Homemade Sauerkraut (no crock required)

Name: Homemade Sauerkraut (no crock required)
Total time: 3600 s
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cabbage; 1 salt; 1 mustard seed, optional

harlequinn823 @hollyqueue

I decided to try making my own sauerkraut when I had more cabbage than I knew what to do with from the garden. This is so much tastier than bagged or canned! The best thing about this recipe is that you don't need a special fermenting crock -- just some regular canning jars and about a minute a day to check the liquid level. Takes about two weeks, but it's worth it!

harlequinn823 @hollyqueue

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Ingredients

1 hour

1cabbage
1salt
1mustard seed, optional

Saved

Steps

1 hour

1

Chop the cabbage. I do it by hand to a coarse chop, but you can use a food processor to shred it fine if you prefer.
2

Put the cabbage in a large non-metal bowl.
3

Add about 1 tablespoon of canning salt per pound of shredded cabbage.
4

Mix the salt and cabbage with your hands for a few minutes, until the cabbage starts to make its own liquid and starts to turn translucent.
5

Let the salted cabbage sit for about 30 minutes, then mix again.
6

Pack the cabbage into glass jars, pressing it down with a wooden spoon and adding more until it reaches the neck of the jar.
7

Make salted water by combining 1 cup of distilled water (I use previously boiled water from the kettle, spring water is also fine) with 1 tablespoon of pickling salt. Stir until the salt is dissolved.
8

Pour the salt water over the cabbage mixture to the very top of the jar, and top with a metal canning lid.
9

Put the metal ring on the jar loosely. You want water to be able to escape as the cabbage ferments.
10

Place the jar(s) in a basin or baking pan with high sides.
11

Place the jars somewhere where the temperature is around 65-75 degrees F. They will need to sit here for about two weeks.
12

Keep an eye on the jars. As the cabbage ferments, it will start to bubble, pushing liquid out of the jar and into the basin.
13

Check the liquid daily. If the level falls below the rim of the jar, add more salt water and replace the lid. Empty the container ever couple of days to avoid attracting fruit flies.
14

After about two weeks, you should notice that the water level has stopped dropping.
15

Screw on the lids snugly and place the jars in the refrigerator. Once fermented, it will keep for a while (months? I can't say for sure, I've never had it last that long!)
16

You can eat the sauerkraut straight out of the jar, or cook it before serving. I usually cook pork chops or bratwurst in the sauerkraut in a cast iron skillet or dutch oven.
17

If your sauerkraut is saltier than you like, rinse it before eating.
18

Note: A little white mold on the top of your fermenting sauerkraut is harmless -- just scrape it away if you see it and top with salted water. You can avoid white mold by being diligent about keeping the water level topped off.