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January 8, 2011
MKMW Germany: New Year's Eve Sauerkraut
A bit late in getting this up as we were gone over the holidays. But we spent New Year's Eve with Tim's family. And apparently, it's an old tradition in Tim's family, as we were reminded by his Grandma, to cook sauerkraut for midnight to ring in the new year. They have Slovakian heritage, but I'm sure there are similar traditions around Europe.
I improvised with what they had in the house, and put it on medium low to simmer for the evening. It was sweet and smoky, rather than primarily sour, by the end. This could easily be done in a slow cooker (like the Alsatian choucroute garni I made awhile back).
New Year's Eve Sauerkraut
2 lb. bag of sauerkraut (I wouldn't use canned, but that's up to you--if you use, I'd rinse it)
1-2 lbs. kielbasa, sliced
1/2 lb. ham, diced (or cooked pork)
2-3 apples cored and thinly slice
1 beer
1/2 cup wine (we had some apple wine from Tim's niece)
2-3 tsps. onion and/or garlic powder-or-salt (use fresh garlic and onion if you have it)
Pepper and salt to taste
Combine everything, bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed.
My Kitchen, My World , cooking stuff , immigrant cooking | By Tim and Jo | 4:57 PM
Comments
We met a lovely couple when we lived in Georgia who were from Butler, PA and they introduced us to sauerkraut on New Year's Day, but we do pork chops and sauerkraut. We've made it every New Year's Day since we had Jan 1st 1999 with them. Except this year. Because my sister couldn't make it on Jan 1st, so we're doing a delayed New Year's pork chops and sauerkraut next Saturday. :D (pork chops, sauerkraut, caraway seeds, and the lovely wife of the lovely couple used to put in diced apple too.) Yum!
Posted by: rylee95 at January 8, 2011 6:27 PM
I thought everyone had sauerkraut on New Years eve! Never thought much about where the tradition came from. Sounds like yummy recipe.
Posted by: Amy at January 9, 2011 9:41 AM
Thank you so much for sharing this dish for My Kitchen My World Germany, the round-up is *finally* up!
I've never heard of the Sauerkraut on New Years tradition, how nice :)
Posted by: Andrea at January 22, 2011 1:05 PM
