Homemade SauerkrautIngredients
25 lbs of cabbage 1 cup (approximate) Kosher or Pickling Salt (not table salt!) Large Crock or Container (around 5 gallons size, needs to be glass or enamel coated) 2 large plastic zip-lock bags (2 gallon freezer bags are best) Instructions 1. Sanitize crock and utensils in dishwasher or with boiling water 2. Remove outer leaves and cores from cabbage 3. Thinly slice cabbage-using a food processor greatly speeds this up! 4. As you slice, mix 4 tbsp salt with every 5 lbs of cabbage and let stand in a bowl to wilt a little 5. When juice starts to form on cabbage/salt mixture, pack tightly into crock using sanitized utensils or clean hands 6. Repeat this until cabbage is within about 4-5 inches of top of container 7. Pack down until water level rises above cabbage and all cabbage is entirely submerged 8. If there is not enough liquid to cover cabbage, make a brine with 1Ω tbsp salt in 1 quart of water. add cooled brine to crock until all cabbage is completely covered 9. Once cabbage is submerged, fill a 2 gallon food-grade freezer bag with 2 quarts of water. place inside another 2 gallon bag 10. Place brine-filled bag on top of cabbage in crock, making sure that it touched all edges and prevents air from reaching cabbage. 11. Cover crock with plastic wrap and cloth or towel. tie tightly. 12. Put crock in an area that will be between 70 and 75 degrees. Fermentation will begin within a day and take 3-5 weeks depending on temperature. After 3 weeks, check for desired tartness. If you are going to can, make it slightly more tart than usual as it will lose some tartness. Once fermented, it can be eaten right away, frozen or canned according to your cannerís instructions. Notes Do not use aluminum utensils! These quantities make enough to fill a five-gallon crock. You can adjust the recipe down and make in gallon size jars or smaller, just use ratio of 4 tbsp salt per 5 lbs cabbage. |