How To Cook Canned Sauerkraut Food

FRIED SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Melt margarine in frying pan.
• Add drained sauerkraut.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Saute until browned.
• Add the bacon or weiners.

SAUERKRAUT FOR CANNING

Steps:

• Remove outer leaves and any undesirable portions from firm mature heads of cabbage; wash and drain. Cut into halves or quarters; remove core. Use a shredder or sharp knife to cut cabbage into thin shreds about the thickness of a dime.
• In a large bowl, thoroughly mix 3 tablespoons salt with 5 lbs. shredded cabbage. Let salted cabbage stand for several minutes to wilt slightly; this allows packing without excessive breaking or bruising of the shreds.
• Pack salted cabbage firmly and evenly into a large, clean pickling container. Using a wooden spoon, tapper or hands, press down firmly until the juice comes to the surface.
• Repeat shredding, salting and packing of cabbage until the container is filled to within 3 to 4 inches of the top. If juice does not cover cabbage, add brine: 1 1/2 tablespoons salt to 1 quart water; bring brine to a boil; cool.
• Cover cabbage with muslin or cheesecloth and tuck edges down against the inside of the container. Weight down cabbage under brine. Formation of gas bubbles indicates fermentation is taking place. Remove and discard scum formation each day. A room temperature of 70 degrees to 75 degrees F is best for fermenting cabbage. Fermentation is usually complete in 3 to 6 weeks.
• TO CAN: Bring sauerkraut to a simmer (185 to 210degrees F). Do not boil. Pack hot cabbage into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust caps. Process pints 15 minutes, quarts 20 minutes, in a boiling water canner.

HOW TO COOK SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Drain the sauerkraut. Finely slice the onion and the apple. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the apple and onions for about 3-4 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
• In the meantime, finely grate the potato. Set aside.
• Sprinkle the sugar on top of the onion and apple slices, stir lightly and let the sugar caramelize for a couple of minutes. Keep an eye on it and don't let it become too dark, it should be only lightly caramelized.
• Add the peppercorns, cloves, juniper berries, bay leaves, sauerkraut, grated potato, and stock. Stir well.
• Simmer: Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

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.

HOME CANNED SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Take cabbage, discard outer leaves.
• Wash heads under running water, shake excess water off.
• With a large knife such as a French knife, quarter the cabbage heads.
• Cut out and discard the cores.
• Slice the quartered cabbage into slices about 2 mm (.07 inches) thick (the thickness of a US / Cdn quarter or a 10 p piece.)
• Put cabbage either into a very large bowl or directly into the container you are going to use to ferment it in - whatever you prefer to be working in.
• Sprinkle the salt over and mix in.
• Some sources say to let it stand a bit so the salt will start drawing at least a bit of liquid out. Some suggest 10 minutes; the All New Ball says cover it and let stand for an hour.
• Begin pounding / crushing the cabbage, and keep on crushing it until a good amount of liquid has been released from the leaves.
• Ideally, you are going to be aiming for enough released liquid to cover the cabbage once in the fermenting container, but you may rarely get it at this point -- don't worry.
• Add to fermenting container, if it's not already.
• If you are doubling, tripling or quadrupling the recipe, start the next batch of cabbage now, then add to container.
• Repeat until you have prepped all the cabbage you planned to.
• When you are finished crushing, if the cabbage is not already in the fermentation container, move it all there.
• Be sure to leave a gap of 10 to 12 cm (4 to 5 inches) between the cabbage in the container, and the top rim of the container as headspace.
• If you have more cabbage than that, you'll need another container.
• If the juice you were able to produce was not sufficient to cover the cabbage, then make a brine (see directions below) and use that to top up with. (To be clear: you are not aiming to fill the container to the top rim with liquid; you are after enough liquid to completely submerge all the cabbage by 2 to 5 cm / 1 to 2 inches.) FIRST, though, see Linda Ziedrich suggestion in Brine section: she suggests waiting 24 hours to see if it will produce enough juice on its own before adding the extra brine.
• Cover cabbage with some sort of weight (see Weights Options below) to keep it safely below the surface of the liquid.
• Cover container with a large towel.
• Let ferment for 3 to 4 weeks or until cabbage is translucent.
• During fermentation, you may or may not need to check the cabbage frequently. It depends on the weights you use (see Weights Options below).

EASY HOME-CANNED SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Inspect 4 half-gallon glass jars for cracks. Clean jars and place right-side up on a rack in a large pot. Fill the jars and pot with water to 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove jars.
• Firmly pack cabbage into the sterilized jars to within 2 inches of the top; you may only fill 3 jars. Add 2 tablespoons pickling salt to each jar, then pour in water to within 1 inch of the top. Place a clean paper towel on top of each jar and secure a rubber band to keep it in place.
• Set jars in a baking dish (in case brine bubbles over during fermentation) at room temperature, and allow to sit for 6 days. Each day, skim and discard any mold from the surface, and press cabbage down under the liquid with a spoon. Replace paper towels if necessary.
• When sauerkraut has fermented, inspect 12 pint-sized jars for cracks and rings for rust, discarding any defective ones. Immerse in simmering water for 10 minutes. Wash new, unused lids and rings in warm soapy water.
• Skim and discard any mold from the surface of the sauerkraut. Firmly pack sauerkraut into the hot, sterilized pint jars to within 1 inch of the top. Pour brine over the sauerkraut to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe rims with a clean damp cloth. Top with lids and screw rings on tightly.
• Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil and lower jars 2 inches apart into the boiling water using a holder. Pour in more boiling water to cover jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil, cover, and process for 15 minutes.
• Remove the jars from the stockpot and let rest, several inches apart, for 12 to 24 hours. Press the center of each lid with a finger to ensure the lid does not move up or down. Remove the rings for storage and store in a cool, dark area.