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ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => FARMING & COUNTRY LIFE => Topic started by: danno on September 19, 2013, 04:31:56 pm

Title: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: danno on September 19, 2013, 04:31:56 pm
Plans are to chop about 500 lbs of cabbage this year.   We will also be stuffing 25 lbs of fresh kielbasa and as always the beer will flow.   After the work (if you want to call it that) is done we will be firing up the grill to eat polish and a few quarts of last years kraut
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: tefer2 on September 19, 2013, 08:51:34 pm
It makes me hungry just thinking about it. Kraut, sausage and beer, what could be better? Good food, drink, and friends. :cheer:
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: Vance G on September 19, 2013, 08:57:12 pm
It just occurred to me recently that 7.9 gallon brew buckets from a wine making supply and an air lock would be an easy way to ferment sauerkraut.  What is your method please?
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: danno on September 20, 2013, 09:20:42 am
we use any food grade buckets and a water bladder to hold it down.   We chop it into meat lugs that hold about 10 lbs.   We weight it on a old porcelain meat counter scale that I picked up on ebay for 25.00
The women measure and mix in the salt and pack buckets with a giant wooden pototoe smasher leaving about 3 inches of head space.  We then put about 1/2 gallon of water in  double bagged scent free kitchen waste basket bag and tie shut.   This becomes the bladder.  It creats a perfect seal but allows the fermenting cabbage to burp. 
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: tefer2 on September 20, 2013, 10:24:54 am
Dan, you folks add caraway seeds to your kraut?
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: danno on September 20, 2013, 12:37:59 pm
We have never  added  carawayl but might make a bucket with it this year.   I would also like to try juniper berries to a batch.   It only costs about 7.00 for a five gallon bucket so a batch that we dont like just gets fed to the hogs
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: danno on September 21, 2013, 12:48:53 pm
tefer asked for the recipe.   Very simple! Cabbage and salt.   3Tb of kosher salt to 5 pounds of cabbage.    About 20 lbs will fit in a bucket.
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: danno on September 24, 2013, 10:49:47 am
It just occurred to me recently that 7.9 gallon brew buckets from a wine making supply and an air lock would be an easy way to ferment sauerkraut.  What is your method please?
The bucket would be fine but not the airlock.   You want some weight on the cabbage. 
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: buzzbee on September 24, 2013, 09:37:59 pm
The sauerkraut party sounds like a real gas!! :shock:
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: danno on September 25, 2013, 08:59:47 am
alot of fartin and fluffin goes on
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: tefer2 on September 25, 2013, 10:15:35 am
alot of fartin and fluffin goes on

 :lau:
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: gdog on September 25, 2013, 04:02:25 pm
Danno you said 3Tb, what does that mean?
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: danno on September 25, 2013, 04:15:26 pm
Danno you said 3Tb, what does that mean?
I ment 3 tablespoons   I thought Tb was the abrev. for it   
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: tefer2 on September 26, 2013, 09:14:29 am
tbs
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: riverrat on October 23, 2013, 11:17:28 am
I have always wanted to make saurkraut. My grandmother made it and it was good stuff. I have several old crocks I collect western stoneware crocks. I tried to make Kraut in one years ago and it was a disaster. Any recipes or suggestions
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: Robo on October 23, 2013, 02:17:50 pm
I have always wanted to make saurkraut. My grandmother made it and it was good stuff. I have several old crocks I collect western stoneware crocks. I tried to make Kraut in one years ago and it was a disaster. Any recipes or suggestions

I'm no expert,   but here is the recipe I use and it works great for me.    If you are not a fan of caraway, you will want to reduce the amount called for.

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-easy-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193124 (http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-easy-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193124)
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: danno on October 23, 2013, 02:35:13 pm
caraway only adds another layer of flavor and isn't needed to ferment cabbage.  We dont use it in our buckets but many like it.   Juniper berries is another one that some add for flavor.    The salt draws the moisture out of the cabbage to make a brine and brettanomyces that is a wild yeast/bacteria and lives in fruits and vegi's  grows and ferments the cabbage.   Brett is the stuff used in sour beers like lambics and berliner weisse.  My next brewing project is going to be a berliner and instead of spending 8.00 on a test tube on brett I am going to give my beer a dose of kraut in the secondary
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: BlueBee on October 23, 2013, 10:55:13 pm
Juniper Berries?  I’m not sure I like Juniper berries.  :idunno:
Title: Re: Its time again for our anual sauerkraut party
Post by: danno on October 24, 2013, 09:42:24 am
Juniper Berries?  I’m not sure I like Juniper berries.  :idunno:
This is the kind of words of wisdom that got Blueboy up to 3700 posts in 2 short years.   Stay away from my threads you tool