Easiest Sauerkraut recipe ever

I have tried Sauerkraut before and failed several times. I have made kimchee for over 8 years with no problem but kraut always stumped me somewhere in that the recipes aren't clear enough about fermented foods typically, but I finally found a recipe so simple and the results were wonderful so I'm sharing.

The recipe is simple, 1 tsp of good fine seasalt per pound of cabbage, that's the important part. Next you take however much cabbage you want to make into kraut (I used 3 lbs of finely sliced green cabbage and sprinkled with 3 tsp salt in large bowl and it perfectly fits into a 1 gal glass olive/pickle/artichoke jar). Optionally you can add 1/2 tsp of caraway seed, or dill seed at this point, the spices can get interesting.

The next step is also simple and a great upper body workout, once you have taken your sliced cabbage sprinkled with salt, you give it an AGGRESSIVE deep tissue massage with your hands, get into it. The concept is again simple, mix the salt into the cabbage and tenderize the cabbage until it is actually the texture you want (basically if you like limp soft kraut give it more time, if you like a crisper fresh kraut then don't go more than a few minutes or so). The cabbage rub will produce some liquid which you keep and pour into the 1 gal glass tavern olive style jar after you pack the cabbage in. The 3 lbs of cabbage after rubbing should produce enough cabbage to tightly fit into that jar, and I found a new jar of typical mayonnaise that fit in the mouth of the gallon jar and had enough weight to keep the sliced cabbage beneath the liquids. If your cabbage if dry you might need to add some water to make sure its beneath the water. Now you just store this jar in a cool dry place for 6-7 days. Every day i check it and push the mayo jar down lightly to offgas the cabbage ferment (this was a key trick when i learned kimchee, avoids an ammoniated smell/flavor)

At 6 days taste it to see if its at the right tangy/bitterness you like, when its at your taste just pull the mayo jar out and put a lid and put in fridge. It will keep for at least 4 months, but good luck with it lasting more than a month once you start loving it.

Made brats this week as well as hot pastrami and kraut sandwiches with swiss while the kraut is fresh!

Hope you are hungry

During your 6-7 days of aging do you cover the jar with a lid?
Or a different way?
I would like to try this..........thanks

a reply to: FreeFalling

You want to keep the oxygen out. Use a weight ( a primary follower and a secondary follower) and pack it down. Store in and around 65 degrees.

I would never add water. Ever. Not to kraut. That’s sacrilege. I would just pound out more cabbage.

If you want crunchier kraut dont deep massage long. If you want it to be softer get in there.

I've never made sauerkraut, but I have long wanted to, and I've read a lot of instructions on making it. I always hear people raving about their homemade sauerkraut. I have one question though...

Most all of the recipes I've seen have very few ingredients, so how does homemade sauerkraut taste any better/different than quality sauerkraut bought at the store? Is there a big difference, and if so what is it?

Reason for asking is, it takes some care and time to make, it takes up some space, requires a fairly big vessel to make it in, and has a lot of risks of it going wrong. All that considered, why not just go to the store and buy a jar or two? It's cheap, has no storage requirements and no worries associated with it.

Honest question.

ETA - I have the same question about homemade horseradish. I have some guys I hunt with over in Kansas and they're always raving about their homemade horseradish (and sauerkraut too). Always comparing notes and results. I hear about it every time I go. I've never tried any of their sauerkraut, but I've tried some of their horseradish and it tasted like regular old horseradish to me (I didn't tell them that though). They're always talking about how much time it takes to make and age, and all these steps, yet when I look online for recipes most of the ones I find are:
Horseradish: cubed
Vinegar: added
Water: added
Recipe: Blend in food processor. Boom!...done. Eat. Put what you don't use in the frig. (???????)

So I must be missing something.

a reply to: FreeFalling

No, the full mayo jar is just slightly smaller diameter than the glass jar opening, so there is barely any air getting in/out, the purpose is to make sure cabbage is always beneath the liquid. The cool dark place you store should also help prevent mold.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

It mostly has a fresher flavor, less salty, and the texture is perfect. I added some caraway so its got a perfect flavor for bratwurst and ruebens.

One reason I had to try it was homemade is healthier with zero preservatives, also cheap as dirt to make. Also the idea of making different flavored krauts is appealing, I have tons of dill and other herbs growing.

I love a good horseradish too, it would actually be interesting to add some to a batch of kraut I think

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Horseradish is crazy easy to make. I grate the horseradish, combine with some vin and a little water. Done. Easy.

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

Totally agree. But my hunting buddys talk about how they age it for like 6 months and do all this other stuff to it along the way. The way they talk about the finished product it's like the stuff is rare as hens teeth and more valuable than unobtanium.

ETA - I wonder what they're making???

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Im a little thrown by the demise of this site but.....

Yeah man, I love making the kraut. If you have made a small batch it will only take a few days to reach that 4.6ph or lower mark that fermentation is. If you are making large batches it could take weeks OR months! You skim the top, throw away any nasty fermentation and jar and store.


Isnt your wife a chef? Lol

Here’s a great book

Ferment

Fermented vegetables

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Im a little thrown by the demise of this site but.....

Not sure what you mean by this.

...Isnt your wife a chef? Lol

Yes, but she doesn't make pickled or fermented items. Don't know why really, she just doesn't.

Here’s a great book

Fermented vegetables

Thanks.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I meant this

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

Ah, understood.

My response was posted prior to seeing that. Thanks.

originally posted by: Aliquandro
At 6 days taste it to see if its at the right tangy/bitterness you like, when its at your taste just pull the mayo jar out and put a lid and put in fridge. It will keep for at least 4 months, but good luck with it lasting more than a month once you start loving it.

Made brats this week as well as hot pastrami and kraut sandwiches with swiss while the kraut is fresh!

Hope you are hungry

There are lots of ways to make it, but as the husband of a pro (she makes it and sells it commercially), and one who has researched the subject to death, at 6 days, the process has barely even gotten started.

We ferment ours for about 6 weeks, but there is science that says it needs to go for 3 to 4 months, at different temps at different stages, for the best results.

Regardless - there is very little health benefits to the 6 day kraut, and in fact there may be some negatives...

Just fyi...