Bob’s Sauerkraut Phase 1

This post is the work of Mikehd and Bret Clark.
Thanks for the help Mike

This recipe was taught to Mike by one of them good old boys, Bob Bischel. Bob was one of a kind and you could not meet any better person. He liked his beer too

Mike started sharing the kraut receipt with me back in the day, and now we would like to share it with the IDO family!
Easy to do and we have been told by many there is none better. We like the stuff ourselves as you will be able to tell!

What you need for the first Phase, if making 60 plus quarts of Kraut that is

150lbs of Cabbage. We buy the cabbage by the pound. The size of the heads very from year to year according to the growing season.
20 gallons worth of crocks, Mike inherited two 10 gallon crocks from Bob. This can also be done in clean 5 gallon buckets.
Cabbage shredder, thanks again Bob.
For lack of better words, masher, pounder, or mallet, also handed down by Bob.
A couple boxes Canning/Pickling Salt.
A best friend and beer
We tried Captain and Coke one year……Like I said, “one year”

What takes place now is no exact science. Or as Bob use to tell Mike, Scientifically

Peel off outer layer of the cabbage leaves, keep a pile of the cleaner leaves, you will need a good layer of them to cover the finished product.
Quarter heads and remove cabbage heart.
Shred a layer of cabbage into the crock, an approximate 10inches thick.
Add a handful of the salt-also very scientific.
Use mallet to compact.
Repeat until you have filled the crock approximately 8inches from the top. You need the room at the top for expansion. As you layer and compress the shredded cabbage, you will notice a juice building up. This is a good sign that you got yourself some great cabbage.
Place a good layer of the leaves that you set aside on the top, using your hand pat them down.
Place a water pillow over the top for some weight to hold the cabbage below the juice.
Cover with towel and let the magic begin.

The curing process depends on the weather. The warmer the faster, the cooler the slower the process takes. This year the cabbage was placed in crocks Mid September and the second process was done Nov. 19th. It was ready a little earlier but with the cool nights we were able to hold off until we both had a free day to can the kraut.
You should also have your crocks in a well ventilated area

Bob’s Sauerkraut Phase 2

Needed for the second Phase.

Clean quart jars and new lids, we prefer the wide mouth jars but I still have a few regulars in the mix.
Kettles, Mike and I like to get 4 kettles going to speed up the process. We use our turkey cookers to assist.
Caraway Seed.

Remove the top portion of kraut from the crock until you get down to the good stuff. The thickness of the rotten stuff on top also varies from year to year. Some years it might only be a couple inches while others it may be 6 inches thick. You will know when you are to the good stuff, trust me
Place kraut into each kettle. Too much kraut in a kettle makes it hard to stir and heat through. We normally keep it below half a kettle.
Pour Caraway seed on top. This is also Scientificall Mike and I like to just cover the top of the kraut with the seeds and stir in.
Add water so there is approximately 4-5inches covering the bottom. Water can always be added during the cooking process. This also creates the juice you will need to top off your jars.
Place the kettles over a low heat. If you try to speed this process up you will burn your kraut. sounds like that would hurt doesn’t it
While the kraut is heating up we give the jars a hot bath in the dishwasher and place the lids in water on very low heat. You want to heat the lids just enough to soften the rubber gasket.
Once the kraut is heated good and hot, start stuffing the hot jars keeping the kraut just below the bottom of the neck.
Add the hot juice covering the kraut. Let sit a few seconds while the kraut absorbs the juice then add a little more juice if necessary. Do not over fill the jars. Keep a good inch from the top.
Put on the lid and snug down the ring.
Set jars aside and let cool. You will hear the lids start to pop as the jars seal.
Any jars that do not seal can just be placed in the fridge.
This year we were 100 percent sealed.

You now have kraut for cooking up your favorite receipts, kraut and ribs, yum, yum! The kraut can also be eaten right out of the jar.
If you open a jar and do not use the whole thing just place the remainder in the fridge. I always keep an open jar in the fridge. It is great for them spur of the moment brats
Enjoy!!

blech!

sounds wonderful! I’d tell my wife she will awaken to the smell of fresh cinnamon rolls, just to see the look on her face when she walks into the kitchen. My wife’s family is mostly German, I remember a few family reunions where her aunts would bring a dish of a creamy home-made kraut with bits of sausage seved warm, it was heaven.

Quote:

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blech!

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I know, I myself perfer Old Style but I ran out

Wow, fun read Bret – how long did it take you to type all this??????

All this looks like a lot of work but if you are doing it with good friends like Bret & Marrianne there is no work, just a lot of fun and laughing. As Bret wrote I learned this process from our very dear friends Bob and Shirlene. My wife Bea and I enjoyed many fun years learning this from the two of them, our dearly missed neighbors of 21 years, when we lived in Dousman. I couldn’t even venture to guess how many heads of cabbage & quarts of kraut were done over all those years – lots of them though. One year we started the process a little late and the garage got too cold for the kraut to start working and when Bob said we’d probably have to dump out the 20 gallons I immediately went into disaster response mode and with the help of my son we moved the two 10 gallon crocks (they are heavy) into our laundry room where they did just fine – and my wife didn’t even kick me out of the house for doing that.

The one thing you have to be prepared for though is after cooking and canning 60+ quarts of kraut your house is going to smell something like BK’s boat or the stink bait he uses. I thought I had it all aired out yesterday but after going out for the paper early this morning I noticed a little lingering odor de’ kraut left in the air – made me hungry for brats for breakfast.

After sharing this special recipe and skill anyone who makes some of this kraut is bound by law to invite Bret & Marrianne and Bea & I over to test it out – with brats and beer of course.

Enjoy

That sure looks good. But, it mostly looks like a good time. Thanks for the story.

Yum! I love kraut.

Why you cook it? I’d just can it. I am thinking kimchee could be in my future. Buddy has a hi dolar german fermentation vessel.