Uncle Emil’s Czech-Style Sauerkraut
Recipe: #17092
February 01, 2015
Categories: Side Dishes, Apple, Cabbage, Onions, Eastern European, Gluten-Free, Low Calorie, No Eggs, Vegetarian, Canned Fruit, Kosher Dairy, Vegetarian Dinner, more
"Growing up we ate this great sauerkraut w/roast pork & roast duck dinners, often w/dumplings as a 2nd side dish. Every family's treasured recipe has a backstory. 1 day my Great-Uncle Emil (Placek) walked into a diner in Wahoo, Nebraska & was face-to-face w/my Irish Great-Aunt Loretta (Sullivan). She was cooking up a storm, he was hungry & smitten - So it was a fated marriage of “sweet & sauer”. Lots of Irish colleens followed my Aunt Loretta & made this kraut using applesauce. We all overuse the word “best” when talking about things we love, so I won't do that. This is the BEST! (I allowed 5 min to peel & grate + 25 min cook time, but this is not an exact science). Enjoy!"
Ingredients
Nutritional
- Serving Size: 1 (152.9 g)
- Calories 128.1
- Total Fat - 7.9 g
- Saturated Fat - 4.9 g
- Cholesterol - 20.4 mg
- Sodium - 288.8 mg
- Total Carbohydrate - 13.5 g
- Dietary Fiber - 3.2 g
- Sugars - 4.2 g
- Protein - 1.8 g
- Calcium - 35.3 mg
- Iron - 1.4 mg
- Vitamin C - 19.6 mg
- Thiamin - 0.1 mg
Step by Step Method
Step 1
Put sauerkraut w/its liquid, butter & caraway seeds in a large saucepan over med-heat. When the mixture begins to bubble slightly, lower heat to simmer.
Step 2
Place the peeled & grated potato plus the grated onion on top of the kraut & press it lightly into the kraut w/the flat surface of a spoon. Do not stir into the kraut.
Step 3
Cover & continue to simmer (adding small amounts of water as needed) until the grated potato is cooked. Now combine the pan contents (this process keeps raw potato from scorching &/or sticking to the bottom of the pan).
Step 4
Add the applesauce, mix well & taste. Add more applesauce if you prefer a sweeter, more apple-flavored kraut.
Step 5
Now we need meat flavor in the kraut. If not using your meat drippings for gravy, deglaze the meat pan w/white wine or water & add to the kraut. If not an option, add a chicken or beef-flavored bouillon cube to the kraut w/an amount of water roughly equal to what you would use to deglaze the pan. Be sure the bouillon cube is fully dissolved & the flavor distributed well (Using a vegetable-flavored bouillon cube will keep the dish vegetarian). Serve it up!
NOTES: After pan contents are combined in #3, stir frequently to check moisture & prevent any ingredients from sticking to the pan. --- After the last step, you can continue to simmer if you feel the kraut is too liquid, but that is rarely needed
Tips
- No special items are required.