This is a feast for a crowd of
friends. Prepare the sauerkraut (recipe follows)
Prepare a variety of
sausages and meats. You may grill or fry the sausages or you may wish
to cook some or all of the meats and sausages in the sauerkraut. Here are
some meat varieties that are popular for this type of dish:
Smoked pork chops
Bratwurst
Bauernwurst
Knackwurst
Wieners
Nürnberger Bratwurst
Blood pudding
Strips of Slab Bacon
Slab Bacon (diced and sautéed for garnish)
As a guide for how much to order, allow the equivalent of 2-3 sausages per man
and 1 to two sausages per woman.
Once the meats have cooked, arrange on a platter over Sauerkraut (recipe below)
and serve with potato
dumplings or bread
dumplings. If a certain brand is unavailable, there are many other
brands of potato or bread dumplings that will work well.
Use the satueed bacon to garnish the potatoes and the platter.
Use parsley to garnish the platter before serving.
Sauerkraut (serves about
12-15)
Dice one slab of Schaller & Weber
Double-smoked Bacon and sauté in a large skillet until the bacon is somewhat
crispy.
Remove the bacon at set aside for later, but leave the drippings in the pan.
Add one or two large diced onion(s) to the pan drippings and sauté until the
onion is translucent.
In a large pot add the entire contents of two cans of your favorite German
Sauerkraut (other
brands will work as well).
Pour the onions and bacon drippings into the pot with the sauerkraut.
Sprinkle liberally with black pepper.
Add about 1/2 cup water.
Cook over low heat for at least one hour*.
Check often to make certain that there is enough liquid so the sauerkraut won't
scorch.
before serving add some or all the bacon bits to the sauerkraut as garnish.
*If you wish you may also add other possible sauerkraut additions (each is
optional). When cooked with the sauerkraut, they each add a distinctive
flavor:
-Juniper berries (up to 10 berries)
-Caraway seeds
-Bay leaf
-Apple sauce or finely-diced sweet apple pieces