Slow Cooker Choucroute Food

LE CHOUCROUTE DU BARON

Steps:

• Drain and rinse with sauerkraut with cold water, then leave it to drain in a colander. Melt 4 tablespoons of the fat in a large flameproof casserole. Add the onions and saute them over low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Spread half of the sauerkraut over the onions, first squeezing it in your fists to extract all the water. Set the apple, both kinds of bacon, the smoked sausages, and smoked pork loin to top. Sprinkle with juniper berries and add seasoning, mainly pepper. Cover the meat with the rest of the sauerkraut, squeezing it dry also, and pour over the wine. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit inside the casserole and press it directly on top of the sauerkraut. Cover and simmer on top of the stove until the sauerkraut is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. About halfway through cooking, pour over the schnapps.
• Half an hour before the sauerkraut is cooked, put the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water, cover and bring them to a boil. Simmer until tender when pierced with a knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and keep them warm, peeling them just before serving.
• Heat 1 tablespoon fat in a frying pan and cook the cured pork chops until well done, 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Add them to the casserole 15 minutes before the sauerkraut is cooked. Warm the frankfurters in very hot water until heated through, about 1 minute. Leave them in the water to keep warm, draining them just before serving.
• To serve, taste the sauerkraut and adjust the seasoning. Lift out both kinds of bacon and the pork loin and carve them in generous slices. Drain the sauerkraut well and pile it on a large heated platter. Arrange the meats and sausages on top, with the potatoes around the edge. Pass mustard at the table.

CHOUCROUTE ALSATIAN

Steps:

• Combine the sauerkraut, caraway seeds, peppercorns or cracked pepper and carrots. Place in the bottom of a large kettle. Arrange the pork butt slices and the shoulder chops over the top of the sauerkraut. Add the wine and salt, cover tightly and cook over very low heat 2-3 hours. This dish tastes best if cooked a day ahead, as it should be prepared at least 6 hours before serving time and allowed to stand. Reheat, adding knockwurst, approximately 20 minutes before serving. Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes.

CROCK POT CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Stir together the cabbage, carrot, sauerkraut, cider, sugar, garlic, pepper, caraway, and allspice in slow cooker.
• Bury the Canadian bacon in the kraut, pressing down to compact.
• Top with kielbasa & potatoes.
• Cover & cook on low for 7 hours, until potatoes are tender.

CLASSIC CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Boil ham hocks in unsalted water until tender, at least 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, wash sauerkraut in cold water; drain. Wash again, in hot water; drain and squeeze dry.
• In a heavy, ovenproof pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the fat over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook it until soft and tender; do not brown. Add wine and 1 cup water, then bacon. Cover,and cook 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Season sauerkraut with pepper and a tiny bit of salt; add to pot,covering bacon. Combine garlic, juniper berries, caraway and bay leaf in cheesecloth and tie into a sachet. Bury this in the sauerkraut. Lay a circle of parchment paper directly over sauerkraut, cover, bring to a boil, transfer to oven and bake 1 hour.
• Add pork loin, top with potatoes, and return to oven for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
• About 15 minutes before potatoes are done,add bratwursts and frankfurters to the pot with hocks. Reduce heat to simmer, and heat through. Heat remaining fat in a skillet, and carefully brown blood sausages (they burst if overcooked).
• Add kirsch to sauerkraut; taste and add salt if necessary. Discard herb sachet.
• To serve, slice bacon and pork loin.Cut sausages and hocks into pieces. Put sauerkraut on large platter with meats and potatoes on top and around it. Serve with hot mustard and beer or white Alsatian wine.

SIMPLIFIED CHOUCROUTE GARNI FOR CROCK POT (PORK CHOPS&SAUERK

Steps:

• In small bowl, mix seasoning, salt and pepper. (I didn't measure these, I just seasoned each layer with a little sprinkle of each).
• Coat slow cooker with nonstick spray. Layer potatoes, pork chops, kielbasa, apples and sauerkraut (in that order). Season each layer with spice mix. Pour wine over top of sauerkraut.
• Cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Stir in thawed peas and cook additional 30 minutes.
• remove pork chops and cut each into thick slices against the grain. Stir back into mixture and serve.

LA PETITE CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until fat begins to melt, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage, onion, pears, caraway and bay leaf. Cook until cabbage wilts and onion is tender, tossing frequently, about 10 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover and cook until liquids are almost absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

SHORTCUT CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Core the cabbage; cut it into wide ribbons and scatter in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Drain the sauerkraut and spread it on top of the cabbage. Halve the onions and nestle them among the vegetables. Tuck in the bay leaves and sprinkle with the caraway seeds or juniper berries and lots of black pepper.
• Put the meat and sausages on top of everything and pour in the wine or other liquid. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and cover tightly with foil. Transfer to the oven and cook, undisturbed, for 2 hours.
• Test the pork shoulder by inserting a fork into the thickest part: If it slides out easily, turn the oven up to 450 degrees, leave the pan uncovered and return it to the oven until the meat and the vegetables brown a bit, another 25 to 30 minutes. If the pork isn't fork-tender, re-cover the pan and return it to the oven for another 30 minutes before proceeding.
• To serve, just break the pork into chunks with two forks and set the pan on the table with a serving spoon and plates, plenty of roughly torn baguettes and crocks of mustard and butter. Don't bother removing the bay leaves unless they really bug you.