste to take away the bitterness.
Ground Fresh Pepper to taste 1 Tbsp or more
One Smoked Polish Sausage
Open the jars (3) of Sauerkraut you have purchased and drain them in a colander over the sink while preparing the other ingredients.
Take the bacon and cut into small pieces. Put into a pot and cook till almost done. It is important to not let the bacon burn. If it does burn, start again or it will ruin the taste of the dish. Watch to see when the bacon is near being done. Leave the bacon and the grease in the pot to cook the onions in.
Now we grab the onions and cut them up and add to bacon. Saute with bacon until onions are translucent making sure that they do not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
Once onions are done then take the Sauerkraut and add it to the pot and mix with the bacon and onions. Mix for about a minute to make sure the bacon and onions mix properly.
Now this is where we take the jar and fill it half full of water for every jar of Sauerkraut. (So basically one and a half jars of water) and once this is done add the garlic, salt, sugar and pepper.
Mix all these together and now cover the Sauerkraut and put the stove on simmer. Mixing about every 5 to 10 minutes to keep it burning to the bottom of the pot. The cooking time should be about an hour and a half or more.
The Smoked Polish Sausage should be cut at a 45-degree angle and about ½ to ¾ of an inch in thickness and mixed in when time is almost up. Since this is pre cooked all we are looking for is for it to add its flavor to the Sauerkraut and get warmed by the final cooking process.
You will be able to tell when it is done when the Sauerkraut still has its firmness but is no longer crunchy.
(This recipe was used for catering thus the next sentance.)
Once it is cooked then let it sit and cool down if your making this for another night. Do not store it hot; this must be cooled down first. Then store it in an airtight container and store in the fridge. Since this will sit over-night it will allow the juices and all the tastes to mix even more and give a more robust flavor the next day.
This is great warm and fresh straight from the pot. Now all I need to do is get how to make dumplings out of my mom and we have half a meal. This is great on Brats or Roasted Chicken or even with Breaded pork tenderloin.
Well anyway if you try it let me know. It is a great dish and should be tried once. ENJOY!!