Pork and Sauerkraut Recipe

Pork and Sauerkraut is a traditional German New Year dish. It takes a while to cook, but is extremely easy to prepare. This is supposed to be a winter dish, but we eat it year round. Although a bit high in sodium, the sauerkraut is an excellent excellent probiotic.

We add carrots and potatoes, which are not in most recipes. This both increases the number of servings, but also turns this into a complete meal.

The recipe here fills a large Dutch Oven, so you can scale it down, but you'll have trouble scaling it up unless you use a large roasting pan.

Don't worry about exact measurements. Pork roasts come in various sizes, and the size of jars of sauerkraut depends on the brand, so use what you have and also feel free to add more or less of various items depending on your preferences.

Before You Begin

Ingredients

• 1350 grams (3 lbs) Pork Loin Roast.  Sizes vary, so use multiple roasts if required. Do not use tenderloin—it will fall apart.
• 1350 grams (48 oz) Sauerkraut, undrained.  I try to use roughly equal amounts of pork and sauerkraut. Sauerkraut comes in both cans and jars, and in various sizes.
• 340 grams (2 medium) Onion (Yellow or Brown) each cut into 4 to 6 wedges.
• 225 grams (8 oz) Apple, peeled, cored, and diced. Granny Smith apples are suggested.
• 600 grams (21 oz) Potatoes (optional but recommended), cut into large pieces.  I leave the skin on.
• 450 grams (16 oz) Carrots (optional but recommended), cut into bite-size pieces.
• 720.0 ml (3 cups) Chicken Stock, Apple Juice, or water. I usually use "Torigara Soup" powder instead of Chicken Stock.  I have never tried Apple Juice.
• 18 grams (3 tsp) Salt
• 4.66 grams (2 tsp) Black Pepper, fresh ground.
• 1.65 grams (1/2 tsp) Smoked Paprika (optional).
• 6.0 grams (1 tbsp) Caraway Seed (optional). I have not tried this.
• 25 grams (2 tbsp) Brown Sugar (optional). Only add this if you want to reduce the tanginess of Sauerkraut.
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) Olive Oil or other Cooking Oil.

Preparation

1. Heat the Oil in your target pan (Dutch Oven, etc.) over medium heat.
2. Dry the Pork by patting with a paper towel, season with the Salt, Pepper, and optional Paprika. Sear the Pork on all sides until brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side.  This step is crucial to making a juicy roast.  The Pork will become very tender once cooked, so if the roast comes in a net, leave the net on.
3. Turn off the heat, set the Pork aside, and when the pan is cool remove the excess oil with a paper towel.
4. Add the liquid (Chicken Stock, Apple Juice, or water), and turn the heat back on.  Optionally deglaze the pan by scraping the brown bits from the bottom once the liquid heats up.  These bits add some additional flavor.
5. Add about half of the Sauerkaut, the Onions,  Apple, Pork, and optional Caraway Seed, and then cover with the remaining Saukerkraut.
6. Cover the pan, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the Pork is done and the internal temperature has reached 63°C (145°F).  A small roast (450g / 1lb) takes 1 to 1.5 hours, a medium roast (900g / 2lb) takes 2 to 2.5 hours, and a large roast (1200g / 3lb or larger) takes 3 to 4 hours.If using an oven, cook at 200°C (400°F) for about 1 hour, and reduce heat to 150°C (300°F) for the remaining time.  For a slow cooker, you can cook all of this for about 6 hours.  Caution:  I have not verified either of these alternate methods! Keep reading below.
7. About 30 minutes before the Pork is done, add the Potatoes and Carrots, covering them with Sauerkaut or some of the liquid
8. When the Pork is done, remove it and set it aside to rest for 15 minutes.  At the same time check the doneness of the Potatoes and Carrots—a fork or knife inserted into a potato should offer slight resisistance but not be too hard.  Continue cooking a few more minutes if necessary, and then turn off the heat.
9. Add the optional Brown Sugar and stir in.
10. Once the Pork has rested, remove the net and cut into thin slices or small chunks.  You can return the Pork to the top of the pan, or serve them from your cutting board.
11. Serve in large bowls with a generous portion of Sauerkraut, a ladle full of the juice, some vegetables, all topped off with some Pork.

Serving Suggestions

Storage