Turkey sandwich!!!!! On some fresh sourdough bread I got today. Sooooo good lol
Whatcha Making for Supper?
- Thread starter oldhenlikesdogs
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Smokerbill
Crossing the Road
@ValerieJ , @akroberts1085
I made sauerkraut today. Here's what I did...
Wash the fermenter, board and knives.
Remove an outer leaf from the cabbage head and put it aside.
Quarter and core the head.
Slice one quarter thinly. This took a while. A mandoline would make it much quicker.
Set tare weight of bowl. Fill with shredded cabbage and get weight in grams.
Calculate 2% of the cabbage weight.
Weight out salt the same way. Don't use table salt. Some people recommend sea salt, saying the minerals help fermentation. I just used canning salt. Kosher salt would be ok.
Add cabbage (1/4 head of shredded) to fermenter, tamp down and sprinkle on the measured amount of salt. Repeat three more times.
Crushing the salted cabbage released liquid. There are different ways of crushing the cabbage. Some use a wooden tamper. I just squeeze with my hands, which probaby took me 5 minutes. In the end there has to be enough liquid to completely submerge the shredded cabbage.
The head I used didn't release enough liquid, so I mixed up 400 grams of water with 8 grams + 2 grams (to account for the cabbage leaf on top) of salt. Salt water was poured over the shredded cabbage.
I tore the whole leaf I saved into large sections that would completely cover the shredded cabbage. Push the leaf sections down so they're under the liquid.
Clean the inside surface of the fermenter. I used a dry paper towel. Any small pieces of cabbage that are in contact with air can cause bacterial contamination. Salt water creates an inhospitable environment for the "bad" bacteria, but the lactic acid producing bacteria thrive in the salt water.
Fill a quart ziploc bag with 2% salted water. I mixed 400 grams of water with 8 grams of salt. Place the bag on top of the cabbage leaves, making sure that no shreds/chunks of cabbage are above the liquid. The only reason for salting the water in the bag is, if it leaks into the cabbage it won't change the salt concentration.
Place a few napkins or paper towels on top of the fermenter, then put the lid on. The paper towel sort of seals the lid, but allows it to breathe at the same time. When the cabbage ferments it produces gas, and it has to easily escape. Put the date on the fermenter. Typical time for the ferment is 3 weeks.
The ideal fermentation temp range is 60-70°F. And it's important that there are no wide temperature swings. It should maintain temperature within a 5 degree range. I keep mine in a closed up pantry.
Edited to Add: I use a clear glass fermenter so I can monitor the condition of the ferment without removing the top. It's possible that mold will form. Kahm yeast is another issue. After a few days of fermentation the container is filled with CO2 gas, which also inhibits "bad" bugs from growing. Removing the lid allows air into the container. I don't remove the lid unless there's a problem that needs fixing.
The entire process took me 1 hour start to finish. (Not including dishwashing. LOL)
I made sauerkraut today. Here's what I did...
Wash the fermenter, board and knives.
Remove an outer leaf from the cabbage head and put it aside.
Quarter and core the head.
Slice one quarter thinly. This took a while. A mandoline would make it much quicker.
Set tare weight of bowl. Fill with shredded cabbage and get weight in grams.
Calculate 2% of the cabbage weight.
Weight out salt the same way. Don't use table salt. Some people recommend sea salt, saying the minerals help fermentation. I just used canning salt. Kosher salt would be ok.
Add cabbage (1/4 head of shredded) to fermenter, tamp down and sprinkle on the measured amount of salt. Repeat three more times.
Crushing the salted cabbage released liquid. There are different ways of crushing the cabbage. Some use a wooden tamper. I just squeeze with my hands, which probaby took me 5 minutes. In the end there has to be enough liquid to completely submerge the shredded cabbage.
The head I used didn't release enough liquid, so I mixed up 400 grams of water with 8 grams + 2 grams (to account for the cabbage leaf on top) of salt. Salt water was poured over the shredded cabbage.
I tore the whole leaf I saved into large sections that would completely cover the shredded cabbage. Push the leaf sections down so they're under the liquid.
Clean the inside surface of the fermenter. I used a dry paper towel. Any small pieces of cabbage that are in contact with air can cause bacterial contamination. Salt water creates an inhospitable environment for the "bad" bacteria, but the lactic acid producing bacteria thrive in the salt water.
Fill a quart ziploc bag with 2% salted water. I mixed 400 grams of water with 8 grams of salt. Place the bag on top of the cabbage leaves, making sure that no shreds/chunks of cabbage are above the liquid. The only reason for salting the water in the bag is, if it leaks into the cabbage it won't change the salt concentration.
Place a few napkins or paper towels on top of the fermenter, then put the lid on. The paper towel sort of seals the lid, but allows it to breathe at the same time. When the cabbage ferments it produces gas, and it has to easily escape. Put the date on the fermenter. Typical time for the ferment is 3 weeks.
The ideal fermentation temp range is 60-70°F. And it's important that there are no wide temperature swings. It should maintain temperature within a 5 degree range. I keep mine in a closed up pantry.
Edited to Add: I use a clear glass fermenter so I can monitor the condition of the ferment without removing the top. It's possible that mold will form. Kahm yeast is another issue. After a few days of fermentation the container is filled with CO2 gas, which also inhibits "bad" bugs from growing. Removing the lid allows air into the container. I don't remove the lid unless there's a problem that needs fixing.
The entire process took me 1 hour start to finish. (Not including dishwashing. LOL)
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akroberts1085
Free Ranging
Thank you for sharing this. I love sauerkraut but just cannot seem to find it in the store and even when I do, it just doesn't taste right.
Smokerbill
Crossing the Road
You're welcome!
Smokerbill
Crossing the Road
Ended up having smoked pork loin smothered in applesauce for supper.
Thanks so much. I think my problem is having the right temperature. I do have a crock but it's not transparent. It is pottery and has weights for keeping the cabbage under water. Maybe in the Rabbit Hole (garage room) I can set the temperature for 65.
Smokerbill
Crossing the Road
You bet! The crock will be fine. I just like to be able to look through the glass to see what's going on.
Yes, I would like that too. But I have what I have and should use it for something. I think mine is actually for making pickles, but it should be fine for sauerkraut too.
Ok. I'm getting cabbage and trying this. .... I think ....
Love Donkeys
Crowing
There was a Sauerkraut factory in North Norwich, NY. In the fall cabbages would come in by tractor-trailers. The cabbages would be all over the parking lot. They would use front-end loaders to scoop up the cabbages. You could smell Sauerkraut for miles!
Kind of like the corn facility in a nearby town here. Makes me not want to buy frozen corn!!!
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