Sauerkraut
I’m well aware that a lot of you don’t look at kraut and see yourselves in it. You don’t know how to use it and the thought of making it lies far beyond what you see as the borders of possibility. You think of it as fringe food. Funky, mystical, and only an apt companion for a hot dog or corned beef, it’s not an item you deem essential in your kitchen. But I’m here today on this page to tell you that you are wrong. You can make it. You can cook with it. You can and should eat it. Kraut can change your life.
Ingredients
16 oz bagged salad or coleslaw mix
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Glass jar
Weight
Clean dish towel
Rubberband
Directions
Combine the salad mix with the salt in a large metal or plastic bowl. Pound on the mixture with the bottom of a glass bottle or pestle until the it is very bruised and beginning to leach off liquid. Let it sit in the bowl for about thirty minutes, then transfer to a pint-sized glass jar and press all of the kraut mixture inside. Lay a weight on top of the kraut. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it sit overnight.
The next morning, check to make sure the kraut mixture is submerged in its own liquid. If it is, secure the towel with a rubber band and place the kraut out of direct sunlight at room temperature. Let it ferment for at least four days. Then, start tasting it to determine the level of fermentation you prefer. Once it’s where you like it, remove the weight, cover with a lid and store in the fridge till you eat it up.
If your kraut is not submerged in brine the day after pounding it, dilute ½ teaspoon salt in ½ cup water and pour that mixture over top to submerge.