Emeril Live Cooking With Beer Food

EMERIL'S NEVER ENOUGH PORK BEER-BRAISED SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the sauerkraut in a colander and rinse briefly to remove some of the salt from the brine-don't rinse it too much, or you will lose a lot of the flavor. (Alternatively, if the sauerkraut is not excessively salty, use as is.) Press to release most of the excess liquid and set aside. In a large nonreactive skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat and add the bacon. Cook until most of the fat is rendered, about 4 minutes. Add the onions and continue to cook until they are soft but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon-onion mixture to a nonreactive roasting pan or large ovenproof Dutch oven. Add the drained sauerkraut and toss to combine. Using a small piece of cheesecloth, make a bouquet garni with the thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper berries, and garlic and place in the baking dish. Add the ham hocks, chicken stock, and beer and stir to combine. Cover the casserole and bake, undisturbed, until ham hocks are mostly tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Meanwhile, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over high heat and brown the sausages on both sides. Set aside. Brown the pork chops and set aside.
• When the hocks are mostly tender, remove the casserole from the oven. Place the sausages on top of the sauerkraut. If the liquid has reduced to less than 2/3, add a bit more water. Cover the casserole and return it to the oven. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the sausages are tender and heated through. Add the pork chops and press them into the sauerkraut. Cover and return to the oven and cook until pork chops are heated through and tender, about 30 minutes longer. Remove the casserole from the oven and discard the bouquet garni. Serve immediately, with each person receiving some of each of the sausages, part of a hock, part of a pork chop and some of the sauerkraut. Pass the mustard at the table.

EMERIL'S BRATWURST AND BEER STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Pour 2 bottles of the beer into a medium (oven-proof) Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
• Using a small knife or fork, pierce each sausage link several times.
• Add bratwurst links to the beer, turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside to cool slightly. Reserve the sausage-cooking liquid.
• Slice the sausage links into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
• Add the bacon to a separate dutch oven and cook over medium heat until crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
• Add the sliced bratwurst to the bacon drippings and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
• Add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring often, until lightly brown and wilted, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
• Stir in the reserved sausage-cooking liquid, the remaining bottle of beer, chicken stock, potatoes, carrots, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaf to the pot. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a medium-low and cover.
• Place the Dutch oven in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
• Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Stir the crispy bacon into the stew and serve hot with crusty bread.