Choucroute Garnie Means "Feast Of Meat" in Alsatian

Choucroute garnie à l’Alsacienne (Jeffrey Steingarten’s method)
(Wine-braised sauerkraut garnished with smoked meats and sausage, in the Alsatian manner)

Ever since a trip to France some years ago, I have fond memories of choucroute garnie, braised sauerkraut garnished with a variety of meats. It is, for me, one of the truest winter dishes, in that, first, it utilizes a winter storage product – fermented cabbage, and second, includes gut-busting amounts of smoked meats and sausages that can only be justifiably consumed in winter. But, aside from that, it hits all manner of tastes, from smoky to sweet and tangy. Not being Alsatian, I don’t pretend to know what goes into an authentic choucroute, but it was a question which dogged Jeffrey Steingarten in his book, The Man Who Ate Everything.

In The Man Who Ate Everything, there is a chapter in which Steingarten fanatically and obsessively attempts to get to the bottom of what is true Alsatian choucroute. In this rather amusing chapter, Steingarten consumes daily amounts of gut-busting choucroute and then writes a recipe for what he claims to be authentic Alsatian choucroute. Tony Bourdain also has a recipe in his Les Halles cookbook, in which he comments something along the lines of, “The hardest part of making choucroute is the shopping.” What he essentially means is that crucial components of choucroute, such as smoked pork meat (such as shoulder or loin), and certain relatively esoteric German sausages, are not easily found everywhere in the U.S. Not so for us Midwesterners, as Mr. Bourdain points out. Here in Chicago, we have Paulina Market, which is one-stop choucroute shopping as I later discovered.

Inspired by Cathy2, I made lacto-fermented sauerkraut last fall. Given that I have about 5 pounds of sauerkraut in my basement, I decided that making choucroute would be a great way to dip into that stash as well as easily feed mid-week dinner guests considering that I could braise the kraut ahead of time, and after all, how hard is it to cook sausages prior to the party? Choucroute called out to me.

Recalling the chapter in Steingarten’s book, I followed his recipe from The Man Who Ate Everything, almost to a tee. I did this over the course of two days: Day One, I braised the sauerkraut and Day Two (the day of the dinner), I prepared the meats.

Day One/Step One: Braising the Sauerkraut

First, you soak the sauerkraut for about ½ hour or so, until the level of acidity is something you can live with:



Then, you sauté 5 cups of onions (about 2 large) in about 6 T. butter. (Technically, this should be goose fat, but I didn’t have the time to source it).



After that, I added 1 ½ c. Riesling to the pot. The Riesling should be dry. (The 2006 Hogue pictured is a little on the sweet side, but overall, fine). I also added 2 c. homemade stock (not pictured) and 2 c. water. (Glass of wine is for the cook, not the pot.)



Now, add the spices and the herbs/aromatics:

Spices consisted of 1 ½ t. whole coriander, about 25 black peppercorns, 15 juniper berries, 5 whole cloves and two bay leaves. I placed all of them in a mesh spice bag before placing in the pot. (Juniper berries sourced from Spice House.)



Herbs/aromatics consisted of about 6 stems parsley, two stems thyme (tied together), two whole carrots and 1/4 c. minced garlic.



Then, you add about 2 to 2 ½ lbs. of smoked pork butt (pictured) to the pot, along with 2 lb. salted or brined pork belly (rinsed) (or 1 lb. salted/brined pork belly and 1 lb smoked bacon), along with 1 lb. smoked pork shank. (Pork belly and pork shank not pictured.)



Then, add the drained sauerkraut to the top of the pot and make sure that you fill the pot with cold water that comes up to 1 inch below the sauerkraut.



Let simmer for 1 ¼ hours. Then let cool before refrigerating for the night.



Day Two/Step Two: Preparing the Meats

Steingarten writes that the last 45 minutes of this dish are a frenzy. He wasn’t kidding.

I take out the sauerkraut from the refrigerator and put the pot back on the heat. As it comes back to temperature, I remove the salt pork and smoked meats and place in pie plate in a 150 degree oven, covered with aluminum foil and moistened with some of the braising liquid. (Discard spice bag, herbs and carrots now if you haven’t already.)

Shred or dice the meat from the pork shank and add to the sauerkraut

Step Three: Preparing the Sausages & Potatoes

Now, it’s sausage time.

All, except the andouille, were purchased at Paulina Market:

Bockwurst:



Smoked Swiss Thuringer:



Knackwurst:



German wieners:



Andouille* (Not authentically Alsatian, but had some on–hand, so I threw it in for my part-time NOLA resident guests):




Plate of sausage before cooking

Start the frenzy while the sauerkraut is quietly bubbling on the stove and the smoked pork butt and pork belly from the braise are being kept warm in a 150 degree oven.

1. Boil pot of water to cook sausages in.

2. Cut up about 2 lbs potatoes in uniform chunks. Cover with braising liquid from sauerkraut. Boil until tender.



3. Drop all sausages except knackwurst in water. As they are boiling (about 5 minutes per sausage), melt 1 T. butter in sauté pan. As the sausages come out of the water, lightly brown in sauté pan and then set aside. When you’re done boiling all those sausages, drop the knockwurst into the pan of water, shut off heat, cover pan and let sit for about 15 minutes while you finish the pork belly.

4. Crisp Pork Belly: Preheat broiler. Take out your salted or brined pork belly from the pie plate and slice into ½ inch pieces. Place under broiler so that they are, according to Steingarten, crisp but still moist inside.

5. Plating per Steingarten: Pile braised sauerkraut onto platter and place meats and potatoes around it, slicing the sausages and the smoked pork butt before plating.


Finished, Plated Choucroute Garnie à l'Alsacienne

As you can see, plating was a bit difficult with all that meat. The platter in the picture was one of the largest I own, and I had a hard time getting it all plated. In fact, there was a separate platter of meat that didn’t make it onto the plate which is not pictured.

Put lightly, this is a feast of meat – Steingarten claims it serves 8, but I think 10-12 people is more like it. The guests were amused by and enjoyed the copious amount of meat and sausage, which led to a discussion as to why German food has unjustifiably fallen out of favor. It was fun comparing the sausages. Surprisingly, the humble German wiener was a favorite and the Smoked Swiss Thuringer was a close second. The potatoes, having been cooked in the sauerkraut liquid, were fantastically tasty and reminded me how satisfying a simple boiled potato can be.

We paired the choucroute with a magnum of Robert Sinskey Abraxas Vin de Terroir, which was a blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Blanc, and perfectly complimented the meal.

Even though this is a tad labor-intensive (or at least frenzied for about 45 minutes), it is a great meal share with friends.

Paulina Market
3501 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 248-6272
http://www.paulinameatmarket.com

Spice House
1512 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60610
http://www.spicehouse.com

Edited to fix typos.

Wow, that looks great! I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that it is lunchtime...

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Awesome post, aschie30 and a true inspiration!

I've had choucroute garnie in my head lately. I'd honestly been thinking of finding a place in Stockholm that could give me a fix but your post is the inspiration I need to attempt my own.

Thank you! I'll report when I get the chance to source and make this (although I sadly won't have the homemade sauerkraut...).

Great write-up and photos!

This post reminded me of this article by the late Johnny Apple giving some background on choucroute garnie and a write-up on some of the best places to get it in Alsace.

Beautiful!

One of my all-time favorites. And a beautiful presentation that made me drool! Thanks for the post. (And, btw, we're free for leftovers )

Awesome, aschie30! Thanks so much, for sharing the process with us. It looks stunningly delicious. I've had this dish only once -- when a friend made it several years ago -- and it was truly memorable. One of these days, I hope to tackle it myself.

=R=

Coincidence! I made 20 liters of kraut last fall and today Choucroute is cooking!
Recipe is substantially the same except that I cook the sausage in the last hour along with the kraut et al. It's a very simple dish that really depends on the quality of the kraut. When using commercial kraut, I use cold packed and rinse well, when using my own kraut, I don't rinse.
Oh yes, almost forgot, it will be served with a 2001 Marcobrunner Kabinet.-Dick

Stunning - and now I must cook dinner, a task made more difficult by my hunger for sausages and kraut. Hmmm...I may raid the jar of kimchi in the fridge...

Just beautiful! Of course now I need to drive to Paulina Market to satisfy my cravings.

Thanks all for the kind words!

Bridgestone and budrichard - I hope you both post back about your versions!

That is incredible! It looks delicious, and inspired me to go to Paulina on my lunch break today.

aschie30 wrote:Then, you sauté 5 cups of onions (about 2 large) in about 6 T. butter. (Technically, this should be goose fat, but I didn’t have the time to source it).

Paulina has Duck Fat and Goose lard in the fridges opposite the salami counter (to your left as you walk in). I'm assuming Goose Lard would be the same as fat (?)

Attrill wrote:Paulina has Duck Fat and Goose lard in the fridges opposite the salami counter (to your left as you walk in). I'm assuming Goose Lard would be the same as fat (?)

Well, I'll be damned! I didn't even think to check with Paulina as I presumed (wrongly) that Fox & Obel would be my source and I knew I wouldn't have the time to get there. Thanks for the heads-up.

Latest version turned out very good and was mostly due to the kraut. When I purchase a whole duck, I render the skin and reserve the duck breasts for another dish but use the duck leg/thighs and other parts in the chourcroute which is dependant on a reasonable amount of fat for the correct mouth feel. If you can't get homemade kraut then well rinsed cold pack is the way to go.-Dick

That looks delicious. I lived in Germany for four years but only made it to the Alsace once, but what you prepared reminds me of many meals eaten during those years. The most German of all the French meals.

For those less adventursome in the kitchen, I always get my feast of meat fix at Brasserie Jo. Their version is a little light on the potatoes, but plenty of kraut and meat. I rarely get the whole thing down, but I'm kind of a lgihtweight in that regard.

I always say that I don't think I could ever cut meat out of my life (unlike potatoes), and this might just be the reason why. God, that looks terrific!

This looks awesome. Seems like a great group dinner. Thanks for posting.

I loved reading Steingarten's tale of choucroute research, so it's a treat seeing someone actually follow up on his discoveries. It looks fabulous.

Great Show Aschie! Wow, brought memories to my mind and water to my mouth. Yum!

As you suggest, the weiners are absolutely crucial to the dish. Most typically, they are genuine frankfurters: tan in color, long and slim in shape. Almost impossible to get the real thing, certainly in Kansas City. Luckily, there's a firm in Ontario (whose name escapes me at the moment) who makes an excellent version, which is available at Costco in Montreal. But I've never seen anything even close in most places I've been in the states.

Geo
PS. Greets from Tenerife!

aschie30 wrote:Inspired by Cathy2, I made lacto-fermented sauerkraut last fall. Given that I have about 5 pounds of sauerkraut in my basement, I decided that making choucroute would be a great way to dip into that stash as well as easily feed mid-week dinner guests considering that I could braise the kraut ahead of time, and after all, how hard is it to cook sausages prior to the party? Choucroute called out to me.

Hi,

I'm glad you gave a shot at making your own sauerkraut. I hesitated for years because of an unpleasant odor fermenting cabbage supposedly makes during the first week. Did you experience any odor issue?

From your pictures, your sauerkraut looks very finely sliced. Did you use a mandoline? I have done it be hand, which seems coarser than yours.

I made Choucroute a few times last winter, I used a less ambitious process. I will have to follow your lead on taking this more involved process, because the results look marvelous.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I'm glad you gave a shot at making your own sauerkraut. I hesitated for years because of an unpleasant odor fermenting cabbage supposedly makes during the first week. Did you experience any odor issue?

Thanks for the encouragement! No, I didn't experience an unpleasant odor, but the sauerkraut was kept in a closet in my basement, far away from the living spaces, so I suppose if there was an odor I wouldn't have noticed. Funny you ask that, though, as one of my dinner guests who for years made sauerkraut by hand, asked me the same thing. She claimed she didn't notice an odor either when she made it.

Cathy2 wrote:From your pictures, your sauerkraut looks very finely sliced. Did you use a mandoline? I have done it be hand, which seems coarser than yours.

I cut my cabbage using the larger-holed slicer attachment on my food processor, which produced the finer shreds. It was also very fast work doing it that way.

I definitely encourage you to try Steingarten's recipe. Although it is more labor-intensive, I think that if you do it once, you get into a groove which makes it easier to do subsequent times.

Geo wrote:PS. Greets from Tenerife!

Tenerife! Wow!

Aschie30 wrote:Thanks for the encouragement! No, I didn't experience an unpleasant odor, but the sauerkraut was kept in a closet in my basement, far away from the living spaces, so I suppose if there was an odor I wouldn't have noticed. Funny you ask that, though, as one of my dinner guests who for years made sauerkraut by hand, asked me the same thing. She claimed she didn't notice an odor either when she made it.

Maybe when fermenting barrels of sauerkraut in a relatively closed space without much air circulation, those are the conditions where the odor is noticeable.

From our collective experiences, I think our small batch sauerkraut odors are so quickly dissipated that they are effectively a non-issue. This really is good news, because homemade sauerkraut is not a big investment in time and material with really great results.

Thanks for the feedback.

Regards,

I've never noticed much odor when I've made 'kraut, so I'm in agreement with you both, C2 and Aschie. Tell you what tho', making kim chee is yet another story! Must be the garlic I add, eh?

Had some nice food today in Puerto de la Cruz, which I'll report on soon!

Geo

Cathy2 wrote:

Aschie30 wrote:Thanks for the encouragement! No, I didn't experience an unpleasant odor, but the sauerkraut was kept in a closet in my basement, far away from the living spaces, so I suppose if there was an odor I wouldn't have noticed. Funny you ask that, though, as one of my dinner guests who for years made sauerkraut by hand, asked me the same thing. She claimed she didn't notice an odor either when she made it.

Maybe when fermenting barrels of sauerkraut in a relatively closed space without much air circulation, those are the conditions where the odor is noticeable.

My father's stash of sauerkraut was stored in the basement, which in recent years is closer to a root cellar with potatoes. onions and garlic stored in the basement.

Ok Geo, I am kind of curious. What makes a German weiner really authentic? Looking at the ones in the picture, I can think of a dozen dozen places - Findley Market in Cincinnati, Detroit's Eastern market, etc. that sell weiners that look close the picture. They look like a veal wiener.

I think that I will try to do something similar next time back home in Cincinnati. However, if my father is around, all the pork will be cooked directly in the sauerkraut.

j--when I get back to the snows of Montréal Wed I'll take a pic of the Frankfurters we can get there, and I'll try to describe them. (I'll have a few food shots from Tenerife, too! : )

Geo

HI,

The only thing that annoys me about learning from our experience that making sauerkraut at home isn't going to stink up the house. I would have started making it 18 years ago instead of just last year.

I've heard Koreans will bury their pots in the earth while they are fermenting. Now that is one method to mitigate the stink!

Regards,

aschie30 wrote:Even though this is a tad labor-intensive (or at least frenzied for about 45 minutes), it is a great meal share with friends.

Inspired by Aschie30's post, and Cathy2's thoughtful gift of homemade sauerkraut, I made a simplified version of Choucroute Garnie with a minor twist or two.

Cathy2's homemade sauerkraut



Ducks in a row, including rinsed sauerkraut, garlic, onion, carrot and a minor twist of apple (Carrot not shown)



I availed myself of the extensive sausage selection at Fresh Farm's

Garlic Sausage, Grill Sausage, Pork Wieners, Rib Bacon, Weselna Sausage



Everybody in for a Sauvignon blanc/water swim.



Including whole red potatoes



While the Choucroute Garnie simmered stove top I made popovers from my current cookbook crush Ratio and a salad.



My simple, and quite inexpensive Choucroute Garnie, took scant preparation and was, according to my bride and our guest, very tasty. I attribute the tasty part in no small measure to Cathy2's fresh lightly tangy sauerkraut and the fact that in 5-degree weather a slow simmered meat centric meal is the culinary equivalent of a pillow soft down comforter.

Choucroute Garnie, popover upper right



Thanks for the inspiration Aschie and many thanks to Cathy for the gift of sauerkraut.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

It looks lovely. I'm glad my contribution was acceptable.

Happy Hanukkah!

Regards,