Pork and Sauerkraut: German, Pennsylvania Style Recipe WANTED

While thousands of Americans are making this for New Year's Day, I've always made lamb because I have a wonderful Roast Pork, Puerto Rican Style for Christmas.  I need a good recipe for the above, thanks!!!!!!

I don't know if it's Pennsylvania style but one of my favorite dishes my Mom (of German heritage) always made was country style pork ribs cooked in sauerkraut in her pressure cooker. It was accompanied by homemade spaetzels. I do my own version but cook it in my crock pot.

My dad always pressure cooked some pork hocks, then after 30 or so minutes let it bleed out (air) then added the kraut, potatoes onions and carrots.. Let it fire up for a few more minutes to cook the veggies.. Basic, but the stuff memories are made of...

I'm a bit confused as to what you're looking for. Paleta de puerco asada has tradionally been our Nochebuena meal and jamon ahumado for Christmas day. Only my mom used to make ham hocks and black-eyed-peas for New Years day. We've never really had a New Years traditional meal as the 'fridge is usually too full of leftovers that nobody wants to eat.

However, my maternal grandparents who raised me were eastern european and did do a pork and sauerkraut pot meal. It was usually a smoked ham shank that was simply scored with a knife and cloves inserted in the crosspoints. Doused and basted with cider vinegar while roasting in the oven. Most of the meat was sliced off for my grandfather's daily lunch. There was always a generous amount of meat intentionally left on the bone. To a large stock pot, the meaty bone, several containers of sauerkraut w/juice, peeled potatoes, dried mushrooms,caraway seed, and some water was added. This was simmered until the sauerkraut almost reduced to a pungent, but sort of powdery tasting slush with the potatoes virtually falling apart. Needless to say, I hated it and eating the same stuff for days. This was served with either pumpernickle or Westphalian rye bread as a complete meal. If costillas de cerdo were on sale, sometime my grandmother would used them, but would brown/sear them in fat first and use them instead of the ham.

Wonder if this is what you're looking for.

My favorite recipe is as follows - and you can put the whole shebang in a crock pot and let it go all day on low, put it all in a large cast iron pot and let it braise away in the oven for 2-3 hours at 325F - or put it in the pressure cooker for an even shorter period of time.

3 1/2 lbs. country-style pork ribs - you can brown them in a little oil if you want
1 1/2 t. caraway seed - opt. if you like it
5-6 medium potatoes,  peeled and halved
5-6 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup chopped onion
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar (32 oz.) or 1 bag sauerkraut, drained, reserve liquid
1 t. salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 to 1 t. thyme
apple juice, water

Stir together the caraway seed, brown sugar, onion, garlic and sauerkraut.

Pressure cooker: layer ribs on bottom, then sauerkraut mixture, potatoes and carrots. Season with salt, pepper, thyme. Measure reserved liquid and add water or apple juice to measure 1 cup. Pour into cooker, cover and cook per manufacturer's directions for about 20 minutes. Let pressure release naturally.  ***MAKE SURE YOUR COOKER IS NO MORE THAN 2/3 FULL! ***  I have a 4 Qt. cooker so I make only about 1/2 of this recipe.

Crock Pot: put potatoes and carrots in pot first, add in ribs, then put in sauerkraut mixture. Add the seasonings then add in the 1 cup liquid, cover, cook on low 8-10 hours.

Oven baking: put ribs in large covered braising pan first, then scatter in potatoes and onions, add sauerkraut mixture, then seasonings, then liquid. Cover pan tightly with lid or foil. Bake at 325 for 2-3 hours.

Optional: you can add a chopped up tart apple to the mix of vegetables if you want.

This is a sort of my own recipe, and it's pretty good if I do say so myself.
Teresa

We are originally from York County, PA. My neighbor and best friend used to put some country style spare ribs in the oven with her sauerkraut, then bake it just about forever at a low temp. About 20 minutes before she was ready to serve it, she would adjust the oven to 350 degrees and put dumplings on top to cook in the juices. This is the very best sauerkraut I have ever had and the dumplings (big, fluffy ones) tasted incredible with the juices cooked into them. I think she just used sauerkraut out of a bag, about 3 bags of it (it cooks down, so you have to use a lot.) Hope this is helpful. I think you could do this in a crock pot, too.

I have a 4# Bone-in Pork Roast in the Crock Pot right now. Using Tangy Seasonings. I make my Sauerkraut separately because my wife does not like Kraut even though she's 100% German and from PA!!! Go Figure
 
I'm trying something different with my kraut;
 
1 Granny Smith Apple cubed
2 cups Kraut
Good helpings of Celery Seed & Caraway Seed
1 Can of Beer
NEW IDEA---- 1 Cup of Sabretts Push Cart Onions in Sauce!
Serve on top of a pile of Mashed Potatoes
 
I'll let you know how it turns out!

DawnT


I'm a bit confused as to what you're looking for. Paleta de puerco asada has tradionally been our Nochebuena meal and jamon ahumado for Christmas day. Only my mom used to make ham hocks and black-eyed-peas for New Years day. We've never really had a New Years traditional meal as the 'fridge is usually too full of leftovers that nobody wants to eat.

However, my maternal grandparents who raised me were eastern european and did do a pork and sauerkraut pot meal. It was usually a smoked ham shank that was simply scored with a knife and cloves inserted in the crosspoints. Doused and basted with cider vinegar while roasting in the oven. Most of the meat was sliced off for my grandfather's daily lunch. There was always a generous amount of meat intentionally left on the bone. To a large stock pot, the meaty bone, several containers of sauerkraut w/juice, peeled potatoes, dried mushrooms,caraway seed, and some water was added. This was simmered until the sauerkraut almost reduced to a pungent, but sort of powdery tasting slush with the potatoes virtually falling apart. Needless to say, I hated it and eating the same stuff for days. This was served with either pumpernickle or Westphalian rye bread as a complete meal. If costillas de cerdo were on sale, sometime my grandmother would used them, but would brown/sear them in fat first and use them instead of the ham.

Wonder if this is what you're looking for.

This sounds like Bigos, essentially a dish of "perpetual stew" of Polish origins.  I'm making a pot tomorrow, as it's excellent cold weather food.  I use the following

Pork Butt, trimmed of some fat, but not all, and chunked and browned first.  Some people use country style pork ribs as an alternate.  Either are good.
Good polish sausage from a local producer, sliced.  This is a must.
kraut, drained
cabbage, chopped
onions, chopped
apples, peeled and chopped
some bay leaf, and a few grinds of pepper
optional, some caraway seed, but not too much
apple cider to moisten, along with some water.  You don't want it swimming in liquid, as it gives off plenty of its' own, but you don't want it to dry out and burn, either.

Put it all together, cover tightly, and bake in a slow (275 degree) oven for about 5-6 hours, stirring a couple times.  Makes lots, and it's even better the next day.  We serve it with crusty rye bread, and occasionally, mashed or boiled potatoes.

Foodbme


I have a 4# Bone-in Pork Roast in the Crock Pot right now. Using Tangy Seasonings. I make my Sauerkraut separately because my wife does not like Kraut even though she's 100% German and from PA!!! Go Figure
 
I'm trying something different with my kraut;
 
1 Granny Smith Apple cubed
2 cups Kraut
Good helpings of Celery Seed & Caraway Seed
1 Can of Beer
NEW IDEA---- 1 Cup of Sabretts Push Cart Onions in Sauce!
Serve on top of a pile of Mashed Potatoes
 
I'll let you know how it turns out!

Well, I'm letting you know how it turned out. It was OK. The apples absorb the tartness of the Vinegar in the Kraut. The Sabretts Onion flavor took over a little bit. Overall, it was good and I'd do it again, but it didn't knock my socks off.

"This sounds like Bigos, essentially a dish of "perpetual stew" of Polish origins."

Toche' Stlouisguy. Old country Polish folks took that perpetual concept literally and you'd eat out of the same pot for days, if not a week. It was called Szphynka y Kapusta.  I meant to say pork ribs above instead of costillas. Think it was zeberki in Polish.

When my grandmother did Kielbasa, it was usually boiled first, then sliced diagonally and fried in bacon grease or butter and set aside. She used diced apples,sauerkraut,caraway seeds, brown sugar,and onions to make the kraut and served the slices on top. I still do this, but also use sliced,green peppers saute'd with the onions first. Unfortunately, you can't find the quality Keilbasa like Martin Rosol or AYO in these parts anymore.

Ok, here's my family recipe (I'm Pennsylvania Dutch.)  We ate this on New Year's Day; it is supposed to be good luck.  And I forgot to get sauerkraut this week, thanks for the reminder!  This is so good, worth an extra trip to the grocery store.

Large bag of sauerkraut, drained (rinse if you want to, I don't)
1 tart apple, cored and chopped (don't peel)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
about a tablespoon of whole caraway seeds
1/3-1/2 cup dark brown sugar (you can use molasses instead)
About 2 lbs. of pork with bones and some fat:  I generally use country spareribs, but a pork shoulder is fine if you want more meat, or even pork chops.
mustard
1 envelope Sazon Goya seasoning (optional, not traditional, but GOOD - use the "sin achiote" type - found in the Hispanic foods section of your supermarket)

Mix the first five ingredients in a baking dish (not too shallow) and place the meat on top.  Brush meat with mustard and sprinkle with Sazon.  Cover the dish tightly with a lid or some foil.  Bake at 325 degrees for a LONG time - 2-3 hours.  Add more liquid if it seems like it's getting dry, but if it's tightly covered it won't. 
The pork should be falling-off-the-bone tender.  Serve with mashed potatoes.

The long long cooking time makes the kraut soft and mellow, not at all like the sharp crunchy stuff you put on your hot dog.

Wow, what a great club of people.  Thank you all.
They all sound WONDERFUL, but so far, tcrouzer looks like having the recipe I'll use.  Emmymom, thats good too minus the Sazon Goya and Foodbme is great with the beer.  I should have mentioned, I WILL NOT USE A CROCKPOT because...well...I don't have one, so it will be in the oven 325 for a long time.  Thanks  very much all!!!

fabulousoyster


Wow, what a great club of people.  Thank you all.
They all sound WONDERFUL, but so far, tcrouzer looks like having the recipe I'll use.  Emmymom, thats good too minus the Sazon Goya and Foodbme is great with the beer.  I should have mentioned, I WILL NOT USE A CROCKPOT because...well...I don't have one, so it will be in the oven 325 for a long time.  Thanks  very much all!!!

WHAT???? No CROCKPOT??????
You must be the only person in the Civilized World without one!
Best $20 investment I ever made next to my Pampered Chef Chopper!

Have two crockpots. One is a small Rival that I've had for probably 30 + years when they first got popular (avocado green), the other a large Hamilton Beach oval that has a removable crock that my dad bought me in the early 90's (first present he actually picked out for me in his life ....with his own agenda for it). Both sit in their boxes up on top of my kitchen cabinets out of the way next to the electric skillet that I never use. OTOH, I have 4 pressure cookers that see constant use. Most anything a crockpot can do, the PC's can do much better and fast. I never bought into that "dump it all together in the morning and serve when daddy gets home" nonsense.

Revisiting this thread to add:  I got my first-ever crockpot for Xmas this year, and made my pork and sauerkraut in it.  It worked great!  I put the ribs in the bottom (because they were on the bottom I didn't bother with my usual seasoning of mustard and Sazon) and piled the rest on top; let it go for 6 hours on low.  BEST EVER.

Yum, emmymom. Sounds like what my Mom used to make, although she put the ribs on top of the sauerkraut.The juices from the meat made the saurkraut have such a wonderful flavor.

That's how I make mine emmymom! I make so many things in my crockpot. Try pot roast or short ribs too.

OK, OK, now I've gotta get my Crock Pot out and try this.  It really sounds like excellent comfort food to me.  

My Czech heritage is calling me to include the Caraway Seed covered Pork Loin (boneless) done in a wet roaster...be that a Crockpot, or oven-roasted, sealed so the moisture stays with the meat. Chopped Sweet/Sour Red Cabbage and Apples either chunked or sauce was our traditional New Years Celebration family dinner.
My grandfather would gently pour one or two shot glasses of his homeade brandy (usually Pear) over the roast when it was removed from the oven to rest prior to serving.
BTW ours was always a large Loin...8 or 9 lbs, as it had to feed quite a large family gathering.

Oh boy, Al-Bob would love the caraway, red cabbage and apples.Will have to try that, as I am feeling very adventerous with cooking these days!!!

Foodbme

fabulousoyster


Wow, what a great club of people.  Thank you all.
They all sound WONDERFUL, but so far, tcrouzer looks like having the recipe I'll use.  Emmymom, thats good too minus the Sazon Goya and Foodbme is great with the beer.  I should have mentioned, I WILL NOT USE A CROCKPOT because...well...I don't have one, so it will be in the oven 325 for a long time.  Thanks  very much all!!!

WHAT???? No CROCKPOT??????
You must be the only person in the Civilized World without one!
Best $20 investment I ever made next to my Pampered Chef Chopper!

No crockpot. I prefer to cook.

Mar prepared kielbasa with sauerkraut on New Year's Day.  Took her 4 hours to prepare it and it was tender and delicious. 

dimmie2


Mar prepared kielbasa with sauerkraut on New Year's Day.  Took her 4 hours to prepare it and it was tender and delicious. 

 
Did she use Crock-Pot, pressure cooker, or Dutch oven?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Actually, depending on the dish and my mood at the time, I've used and love all three.

She used none of those.  A skillet and the oven.  Most of the cooking time was in the oven.

my gma 98 and a retired home ec teacher in amish country pa just cooked a pork roast with sour kraut (home made, bags,or cans)
in a big pot on the stove or in the oven plain.then when the pork is tender served it on top of a big pile of homemade mashed potatoes
no spices or extras. we also do blk eye peas and greens with hog jowl for my soutern wife. some times i use hog jowl in the kraut to southernize
the pork and kraut.when its cheap