If you are looking to put some good bacteria into your gut then homemade sauerkraut is the way to go. It’s super simple to make and requires very few ingredients. Plus it goes great with the hot dogs at a barbeque.
I Want to Like It
I’ve tried to like it. But no matter how it’s served or how little it is fermented, sauerkraut isn’t my thing. Even homemade sauerkraut. But I make it for my mom, who really likes it. She will eat it right out of the jar in fact. Her hot dogs are barely visible under all of the sauerkraut. I don’t know how she does it.
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Fermenting Safety for Homemade Sauerkraut
Fermentation works when the good bacteria flourish and the bad bacteria don’t. As scary as it sounds, it’s really quite safe to do at home. Follow a few safety rules and everything should be just fine.
Use raw organic vegetables.
Wash your hands before starting.
The food needs to stay below the brine.
Use a high quality salt.
Keep the ferment away from direct sunlight.
If you see mold or something smells off, do not eat it.
Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe
Ingredients
Cabbage
Salt
Instructions
- Pull a couple of leaves off of the head of cabbage. You will need these to keep everything submerged. Then shred the rest of the head of cabbage. You can do this with a grater, but a food processor will make this so much faster and easier.
- Next, put all of the shredded cabbage into a large bowl. You will sprinkle it with a high quality salt. Redmond’s real salt or pink himalayan are my preferences. You’ll need 3 tablespoons of fine salt for every 5 pounds of cabbage.
- Mix it together until the juices start to come out. I find this easiest with my hands, but a sturdy wooden spoon would also work. The juice created is called a brine.
- Put the mixture in a jar or crock, pressing it down until the brine covers the shredded cabbage. Then use the leaves you pulled off at the beginning to hold everything down. Fold them up and place them on top. Add a fermentation weight or some rocks in a plastic bag. I’ve found a fermentation set to be incredibly helpful for this. Loosely put a lid on top.
- Leave the jar at room temperature, but away from direct sunlight for as little as 3 days or as long as 3 weeks. When it gets to your desired level of sourness, pop it in the fridge to slow down the fermentation. It will last up to 6 months in the fridge. If you are not using a fermentation lid, make sure to burp the jar once or twice a day. There is a build up of air inside that can cause your jar to explode. As the homemade sauerkraut begins to ferment, brine may overflow from the jar. Placing it in a bowl or on a towel will save you some headache.
Serving Homemade Sauerkraut
Now I can’t speak from experience here, but these are the ways I’ve seen people eat homemade sauerkraut.
You can serve it on hotdogs, pizza, omelets, burritos, salmon, or scrambled eggs. For those people that really enjoy it, you can serve it as a side to be eaten alone.
Homemade Sauerkraut
Ingredients
- Cabbage
- Salt
- Water
Instructions
- Pull a couple of leaves off of the head of cabbage. You will need these to keep everything submerged. Then shred the rest of the head of cabbage. You can do this with a grater, but a food processor will make this so much faster and easier.
- Next, put all of the shredded cabbage into a large bowl. You will sprinkle it with a high quality salt. Redmond’s real salt or pink himalayan are my preferences. You’ll need 3 tablespoons of fine salt for every 5 pounds of cabbage.
- Mix it together until the juices start to come out. I find this easiest with my hands, but a sturdy wooden spoon would also work. The juice created is called a brine.
Put the mixture in a jar or crock, pressing it down until the brine covers the shredded cabbage. Then use the leaves you pulled off at the beginning to hold everything down. Fold them up and place them on top. Add a fermentation weight or some rocks in a plastic bag. I’ve found a fermentation set to be incredibly helpful for this. Loosely put a lid on top. - Leave the jar at room temperature, but away from direct sunlight for as little as 3 days or as long as 3 weeks. When it gets to your desired level of sourness, pop it in the fridge to slow down the fermentation. It will last up to 6 months in the fridge. If you are not using a fermentation lid, make sure to burp the jar once or twice a day. There is a build up of air inside that can cause your jar to explode. As the homemade sauerkraut begins to ferment, brine may overflow from the jar. Placing it in a bowl or on a towel will save you some headache.
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