23
Jul
Now making sauerkraut is easy just take five pounds of cabbage about four medium heads remove the outer leaves quarter them and remove the hard cores. Pickle weights are also called pickle pebbles.
Place your crock on the floor and using one arm to hold the bowl above the crock grab handfuls of the salty juicy cabbage mixture and pack it into your crock periodically pressing the mixture down tightly with your fist or a kraut pounder so that the brine rises above the top of the mixture and no air pockets remain.
Making sauerkraut in a crock. How to make sauerkraut in a crock. Regardless of the type of crock the process of making sauerkraut is the same. Start by shredding or chopping the cabbage.
I generally slice the cabbage in half take out the core and then slice it into long thin strips. You can use a mandoline cabbage slicer or just a sharp chef s knife. How to make sauerkraut in a crock.
Now let s make some sauerkraut in a crock. Here are the steps. Step 1 gather your equipment.
Apart from the crock you will need some other equipment to make your fermented veggies. Based on the kind of crock you use you would or wouldn t need these. Pickle weights are also called pickle pebbles.
They are made with lead free glass and designed to fit large mason jars or crockpots. Place your crock on the floor and using one arm to hold the bowl above the crock grab handfuls of the salty juicy cabbage mixture and pack it into your crock periodically pressing the mixture down tightly with your fist or a kraut pounder so that the brine rises above the top of the mixture and no air pockets remain. Add fermentation weights on top of cabbage and press down.
If liquid doesn t cover cabbage completely add some filtered water until cabbage is completely submerged. If using a water seal crock add water to rim and put lid in place. If using an open top crock cover crock with a towel.
How to make sauerkraut in a crock a simple method of making sauerkraut is slicing adding salt and crushing the cabbage in a jar then leaving it at room temperature. It will be ready in few days for consumption. However there is another method of making sauerkraut which requires using a crock.
If using a fermenting crock like mine place the two weights into the crock pressing them down slightly so that the juice begins to rise. If using an open crock with straight sides you usually place a weighted plate over the cabbage to pack it down and keep it submerged. Homemade sauerkraut is incredibly easy to make.
All you really need is fresh cabbage salt and patience. There are many ways of making it. My favorite is in an old fashion crock.
After letting it naturally ferment i store it in pint or half mint jars in the refrigerator. I put a small section of. Your crock is full when there is a gap or around 4 inches between the top of the kraut and the rim of the crock.
You ll want to keep this headspace as the kraut needs room for expansion. Over time more liquid will be released and gasses will build up and be released via the water gutter and lid mechanism. The fermenting crock that i purchased is a 5 liter crock this holds 1 1 3 gallons and is made in poland at last something not made in china.
Now making sauerkraut is easy just take five pounds of cabbage about four medium heads remove the outer leaves quarter them and remove the hard cores. At this point simply keep the cabbage below the brine with the plate cover the crock tightly and store at 40 f to 50 f. If your cellar isn t that cool heat the sauerkraut just to simmering pack in canning jars seal and process in a water bath 20 minutes for quarts 15 minutes for pints.