Home brewer Sauerkraut?

I'm new to this forum and thought I'd just ask-

Has anyone made their own sauerkraut? Would you share your recipes or methods?

I'd like to give this a try and it is a fermented food so who better to ask than fermenteurs?

Yes, I've made it.

You thinly slice the cabbage, and then pound salt into it in a crock, a layer at a time. I used a mortar and pestle type "pounder". When you have enough, put a plate over it with a weight so that it's pressed down. Put it someplace coolish, but not cold. Wait. Skim off the scum every few days, and smash it back down and weight it again. It should be ready in 2-3 weeks.

I've added some peppercorns to mine and it is great! My #1 tip would be to start eating the sauerkraut when it tasts good, not when some recipe on the internet SAYS it will be done. I ruined my first batch by waiting too long to eat it.

I think I will make some this weekend, thanks for the idea!

Thanks, Yooper. This sounds much simpler than many of my endeavors.

Glad to share a craving Whippy. Do you use the peppercorns along with fennel and/or celery seed or instead of them? They would add a nice dimension I hadn't considered.

There is a good video podcast from the guys at basic brewing where they made sauerkraut.

But the basics are laid out above.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=video

March 12,29

FWIW- sausagemaker.com has the best crocks available (I'm in no way connected to their company, I am just recommending them based on my experience from buying various sausage making products) I would really like to try sauerkraut- my cabbage crop was an 80% loss this year

A little warning it's really easy to overdo the salt. And don't fear the mold just skim it, it does look nasty though.

2-3% salt by weight of cabbage is enough. Try to keep the cabbage under the brine.
tasty!

For what it is worth, can I mention that fermenting saur kraut and dill pickles is what got me into home brewing in the first place? Cooking is a gateway drug to drinkin' ;-).

Don't forget that adding red cabbage gives you the nice pink hue.

Also it is important to use NON-iodized salt. The iodide will interfere with fermentation.
No good at all.

chazzman said:

Also it is important to use NON-iodized salt.

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+1

This actually is really important. One of the few times you want to save the three cents for a pound of Mortons. I can't speak for the messing up on the fermentation, but it does alter the flavor significantly.

Running kosher salt through the cuisinart works well for me here.

Mine has been going for a week now and is starting to taste really good. (yes, I taste it along the way...I can't help it) I mixed it up with peppercorns, garlic, and mustard powder this time. I think I may have went a bit heavy on the salt, but not so bad to ruin the batch. I have some white bratwurst in the freezer waiting on this to get done. My mouth is watering lol

Did you get a batch going, oakspoor?

One more thing to mention. Dont make saurkraut in a crock in a small New York apartment in April. SWMBO will complain constantly that the house "smells like old garbage."

Whippy said:

Did you get a batch going, oakspoor?

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I plan on starting it when I get back from vacation. I'm trying to get everything together for a JOAM to start before I go.

I'm glad my first thread on this board has been so well recieved. I appreciate all the pointers and camaraderie.

I normally make about 500lbs of kraut per year. I use food grade 5 gal buckets. Invest in a cabbage cutter, preferably a 3 blade cutter. It makes cutting cabbage easy and uniform.
I used 3T of canning salt per 5 lbs of kraut. I also use a wooden maddocks handle for bruising the kraut each time I add the salt. You may want to use a bit more salt to get the cabbage to make brine the first time you bruise it. I normally get about 40lbs of cabbage in one 5 gal bucket, that leaves room for the brine. The brine should be a few inches above the cabbage. I then put a dinner plate that is slightly smaller in diameter than the bucket on top of the cabbage and weigh down with a gallon jug of water. Drape a piece of cheesecloth or similar piece of cloth over the bucket and jug. Make sure it covers all of the top of the bucket. Check it every few days and simply remove any scum,mold etc from the surface of the brine. I try and store my cabbage in an area that will stay around 65-70 degree farenheit. I let it ferment for 6 weeks.

I have heard NOT to use metal utensils for working with your kraut, so just to be safe I would suggest using a wooden or hard plastic spoon.

I made two batches so far. The first was pretty good, and my wife even enjoyed some, and she normally doesn't do sauerkraut. I rinsed it a little for her benefit before serving.

The second batch I tried using a processor to shred the cabbage and it ended up too fine. I ended up tossing it because the flavor was also off a bit. Not sure why.

Planning on doing another batch pretty soon. I love it on top of Koegels franks. (The kind with the skins). The first batch was actually better than store bought kraut.

Whippy said:

I have heard NOT to use metal utensils for working with your kraut, so just to be safe I would suggest using a wooden or hard plastic spoon.

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I just use the clean hands method. If I have a cut I use rubber gloves.

question- can I throw other things in too (carrots, peppers etc) and make a mixed saurkraut/pickle?

Personally I would say yes to carrots and no to peppers, texturally. Bell pepper would fall apart and the kraut would taste like pepperkraut or sauerpepper. Chilis for heat would work though!

CreamyGoodness said:

Personally I would say yes to carrots and no to peppers, texturally. Bell pepper would fall apart and the kraut would taste like pepperkraut or sauerpepper. Chilis for heat would work though!

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So pretty much anything like carrots, garlic, birds eye chilies etc...?

Also in terms of mold what is normal? any care to post some pics?

badmajon said:

So pretty much anything like carrots, garlic, birds eye chilies etc...?

Also in terms of mold what is normal? any care to post some pics?

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I will take some pics for you tonight. I know mine is molding. I have added apple slices in the past batches. They give the kraut a nice taste as does the kraut the apple also.

you may hollow out a head of cabbage and put it in with your cabbage to ferment. I just bury mine in the kraut. It makes a great head of cabbage to use for Halupki (pigs in a blanket).

escapeman said:

I will take some pics for you tonight. I know mine is molding. I have added apple slices in the past batches. They give the kraut a nice taste as does the kraut the apple also.

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thanks!

I've done it before. It's much better than soggy store bought kraut. I used a 1 gallon glass jar with a loose fitting glass lid. That was good for 2 heads. I didn't add anything but cabbage and salt. Onions are common as well as caraway seed. I don't care for either so I can't help with amounts.

The book "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon has a lot
about fermenting milk, veggies, fruit etc. She suggests
using whey (from making your own buttermilk then cream
cheese) and this will jump-start the fermenting process.
And reduce or eliminate the salt. I haven't tried it yet.
I've recently begun Kombucha making and just two days
ago I received my kefir grains in the mail, so I am swimming
in ferments. But I want to incorporate more. (also a other
book: "Wild Fermentation" - sounds great by the reviews)

I like reading your posts (everyone) it gives me more
courage and faith in the process.

Thank you.

I've made sauerkraut recently and added baby carrots sliced 4 into 4 pieces lengthwise.

Although tasty enough, they lost a significant amount of crunch, surprisingly. If I were to do it again (and I will), I'd not slice them at all.

Took a decent-sized tupperware container of sausage and sauerkraut to work for lunch yesterday and enjoyed a few hours of "Booty Music" afterwards! :cross:

I've got another batch of kraut fermenting now. Same 1 gallon glass with 3 heads, around 6 pounds, of cabbage. It fit but is too tight. Looks like 3-4 pounds per gallon is about the max.

I just finished fermenting a batch of kraut and sour beets and kimchi. It's my first time trying kimchi and so far I'm not disapointed!

One tip I can give is try to ferment at lower temp, I do mine in my basment. It makes it sweeter

+1 on the kimchi! Anyone have thoughts on reusing the brine from leftover sauerkraut/kimchi? I've found that just by throwing the dregs of the last batch I did into the new batch, the flavor has become more complex. I'm several generations in, it is soooo tasty!

My father used to make it when I was a kid. Always in a larger crock 10-15 gal. He had an old wooden slicer (3 blade) , used only Kosher salt, smashed the layers down with big maple tamper and covered it with a piece of cheese cloth. This was held down with a large flat rock. I remember him boiling the rock to keep it clean. He would peel off and replace the cheese cloth weekly to remove the funk on top. Can't remember how many weeks it would be in there, but the cellar really smelled. When it was done it was canned in Ball jars with the glass tops and with the flip lids.

I've been making sauerkraut for about six months now. I have two 10L Harsch crocks. Those work perfectly. I mix up cabbage, carrots, onions, celtic sea salt, and whey from raw milk kefir. I pound it with a wooden kraut pounder. I start filling the crock, having left some juice from the previous batch in place also. Then I put in some cucumbers, beets, turnips, radishes, garlic, ginger or whatever I was able to find for that batch. Then I cover those with the rest of the kraut. Turnips work the best, amazing flavor in the kraut. Leeks come out absolutely amazing. I normally get organic produce when possible. The leeks I just leave the roots on and it's interesting when it comes out the roots have grown about six inches.

Also I put in black peppercorns, white peppercorns, hawthorne berries, juniper berries, coriander, and a few other herbs.

In those Harsch crocks, after 4 weeks at 70F it is perfect, just slightly underdone and ready for a little more cool temperature aging. I can it up in quart jars and refrigerate to let it age a little more.

CreamyGoodness said:

For what it is worth, can I mention that fermenting saur kraut and dill pickles is what got me into home brewing in the first place? Cooking is a gateway drug to drinkin' ;-).

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This is so true. I'm really into cooking, and especially experimental cooking. I enjoy being in the kitchen... the swmbo... sadly not so much these at all. More food for me! But yeah, pickling things definetly got me into brewing too. Maybe its because I need a good beer along with my pickled eggs.

Oh, and saurkraut is awesome. Turns out I found a traditional kraut crock in perfect condition in my mums garage - but without the weights. I'm gonna try a batch when I get a chance and I'll be sure to post pics.

Does anyone add a brine after pounding cabbage. I bought cabbage at store and forgot to add brine because it did not produce much liquid after pounding. I added apples for the first time and let sit 4 weeks In harsh crock. It was RANCID smelling. The 2 other times I made it I had great results. But that was in Canada. Was it the lack of brine or the 75+ degree fermenting temp or both? Does anyone make sauerkraut in the south ( Houston)? Ooh well going to try again.

Yes, I almost always add brine even after pounding the heck out of the cabbage. I think because I include onions, carrots, turnips, leeks, etc., I need more brine than normal. The extra brine is VALUABLE when putting the kraut later into say quart jars, because you can suck off the extra brine and put it in those jars to help prevent yeast on the top few inches. It really is a benefit. Also extra brine afterwards is tasty and is excellent starter for the next batch.

Fermenting kraut above about 75F does not yield optimal results I have found. The kraut will get soft quickly, but it won't have much flavor. It really needs to be under 70F for best results it seems, then a nice slow 'second' ferment in a 45F or so fridge for many months afterwards yields amazing results.

I definitely think it was the lack of brine.

I am going to try another batch and keep it in the closet I keep my fermenting ales.

Thanks

Hi folks, I've been making kraut for several years now. A friend of mine and I make about 800lbs a year. I use only late cabbage, I seem to get a better tasting kraut. I've never had any trouble getting a lot of brine from just pounding the cabbage. I normally use a bit of extra canning salt(its a finer salt and disolves better) in the beginning to get a good brine started. I also use a double garbage bag with enough water in it to weight down the cabbage (not too much though, you want the co2 to be able to escape around the edges of the garbage bags). I then cover the buckets with cheese cloth. I use five gallon food grade buckets.

How many of you get your cabbage from a grocery store? I think because I do, it is older and has less liquid so if I don't add brine I am in trouble.

Anyone ferment in warmer temps though?