Sauerkraut

I am very picky about sauerkraut. I believe in making it the old world way. Except for this weekend, sauerkraut weather is here.


Here are the ingredients I use. I always use pork steaks, ham hocks, smoked pork chops and pork neck bones.


Melt some bacon grease in a heavy pot.


Put some flour on a plate.


Sprinkle the pork steaks with freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt.


Dip the steaks in the flour.


Make sure they are covered on each side.


Brown them until golden and crisp on both sides.


I like to use the sauerkraut in a bag. I used 2 bags for this recipe.



After you remove the pork steaks, saute a large diced onion in the leftover grease.


Once the onions begin to soften, add the sauerkraut and sprinkle it with about 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds.


Pour in 3 cups of beef stock.


Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.


Place all of the meat in the bottom of a heavy dutch oven. Cover it with the sauerkraut mixture.


Bake this covered at 300 degrees for about 2-3 hours.


When the meat is falling off the bones, remove it and discard the hocks but flake the meat from the other cuts and add it back to the kraut.


I like to finish it off by adding a cup or so of sour cream. This is creamy, rich and delicious and how sauerkraut should taste! I serve it over mashed potatoes and top it with fried kielbasa.