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that time a year again... home made kraut w pics

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  • that time a year again... home made kraut w pics

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    had a few requests to repost the kraut thread i did on another site.( here ya go kelly ) i have seen a number of posts using sauerkraut as an ingredient. i thought i would pass this on to everyone in case anyone is interested in making there own. the first part will be the initial steps in making the kraut. the second part will be getting it all set for storage for use throughout the year.

    first off you need cabbage, i always grow the dutch hard flat type. cabbage harvested.


    we going to do this part outside, was a nice day out and no clean up inside the house to worry about. find a shady spot on a day w/o wind and bugs, or the garage. here is what we all need: tubs,crocks,cabbage cutter,scale,tote for mixing,canning/pickling salt, and of course cabbage.


    those are incidently redwing crocks from early 1900's, we collect them a little and we also put them to use. foodgrade plastic pails or other non reactive container will work as well.

    peel outer leaves off the head till down to clean cabbage, halve and core the cabbage like in picture. rinse off the cabbage at this point and now we ready to start the process.


    using the cutter, always keep fingers away from cutting blades!!! when starting to get close just use another half head to continue pushing the cabbage down, keeping your fingers safe. this is old antique equipment not built with todays saftey standards...


    after a bit you will end up with this, these two tubs have 40 lbs. of sliced cabbage in each.


    weigh exacty 5 lbs shredded cabbage into tote, preset the scale to read zero with empty tote.


    add 1/4 cup canning/pickling salt.


    mix well and the cabbage will start to sort of wilt and will start to make juice, tilted tote so you can see in corner.


    at this point add to clean container being used for the fermentation. i use a potato masher to pack the kraut down. every 5 lb batch added be sure to firmly pack.
    fill container to within a couple of inches of the top, again making sure firmly packed.


    using a couple of heavy food grade plastic bags(get mine from my butcher friend), double bag and fill with water so when set on top of cabbage the level is equal too or a little above the top. this is your weight and your seal. you will see bubbling and gasses will be forced out along the sides. the bag with water acts as a pressure lock to keep air from going in. do not peek during the fermentation stage.


    i now set the crocks on cardboard on my garge floor. temp is important here, fermentation will cease at 76 deg on high side and 55 deg on low side. approxmate fermentation times are 3 weeks at 75 deg, 4 weeks at 70 deg. allow 5-6 weeks at 60 deg. Do not store the crock at temperatures below 55° or over 76º or fermentation will not take place and the cabbage will spoil. Fermentation is complete when the bubbling has stopped and bubbles no longer form when the side of the crock is tapped.


    a pic of the bubbles created by the escaping gas, again do not move bag and break the air lock.


    it took 4 weeks for it to complete the fermentation, remove water bag weight for first peek, the kraut is ready to eat. sampled some with some pork shanks. was great. now here i set with 80 lbs of this stuff. so i am going to can most of it. so this second part will show you how that is done.


    using a canner or stock pot on the stove, heat up workable amounts of the kraut along with the brine from the crock.
    pack the hot kraut in hot sterilized quart jars to 1/2" headspace, topping with a new lid that was taken from simmering water. add band and turn on, do not overtighten.




    into canner, boiling water bath for 25 minutes. DONT stick cold jars into boiling water. they can and will crack. put jars in water turn up heat and start timer when reaches full boil.


    after there time in the canner set in a place for them to cool down, the lids will pop seal as they cool, any not sealed put in fridge for imediate use or reprocess. mine all sealed. i also heard some people do not can, but freeze it. i made up a couple bags full, filled with brine and squeezed the air out and froze. i havent tried it yet. will pretty soon, wanted to let it set in freezer for a little extended period to test it out.




    well thats all folks, kind of long and dragged out but hopefully everything is covered. any questions feel free to contact me and ask. hope some of you try it out, its awesome and you will never buy that stuff in a can again!!!
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  • #2
    Brilliant my E!
    Thank you for the post, another lost art in these days of quick and simple.
    BTW you have my addy, send me sum! ;)
    2016
    K



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    • #3
      here's how I do it, pretty much the same, I'm going to switch to food grade water bags next time.

      Pick a few cabbage



      Assemble your eqipment



      wash, quarter , remove core then shred the cabbage



      add salt and pack into crock



      cover with a plastic bag



      cover with a second bag



      add about 4 inches of water to the second bag



      close up the second bag and place crock in a warm place 50-80 F






      watch for signs of fermentation clean plastic bage every other day and change the water. in about 6 weeks it should be sauerkraut. you can now either can or refirgerate it.

      here is the entire recipe

      Sauerkraut

      5 kg cabbage
      250 ml coarse salt

      select firm , mature heads of cabbage
      remove outer leaves and any undesirable portions
      wash and drain. cut into halves or quarters and core
      use a shredder or sharp knife to cut cabbage in thin shreds
      mix each shredded head with 25 ml salt and allow it to wilt
      this allows the cabbage to be packed without bruising
      continue shredding and salting until half of the cabbages are done
      pack salted cabbage and juice in a clean earthenware crock
      press cabbage down firmly and evenly.
      Continue shredding and salting the rest of the batch
      the cabbage should be packed only to within 6 to 8 cm of the top of the crock
      cover cabbage with a damp , clean , thin cloth such as muslin
      tuck the edges down against the inside of the crock so no cabbage is exposed
      rinse cloth daily
      place a double plastic bag filled with water on top of the cabbage
      to seal the cabbage from air
      when fermentation begins , remove scum daily, and replace wet cloth
      wash outside of plastic bag and replace the water daily
      continue this for 5 to 6 weeks until crock contents look and smell like sauerkraut.
      If sauerkraut is to be stored at room temperature on the shelf ,
      it must be processed as a home canned product .
      prepare jars, lids and boiling water bath
      heat sauerkraut to simmering
      pack hot in jars, leaving 2 cm head space
      cover with boiling liquid. Remove air bubbles
      wipe sealing edge of jar Apply lid on rim
      process in boiling water bath for 15 min for small ( 500 ml) jars
      and 20 min for 1 l jars or process in pressure canner at 35kPa (5 lb. )
      pressure for 8 minutes for either size jar
      remove jars from canner. Cool . test for seal . label and store.
      Col. Big Guy

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      • #4
        That is just 2 cool! Thanks for the recipe! It is some good lookin stuff!
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        • #5
          I have not had any homemade krout since my grandmother passed and thats been 30+ years ago.. Im kinda stuck with the alternative...












          .
          Ken


          I Should Have Been Rich Instead Of Being So Good Looking

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          • #6
            It's been a long time since I've had homemade too. That's why I enjoyed Erain's so much. Thanks again, and for sharing how you make it.

            I was real young the last time I saw it being made. I just remember being told to leave it alone and how the basement smelled when asked to get some canned item from one of the many shelves. I hated all the work we had to do in the gardens as a kid, but sure miss some of those old traditional recipes now.
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            • #7
              looks good....i love kraut but im the only one that will eat it here so i kinda stuck using the jar variety...erain thats some old school stuff you got there...nice tutorial....
              Mike
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              • #8
                so just cabbage and salt and leave to stew.
                Just one question - what does the escaping gas smell like ?
                Because if it's really cabbagy I can think of the reason people stopped making their own :-)

                One thing I did notice,
                i always grow the dutch hard flat type. cabbage harvested.
                Now that's worth points making 80lb of saurkraut from your own cabbages, wow !
                Made In England - Fine Tuned By The USA
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                • #9
                  Wow, that is impressive. Grew up eating the kraut...Would always be the meal on New Year's, Pork and Sauerkraut...down here though black eyed peas and steamed cabbage....Nobody wants to partake of my sauerkraut...canned that is.
                  Custom Reverse Flow Smoker, WSM 22", Blackstone Griddle 36"

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                  • #10
                    This was really interesting to see! My Mom and Dad were explaining this to me a few weeks ago and I just didn't get it. The pictures here really helped.
                    Becky
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                    • #11
                      I'm so jealous.
                      I didn't get a chance to make any this season.

                      You know I've got stuff goin on.

                      Looks great E! Points.

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                      • #12
                        Great Post Erain. It's been awhile since I made a batch, and I never made that much at one time.

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                        • #13
                          As usual, that's some great looking kraut, Erain! You are bringing some to hunting camp, right? for the excellent tutorial.
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                          • #14
                            That's some kick a** Kraut Eraine! Thank you for the walk through buddy. I'm a kraut lover too.
                            Ryan

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