The Slowcook at Spydog Farm The Slowcook at Spydog Farm

Pork Chop With Homemade Sauerkraut

June 25th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Posted in dinner, Recipes

Simple pork chop dinner with kraut

Simple pork chop dinner with kraut

Thick, Niman Ranch pork chops were on sale at Whole Foods this week for less than $5 a pound. I grabbed a couple in anticipation of this dinner: chops braised in our homemade sauerkraut.

The kraut was fermented months ago and has been waiting in the fridge for the appropriate moment. I sliced an onion and sauteed it in bacon grease in a heavy pot, then added about three cups of kraut and a dozen juniper berries, crushed. Normally I would also grate a tart apple into the pot and a teaspoon or two of carraway seeds. Give it a splash–maybe 1/4 cup–of wine as well. Gewurztraminer works for me.

Braise the kraut over low heat for an hour. Meanwhile, season the two pork chops with salt and pepper and sear over fairly high heat in a heavy skillet. Add the chops to the kraut, cover and cook another  15 minutes at a bare simmer.

Tradition calls for buttered boiled potatoes as well. But we’re not eating the starchy carbohydrates. Instead, simply follow with a green salad from the garden. Pour yourself a glass of that Gewurtztraminer.

Leave a Comment

Please note: Your comment may have to wait for approval to be published to ensure that we don't accidentally publish "spam". We thank you for understanding.

*

  • bohomisfit

    ive been meaning to contact you. im on my second batch of saurkraut and so far not so good. the first batch seemed like it was going great but in about the 2nd week got a bad case of black mold.

    i started another one about 2 weeks ago and try as i might i could not get enough water out of the cabbage to cover it. it was there just not covered. a few days later it smelled pretty bad and i scraped of some white mold and a top layer that looked soggy and had white spots on it. i added some water after reading your other post on SK and put it back in the cupboard. still not sure if it is dangerous to eat or not. should i throw it out and start over?

    im also in phoenix where we keep the house at 80 degrees as it is over 100 outside. maybe not a good time of year to try and make it? any suggestions would be helpful.

  • Ed Bruske

    Latisha, I may not be the best person to address your sauerkraut issues since the only failure I’ve experienced was when I mistakenly used a mined salt that had minerals and iodine in it that apparently killed the bacteria. Not a pretty sight. It’s not at all unusual to see some molds growing around the edges of the kraut. I usually just scrape these away. The true test is how the kraut tastes. That should tell you immediately if there’s a problem. The keys are the correct mix of the brine and keeping the cabbage completely secured. We usually do this in the fall, winter or spring when it’s not too hot. We like a temperature around 68 degrees, even a little cooler. Although in theory the bacteria will just work faster if it’s warmer. You might also want to consult the fermentation guru, Sandor Ellix Katz, at his website:

    http://www.wildfermentation.com/