Choucroute garnie

I was checking my 1980’s Betty Crocker cookbook for something else and lo and behold, they have a recipe for choucroute in there!
 
I bought some (German brand) sauerkraut a week or so back, and yesterday, had a couple of sausages, fried eggs and sauerkraut for breakfast. This morning I think I might just go and buy a large cabbage and see if I can make a second attempt at making my own, just for the hell of it!
 
karadekoolaid said:
I bought some (German brand) sauerkraut a week or so back, and yesterday, had a couple of sausages, fried eggs and sauerkraut for breakfast. This morning I think I might just go and buy a large cabbage and see if I can make a second attempt at making my own, just for the hell of it!
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What went wrong with the first batch???

The amount of salt you add is crucial. It helps prevent the baddies and helps the lactobacillus. I go with 5%, by weight, of the combined chopped cabbage and water for my mass/weight of salt. You can go as low as 2 1/2% but I've never had a fail at 5%.
 
Barriehie said:
What went wrong with the first batch???

The amount of salt you add is crucial. It helps prevent the baddies and helps the lactobacillus. I go with 5%, by weight, of the combined chopped cabbage and water for my mass/weight of salt. You can go as low as 2 1/2% but I've never had a fail at 5%.
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I use 2.5 - 3 %
 
Barriehie said:
What went wrong with the first batch???
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Probably everything. If I remember rightly, I didn't smash the cabbage with the salt to begin with; cut the cabbage too thick and didn't push the cabbage down enough, or didn't have a heavy weight on top.
With the tips I've seen on this post, I'm going to have another go. I bought a cabbage today.
If at first you don't succeed, ...
 
karadekoolaid said:
Probably everything. If I remember rightly, I didn't smash the cabbage with the salt to begin with; cut the cabbage too thick and didn't push the cabbage down enough, or didn't have a heavy weight on top.
With the tips I've seen on this post, I'm going to have another go. I bought a cabbage today.
If at first you don't succeed, ...
Click to expand...
Initially I usually have a small bowl with water in it on top to keep the cabbage under and I never smash it with the salt. Chop it and weigh it with the water, add the salt and submerge. I don't have a fancy fermenting crock so mine is in a large glass bowl, I like to see, and I cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and put a pin prick in the center. As the gasses release from fermenting they make positive pressure so nothing really goes in the hole to ruin it.

My two pesos... 👍
 
I smash with salt and knead it in.
Then in a pot, weight down with a bag of brine. Sometimes first a (clean) plate or lid, then the bag of brine on top.
Just keep an eye on it as you are in a pretty warm climate. I forgot about one batch and the cabbage was no longer covered in brine. It didn't go mouldy, but didn't taste good either
 
karadekoolaid said:
I bought some (German brand) sauerkraut a week or so back, and yesterday, had a couple of sausages, fried eggs and sauerkraut for breakfast. This morning I think I might just go and buy a large cabbage and see if I can make a second attempt at making my own, just for the hell of it!
Click to expand...
Don't forget my small batch recipe. It's never failed me.
 
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