Chris Kraut Food

CHRIS' KRAUT

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving drippings, crumble and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan heat sauerkraut with a little water over medium heat. Stir in crumbled bacon, sugar and 3 to 4 tablespoons of bacon drippings. Cook for 20 minutes, or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

HOW TO MAKE SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Weigh your cabbage to see how much salt you should use.Remove the outer leaves of your cabbage and any that are damaged. Discard. Cut out the core and rinse the cabbage well, allowing the water to flow between the cabbage leaves. Drain well.Reserve 1 outer leaf. Thinly shred the remaining cabbage with a knife or food processor. Place in a large bowl. Sprinkle the calculated amount of salt over the cabbage and toss well. Let sit for 15 minutes. Massage the cabbage with your hands for 5 minutes. The cabbage should release a good amount of liquid during this time.Pack the cabbage firmly into a very clean glass quart jar. Pour the liquid that was released during kneading on top. Cut a circle the same diameter as your jar out of the reserved cabbage leaf. Place it on top of the packed-down cabbage. Place a weight on top of the cabbage to ensure that it stays under the brine. If the brine doesn't completely cover the cabbage and weight, top off with a 2% solution of salt water (1 teaspoon salt per cup of water).Screw a plastic lid onto the jar. Place the jar in a rimmed pan (to catch any overflow) and allow to ferment at room temperature until the kraut is as sour as you like it. This can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks.After it's done fermenting, store the sauerkraut in the refrigerator.

SPARERIBS AND SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300°F. Choose a baking pan that will accommmodate the ribs in pieces or all hitched together, with the kraut in the space left over. Eight country-style ribs cut into a 6-rib and a 2-rib hunk, plus the can of kraut, fit perfectly in a 9-by-13-inch pan. For more ribs, get a bigger pan and more kraut.
• Place the ribs in the pan and the sauerkraut in a mound beside them. Cover the ribs - not the kraut - with the barbecue sauce. Use as much as you like, maybe more than half the bottle, maybe less. Cover the pan tightly withaluminum foil and bake for 3 hours. Lift a corner of the foil near the end of the time to sneak a look. The ribs should be nicely browned and glazed and your mouth should water. Serve hot.