From: shafer@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer)
Subject:  MAIN COLLECTION Choucroute
Keywords: MAIN COLLECTION
Organization: NASA Dryden, Edwards, Cal.
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 18:27:32 GMT


>From: ph600fcy@sdcc14.ucsd.edu (Matthew Harrington)

>I had something called Choucroute when in Alsace, France.  It is mild
>sauerkraut with sausages.  I have tried to make it about 3 times, but
>it is inedible each time.  Any suggestions?

>					Matt Harrington

From: SAGI@HUJIMD.HUJI.AC.IL

All you have to do is use a can of sauerk', one minced onion, one - two
TbSp kummel (carraway seeds). all this with or w/o a sausage.
simmer the minced onion in butter or oil until transparent, then add the
cabbage and seeds and simmer over medium heat for about 20-25 min, until the
whole thing gets brownish.
one meium onion, ~400gr shredded sauerkraut.
have fun.
Sagi.

----------
From: jsvrc@rc.rit.edu (Doctor FORTRAN)
Organization: RIT Research Corp

"Choucrout" _is_ sauerkraut in Alsace. Of course, they make it a
little differently than we do here. I have had success doctoring
store-bought sauerkraut. Choose a mild cure; I've found some touted as
"barrel cured" that works very nicely. Add a tablespoonful or two of
brown sugar to a pound of the stuff and heat normally.

== Doctor FORTRAN

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From: fnx!lowe@uunet.UU.NET (Phill Lowe)
Organization: I/Ovations

The biggest difference I can recall is that the sauerkraut here
has far more salt.  The French usually don't use much.  You might
try soaking the sauerkraut to get the salt out.
 
----------

From: cbaxter5@mach1.wlu.ca (colin baxter F)
Organization: Wilfrid Laurier University

This is a wonderful dish if you like sauerkraut!  Taken from
"Gastronomy of Alsace" 75 simple recipes.  ISBN 2-7372-2106-4.
I bought this book in Colmar, France a couple of years ago and
would recommend it to anyone interested in this wierd blend of
French and German cuisine.  It's in English, and I remember seeing it
in lots of other languages as well. [My comments are in square
brackets.]  There is also a recipe in the Larousse Gastronomique (of
course).
 
We have a good farmers' market locally and lots of people sell
various smoked pork things, substitute whatever you can get in your
area.
 
Choucroute a l'alsacienne
 
1.5 kg. white sauerkraut
100 g. goose fat (or substitute lard or oil)
2 medium-sized onions
1 bay leaf
1 good glass Alsace wine (preferably Riesling)
1/4 litre stock (or substitute water)
1 clove garlic
10 juniper berries
salt
pepper
4-5 coriander seeds
 
Garnish:
1 smoked pork shoulder
6 Strasbourg sausages [I substituted a local lean smoked sausage]
10 liver quenelles (see recipe below)
400 g. smoked bacon [this is important and thankfully one of the
                     easier ingredients to get!  Make sure you use
                     good, not-to-fatty bacon]
250 g. grilled white sausage
if desired: 750 g. salted pork loin [I didn't use this]
6 medium-sized potatoes
 
1 lb. = 454 grams for you non-metric types.
 
Wash the sauerkraut in cold water once or twice depending on the time
of the year [I used canned sauerkraut, not fresh, so the time of the
year presumably doesn't enter into things].  Drain and press to
extract all the water.  Slice the onions and fry gently in the goose
fat.  Add the sauerkraut and then a small muslin bag containing the
garlic, cloves [not mentioned in the ingrediants - I don't like
cloves so I didn't use any], bay leaf, juniper berries, and coriander
seeds.  Add the white wine and stock and season lightly.  Cover the
casserole and allow to cook gently for an hour.  After a good hour's
cooking stir the sauerkraut, add the salted pork loin and the smoked
bacon and simmer for 1 1/2 hours being careful to ensure that it does
not boil dry.  Then place the peeled potatoes on top of the suerkraut
where they will cook in the steam (about 1/2 hour).  Meanwhile simmer
the pork shoulder fairly rapidly in boiling water (1 hour 30 minutes).
20 minutes before serving poach the hock, the liver quenelles and the
Strasbourg sausages and grill the white sausage.  Pile the sauerkraut
onto a hot dish and garnish with slices of pork loin smoked pork
shoulder, bacon, Strasbourg sausages, and grilled sausages.  Serve
surrounded by the liver quenelles and the potatoes and crown with the
hock.  This <<royal sauerkraut>> should be eaten very hot accompanied
by a good Alsace white wine or a very cold beer!
 
Quenelles de foie (Liver dumplings - from the same source as above)
 
250 g. pork or cow's liver
100 g. breadcrumbs
125 g. fairly fatty smoked bacon
100 g. onions
 50 g. fine semolina
fresh parsley
1 clove garlic
2 eggs
salt, pepper, nutmeg
3 litres salted water
a little oil
 
Fry the onions with the garlic.  Soak the breadcrumbs in some milk and
press.  Mince these ingredients with the liver and bacon.  Place
mixture in a bowl.  Add beaten eggs, semolina and finely chopped
parsley.  Season and mix thoroughly.  Mould the  <<quenelles>> into
egg shapes with the aid of two spoons dipped in hot water.  Poach in
simmering salted water (about 12 minutes).
The liver quenelles are served hot sprinkled with croutons or fried
onion rings, accompanied by a green salad.  They are also served with
a traditional sauerkraut.
 
Suggestion:  The water used to poach the quenelles makes excellent
broth especially with the addition of chopped parsley, fine vermicelli
or small grilled or oven-cooked croutons.
 
Enjoy Typing this recipe in has made me quite hungry!
 
Colin Baxter - Plattsville, Ontario, Canada!
 

--
Mary Shafer  DoD #0362 KotFR NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
shafer@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov                    Of course I don't speak for NASA
 "A MiG at your six is better than no MiG at all."  Unknown US fighter pilot
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