Sauerkraut

[Brewdude]

Short of making my own, what's the best really sour sauerkraut on the market? The usual stuff in the grocery stores is much too mild. Even the imported Bavarian Sauerkraut - Wine Kraut - seems too tame these days.

Years ago in my cheesehead days, a co-worker made his own from locally grown cabbage. That was some really powerfully strong kraut.

He fermented it in a bigass ceramic 5 gallon crock on the landing between his upstairs flat and the lower one in the heat and humidity of the late WI summers. Put a towel over it, and it reeked something fierce!

Made way great kraut though. Think he only used cabbage and salt. He canned it with whole peppercorns iirc.

Any commercial version close to this?

TIA


Cheers,

RR

 

[Thistleoak]

Brother I married a polish girl, and I have learned this in my years with her, NO perogies or Kraut that are bought at the store can hold a candle to home made! on a side note I wouldnt recommend holding a candle or any other open flame near me after I have had home made Kraut... Try going to a farmers market you may find some there...

 

[Steveaux]

Mmmmmmm .... homemade 'rogies.

 

[gravel]

Brother I married a polish girl, and I have learned this in my years with her, NO perogies or Kraut that are bought at the store can hold a candle to home made! on a side note I wouldnt recommend holding a candle or any other open flame near me after I have had home made Kraut... Try going to a farmers market you may find some there...

Mmmm sauerkraut and pierogi!

Related: mmmm pirozhki!

 

[Brewdude]

Brother I married a polish girl, and I have learned this in my years with her, NO perogies or Kraut that are bought at the store can hold a candle to home made! on a side note I wouldnt recommend holding a candle or any other open flame near me after I have had home made Kraut... Try going to a farmers market you may find some there...

Thistleoak

There's a little Polish guy that frequents our brewery, name of Janus ("Yanus", translated to John). He is constantly bringing in his home smoked Polish meats, salmon, cheese, etc. All are wonderful!

His church just had their annual festival, and he brought in a huge gallon jar of his home cooked cabbage and sausage. My word, it was wonderful! Just common fare to him, but it was one of the best dishes I've ever had!

Never really had Polish food before this, and while it might just be ordinary stuff to him it rocked my world!

Cheers,

RR

 

[Natch]

Short of making my own, what's the best really sour sauerkraut on the market? The usual stuff in the grocery stores is much too mild. Even the imported Bavarian Sauerkraut - Wine Kraut - seems too tame these days.

Years ago in my cheesehead days, a co-worker made his own from locally grown cabbage. That was some really powerfully strong kraut.

He fermented it in a bigass ceramic 5 gallon crock on the landing between his upstairs flat and the lower one in the heat and humidity of the late WI summers. Put a towel over it, and it reeked something fierce!

Made way great kraut though. Think he only used cabbage and salt. He canned it with whole peppercorns iirc.

Any commercial version close to this?

TIA


Cheers,

RR

Years ago I tended bar at a really great Serbian restaurant in Milwaukee, and my first night on the job, the boss told me to go down into the basement and bring up a couple cases of wine. I got about half way down the stairs, almost hurled from the smell, bolted back up, and told him that a cat or dog must have died under the steps a week earlier. He had several 55 gallon wooden barrels of fermenting cabbage to make one of their signature dishes (kind of a Serbian version of sauerkraut). All the ladies in the kitchen teased me for years over the "dead cat" in the basement. I learned to grab a big breath at the top of the stairs, bolt down into the basement, grab the cases of booze needed, and race up the stairs on one breath.

My mom made a great sauerkraut that had apples and a bit of brown sugar in it, but was still pretty pungent and could twist your tongue around a few times if eaten too quickly.

Natch

 

[Anonymous]

Mmmm sauerkraut and pierogi!

Related: mmmm pirozhki!

With kielbassa !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:cat: :face: :study:

 

[Brewdude]

Short of making my own, what's the best really sour sauerkraut on the market? The usual stuff in the grocery stores is much too mild. Even the imported Bavarian Sauerkraut - Wine Kraut - seems too tame these days.

Years ago in my cheesehead days, a co-worker made his own from locally grown cabbage. That was some really powerfully strong kraut.

He fermented it in a bigass ceramic 5 gallon crock on the landing between his upstairs flat and the lower one in the heat and humidity of the late WI summers. Put a towel over it, and it reeked something fierce!

Made way great kraut though. Think he only used cabbage and salt. He canned it with whole peppercorns iirc.

Any commercial version close to this?

TIA


Cheers,

RR

Years ago I tended bar at a really great Serbian restaurant in Milwaukee, and my first night on the job, the boss told me to go down into the basement and bring up a couple cases of wine. I got about half way down the stairs, almost hurled from the smell, bolted back up, and told him that a cat or dog must have died under the steps a week earlier. He had several 55 gallon wooden barrels of fermenting cabbage to make one of their signature dishes (kind of a Serbian version of sauerkraut). All the ladies in the kitchen teased me for years over the "dead cat" in the basement. I learned to grab a big breath at the top of the stairs, bolt down into the basement, grab the cases of booze needed, and race up the stairs on one breath.

My mom made a great sauerkraut that had apples and a bit of brown sugar in it, but was still pretty pungent and could twist your tongue around a few times if eaten too quickly.

Natch

That wouldn't be Three Brothers on the near South side, would it Dr. Jeff?

I've eaten there many times when Branco presided. He was larger than life!

Used to order the Burek as a main course. Enjoyed both the lamb and spinach/cheese version.

That was a way great place!


Cheers,

RR

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

I have Harsch crock for making sauerkraut. I usually do 2 batches a year. Nothing on the market comes close in flavor. I blame Louis Pasteur.

 

[Thistleoak]

I have Harsch crock for making sauerkraut. I usually do 2 batches a year. Nothing on the market comes close in flavor. I blame Louis Pasteur.

I've said the same for Guinness Beer and Louis Pasteur for years!

 

[Natch]

RR,

No, it was owned by his older brother, but on a couple holidays I was their emergency barkeep and tended the bar a few times there. Old Town Serbian Gourmet House where I worked. The Three Brothers opened the restaurant you're referring to, then one brother broke out and opened his own. Loved Three Brothers as well. That great Schlitz globe on the copula outside the front door. It was a classic.



And I've known Branco as well.




Spinach Burek is one of the finest foods on earth!




Great, old story from the early 80s. I was tending bar there the night before the seventh game between the Brewers and the Cardinals (world series) and Rollie Fingers and his extended family came in for dinner, (a Brewer pitcher with a fantastic handlebar mustache, for those that don't know him).



Well, at the end of dinner I served all the man at the table a complimentary slivovitz (an Eastern European plum brandy that tastes like a cross between diesel fuel and Zippo lighter fuel) and all the ladies a Serbian pear liquor, a traditional finish to a grand meal. As he paid the bill, he stopped up at the bar, bent over, looked me right in the eye, shook my hand and thanked me, and promised he would "grind them into the dirt" (he was the starting pitcher for the final series game that year).

It didn't quite work out the way he planned, but that's life. :roll:

Sorry for hijacking this thread, but it brought back too many memories.

Natch

 

[Brewdude]

Great story Dr. Jeff!

I was still in Milwaukee when that game was happening. Remember it well, and I'm not even a baseball fan.

When I dined at Three Brothers, Branco would circulate amongst the diners and sit down at the tables to chat. He always had interesting rambling stories, and was a happy extrovert!

Spinach Burek is awesome! Also remember their braised lamb flank. That's when mama still cooked.




Cheers,

RR

 

[Anonymous]

Authentic Serbian Slibovitz is from another planet.

Home brew. Not the paint thinner they make commercially from spoiled and going-bad prunes.

A friend went there years ago with his father & grandfather to see the village where grandpa had been born. Once the locals caught wind of who they were & why they were there, they rolled out the red carpet. Capital R.

How he got it through customs I don't know, but he brought back a whole suitcase of the good stuff. All kinds of colors & aromas.

You'd do four or five shots, waiting to feel it. Nada. Then you'd try to talk and your tongue wouldn't work. But you could drive home with no problem.

:cat: :face: :study:

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Excellent story Jeff.

Speaking of hijacking and pear liquor. Not too long ago my night was highjacked by a strange Pear brandy where the maker places a bottle over the pear blossom and the pear grows inside the bottle. Once it's fully grown, the pear and bottle are plucked and eventually the bottle is filled with what I thought was an absolutely ghastly spirit. Horrible, horrible hangover from this stuff, and I don't think I drank all that much of it.

I don't know if this was the brand, frankly I don't really care because I will never drink it again, but it looked a lot like this.

 

[kieveryuu]

I love some good sauerkraut. Simple kraut of cabbage, salt and water is a simple pleasure.

My favorite store bought brand is "Bubbies" however, I think if you want it sour, real and truly sour, you need to make it yourself. It is not hard to do and there is plenty of good and trust worthy fermenting information online.

 

[Brewdude]

I love some good sauerkraut. Simple kraut of cabbage, salt and water is a simple pleasure.

My favorite store bought brand is "Bubbies" however, I think if you want it sour, real and truly sour, you need to make it yourself. It is not hard to do and there is plenty of good and trust worthy fermenting information online.

Ya, I can get Bubbies here in WA state. Forgot about that one. It's pretty good for a commercial brand and is more like what I'm looking for.

The grocery store I shop at has this in an out of the way cold case and is easy to miss. Bubbies also makes some good sour pickles.

Thanks for the reminder. And I probably should get into making this at home next.

For a real sour/funky kick I also like KimChee. We get the imported Korean versions here and the hot version is much to my liking. Sun Luck is the brand iirc.



Cheers,


RR

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Ya, I can get Bubbies here in WA state. Forgot about that one. It's pretty good for a commercial brand and is more like what I'm looking for.

The grocery store I shop at has this in an out of the way cold case and is easy to miss. Bubbies also makes some good sour pickles.

Thanks for the reminder. And I probably should get into making this at home next.

For a real sour/funky kick I also like KimChee. We get the imported Korean versions here and the hot version is much to my liking. Sun Luck is the brand iirc.



Cheers,


RR

Brewdude,

Also try Boar's Head. I remember their kraut being particularly tangy with a nice bit of sourness. Not a pungent as homemade though.

I do enjoy Bubbie's Bread and Butter Chips from time to time. Not a bad commercial brand at all. I think their products are made over in Stockton CA.

 

[Brewdude]

Ya, I can get Bubbies here in WA state. Forgot about that one. It's pretty good for a commercial brand and is more like what I'm looking for.

The grocery store I shop at has this in an out of the way cold case and is easy to miss. Bubbies also makes some good sour pickles.

Thanks for the reminder. And I probably should get into making this at home next.

For a real sour/funky kick I also like KimChee. We get the imported Korean versions here and the hot version is much to my liking. Sun Luck is the brand iirc.



Cheers,


RR

Brewdude,

Also try Boar's Head. I remember their kraut being particularly tangy with a nice bit of sourness. Not a pungent as homemade though.

I do enjoy Bubbie's Bread and Butter Chips from time to time. Not a bad commercial brand at all. I think their products are made over in Stockton CA.

I'll check out Boar's Head. Thanks DAB.

I'm also familiar with Bubbies Bread and Butter Chips. Good stuff!



Cheers,

RR

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

I'll check out Boar's Head. Thanks DAB.

I'm also familiar with Bubbies Bread and Butter Chips. Good stuff!


Cheers,

RR

You bet.

All this talk of Sauerkraut inspired me to make another batch. I was almost out anyway. Here's a pick of me making it and the crock I use. The crock has a water reservoir on top so you can create an air lock, which obviously you are quite familiar with.

This time I used a little carrot. Sometimes onion and garlic are nice. But the cabbage alone turns out great on its own. The most important ingredients are very fresh cabbage and high quality non-iodine salt.

 

[Thistleoak]

Hooray for "Bubbles and Squeaks"!!!!!