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Author Topic: It Sauerkraut time  (Read 12943 times)

Offline danno

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It Sauerkraut time
« on: October 03, 2012, 10:29:05 am »
This Sat. is our annual kraut chopping party.   This year we will be making about 300lbs.  Then while the guys are cleaning up the cabbage mess the women will be stuffing 10 lbs of fresh brats.   Of coarse beer drinking is manditory.   I brewed 5 gallons of a dark english mild a couple of weeks back that will be on tap along with my 2nd place american pale ale.

Offline Anybrew

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #1 on: October 03, 2012, 07:58:14 pm »
Now that sounds like living!!

Offline JP

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #2 on: October 04, 2012, 10:55:31 pm »
Dude!

You gonna have it fermenting under the stairs in the basement again?  ;)

BTW, Danno, I happen to really like sauerkraut on a dog.


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Offline tefer2

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2012, 08:22:37 am »
Danno, that sounds so good. May have to make a road trip up to see ya.

Offline danno

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2012, 08:52:49 am »
JP
I knew this would catch your attention and yes 2 buckets get stashed under the stairs.  
Terry
your just a short 90 miles away

Offline tefer2

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #5 on: October 06, 2012, 09:36:27 am »
Brats,kraut, and beer. Life doesn't get any better than this.

Offline Vance G

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2012, 12:03:59 pm »
I have a good recipe for pickled pork hocks.  It would fit right in!  Wow that beer is ready to drink fast!

Offline Anybrew

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #7 on: October 06, 2012, 10:01:06 pm »
Righto Danno, whats your secret recipe for making Sauerkraut, I have only every purchased commercial stuff.

Cheers
Steve

Offline Vance G

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #8 on: October 07, 2012, 10:59:39 pm »
I am not Danno, but I can tell you how I do it.  I take a five gallon bucket and put a large plastic bag with no scents or antibacterial stuff on it lining the bucket.  I put in a half inch layer of grated or chopped cabbage and sprinkle a handful of salt on the cabbage.  Repeat that until bucket is 2/3 to 3/4 full.  Pull that bag up and grab it loosely near the top closing it.  Do not tie it .  Now lay it down so the top of the bucket is covered.  Take another trash bag. and put the bottom of it in the bucket over the cabbage.  Fill that bag full of water so it fills the bucket and compresses the cabbage and tie off the bag.  It will effectively seal off your kraut but will vent a little so you have no explosions.  Now set it in a cool dark place for three months with no peeking.  If you forget it for five, it starts getting pretty mushy and vinegary.  I usually water bath can it at that point for long term storage.

Offline Anybrew

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #9 on: October 08, 2012, 01:34:44 am »
Cool thanks Vance G that sound darn fun and easy, I have an old Beer fermenter so I could probably use that instead of a plastic bin liner bag to put the Cabbage in.  Then weight it down with a bin liner bag full of water.
So, you don't add anything else to the Cabbage?  like water or spices,does the salt draw out all the moisture needed for fermentation?

Cheers
Steve

Offline danno

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #10 on: October 08, 2012, 09:18:58 am »
We use food grade buckets so no bag liner.  Cabbage is quartered. cored and run through my shedder into tubs.  The wives weight out tubes making them 10 lbs  each.  It is salted with 5 - 6 tablespoons of pickling salt, mixed well, put into pails and tamping every few inches, stopping a few inches from the top.  We then make a water bladder from a pair of unscented doubled kitchen bags, sealed and placed on top of the cabbage.  This keeps out air (very important) and allows the buckets to burp.  We keep the bucket under our basement stairs.   In as little as 2 weeks you can start robbing the buckets but the longer you it sits the better it gets.  Friend have kept it this way for more than 2 years but our never makes a year.    Just lift the bladder, grab a scoop and recover. 

Offline Anybrew

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #11 on: October 08, 2012, 09:55:53 pm »
Great stuff Danno and Vance G, looks like the kids and I will be busy this weekend.

Thanks
again
Steve

Offline Okytransplant

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #12 on: October 09, 2012, 02:30:25 pm »
For any one that hasn't eaten homemade kraut; you don't know what you are missing. Once you get a hold of some homemade kraut you won't want the store bought stuff. Gotta make me batch now too.

Offline danno

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #13 on: October 09, 2012, 04:07:36 pm »
For any one that hasn't eaten homemade kraut; you don't know what you are missing. Once you get a hold of some homemade kraut you won't want the store bought stuff. Gotta make me batch now too.
This is so true and  its so cheap to make.  A 5 gallon bucket is about 5.00  We have a motorized shedder but shedding can be done with a big knife. The old antique wooden box shedders can be picked up cheap at antique stores and fleamarkets

Offline Anybrew

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #14 on: October 14, 2012, 12:40:25 am »
Well guys thanks for the instructions, the kids and I chopped up 10 kilograms of Green and Red Cabbage and its in a food grade bucket with the Bin Liner water bag seal. Awesome,can't wait to try some.

Cheers
Steve

Offline kingbee

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #15 on: October 16, 2012, 03:00:58 am »
I shred the cabbage then put a layer of cabbage and a layer of canning & pickling salt in a 3 or a 5 gallon churn.  After each layer or two I pack that cabbage down with a new (never in contact with dairy) butter dasher creating a layer of brine water smashed out of the shredded cabbage sufficient to cover the cabbage.  You can use your fist instead of a butter dasher.  When the crock is 2/3 to ¾ full I lay some big cabbage leaves on top and weight them and the shredded and smashed cabbage under the brine water with a small plate or large saucer weighted down with a clean and sealed fruit jar full of boiled and cooled water.  A clean tea towel covers the top of the crock.  This all goes in a cool, dark, clean and quite place to “work” then ever few days  I open the crock and skim any scum off the water with a clean spoon then close it up again.  When the kraut is sour enough to suit my taste buds it gets canned in pint or quart jars by the water bath method.  Makes my mouth pucker just thinking about it.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2012, 02:44:43 pm by kingbee »

Offline danno

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #16 on: October 16, 2012, 09:10:41 am »
I shred the cabbage then put a layer of cabbage and a layer of canning & pickling salt in a 3 or a 5 gallon churn.  After each layer or two I pack that cabbage down with a new butter dasher making a layer of cabbage water that covers the shredded cabbage.  (You can use your fist)  When the crock is 2/3 to ¾ full I lay some big cabbage leaves on top and weight them and the shredded cabbage under the brine water with a small plate or large saucer weighted down with a clean and sealed fruit jar full of boiled and cooled water.  A clean tea towel covers the top of the crock.  This all goes in a cool, dark, clean and quite place to “work” then ever few days  I open the crock and skim any scum off the water with a clean spoon then close it up again.  When the kraut is sour enough to suit my taste buds it gets canned in pint or quart jars by the water bath method.  Makes my mouth water and pucker just thinking abut it.

this is the way it had been done for 100s of years however it has been improved on.  With a water bag bladder there is no slime or at least very little

Offline minz

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #17 on: October 21, 2012, 09:09:44 pm »
I cut my green cabbage down to a 20’ row of golden acre and lost the entire lot.  Last year I also planted a red.  It was so hot it was like a radish! The good part was the slugs did not touch it. 
Please post your preferred varieties!
Poor decisions make the best stories.

Offline danno

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #18 on: October 22, 2012, 08:59:06 am »
we buy from the farmers market that I sell honey at.  They grow them and tell me when we will bet the biggest bang for our buck.  Its a dollar a head and they are big and ferm.  Takes about 2 heads to make 5 gallons.  This year we bought 60 heads

Offline kingbee

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Re: It Sauerkraut time
« Reply #19 on: October 22, 2012, 07:47:14 pm »
Hot cabbage is supposed to be an indication that it is past its prime or that it is fixing to bolt to seed.