Homemade Sauerkraut
What you will need:
Five-liter fermentation crock with water moat, lid and weights
Wooden cabbage pounder
Large stainless-steel mixing bowl
5 or 6 one-quart jars with lids and rings
10 pounds of shredded cabbage
6 Tbs of Himalayan pink salt or Redmond real salt (these are non-iodized salts with lots of natural minerals)
6 Tbs of white table sugar
1 Tbs of dried dill
Mix salt, sugar and dill together
Peel off outer leaves and save for later. Quarter and core cabbage heads. Slice cabbage 1/8” thick or slightly less, I use a mandolin slicer set at 3mm
My large mixing bowl is 20” across and 6” deep and will hold 10 pounds of sliced cabbage. I use digital scales to weigh the cabbage as I slice.
Spread the sliced cabbage out on the counter and sprinkle with salt mixture. Mix well and put back into the mixing bowl. Let sit for about an hour.
Use pounder to punch the cabbage down in the bowl. Then wring all of the liquid (brine) out of the cabbage by squeezing it by hand.
Lightly pack the cabbage into the crock makeing sure to leave at least 3” of air space at the top. You may have some cabbage left that won’t fit, don’t force it. Wring out any unused cabbage to save the brine. Then any unused cabbage could be used for slaw or salad.
There should be brine left in the bowl, the more the better. Pour it over the cabbage in the crock.
Cut a few outer leaves you saved earlier to the shape of the inside of the crock so they cover the sliced cabbage.
Now put the weights on top of the cabbage slices (I use glass weights)
Push the weights down.
They should be submerged at least an inch below the brine.
Put the lid on and fill the moat with water. Check the water level in the moat daily.
Set in a cool place, we just set it on the counter and let it set for 30 days. No peeking, make sure to keep the moat filled with water. After a few days it will start to ferment and you will hear bubbles. There are several types of bacteria some bubble some don’t. At some point during the fermentation, more liquid will push out of the cabbage. If you filled your crock too full it will run all over your counter like ours did on my first try.
Eventually, it will draw liquid back in, so you may have to add water to the moat more often.
After 30 days take off the lid. Use a turkey baster and paper towels to remove the water from the moat
Remove the weights
Remove the large leaves
And here is your homemade sauerkraut!
Place into jars and lightly pack down.
Cover with brine. If you don’t have enough brine to cover all of the jars, cover the ones you can and eat the ones you can’t first.
Add the lids, rings and place in the fridge.
It will last for months if properly submerged under the brine.
Most recipes don’t call for sugar. Cabbage has natural sugars, but I add extra sugar because it feeds the Bacteria that gives sauerkraut its “sour and tangy” flavor and I like my kraut extra sour. If you add sugar you will need the 30 days instead of typical 21 days for fermentation.
I know I missed some details. For very comprehensive and detailed information refer to Holly Howe, she is the Queen and ultimate resource for sauerkraut and has a website devoted to it.
Research several sources before trying your first batch. You want nice crunchy sauerkraut not mushy moldy cabbage.
Good Luck All
