Sauerkraut and Apples
- Total Time
- 55 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 6tablespoons butter
- 4slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1small onion, thinly sliced
- 3tart apples, such as Stayman, Pippin, Granny Smith or Jonagold, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- 2pounds sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
- 1bottle (12 ounces) beer (you may substitute apple cider)
- Black pepper, to taste
- ½teaspoon caraway seeds
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
217 calories; 14 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 863 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring often, until fat has started to render, about 5 minutes.
- Step 2
Toss onion and apples in the fat and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in sauerkraut.
- Step 3
Add beer and season with pepper and caraway seeds. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover the pot. Reduce heat so mixture is just simmering and cook for 45 minutes. Or transfer the covered pot to a 350-degree oven and bake for 1 hour. Stir and serve hot.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
BNH
Left out the bacon to make it vegetarian. Added another couple of tablespoons of butter to replace the bacon fat. It was outrageously good.
JM
Yup, I grew up in Maryland. And yes we always had sauerkraut with turkey. And most people think we're nuts. So thank you for the validation and for this great recipe.
Very nice
We always had sauerkraut at family festivities in NY. Usually made with kielbasa. We still make it for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. But, today, I had a pork tenderloin and wondering what to do with it? A quick look in the fridge: I have half a red onion, 3/4 jar kraut, Apple Cider beer, and apples on the counter. Brown the tenderloin, sauté the onions, apples, kraut, etc... and follow the rest of the recipe. Throw the browned pork on top and into the oven. Voila! Easy peasy.
Carajo
If you rinse the sauerkraut-as called for in the recipe-it will diminish the flavor. I made that mistake once. You may want to give it another try without rinsing, and leave out the bacon if you don't like it. ALSO-grate the peeled apples and onions.
Ann
Mashed potatoes mixed with kraut on your plate...divine!
Ann
Always kraut with turkey. Grew up in MD too!
Ann
My grandmother used to make this, usually without bacon. I hated the apples because I love the tartness of kraut. I'd add ACV to cut the sweetness from the apples. She used to make some separately just for me saying that's how she liked it but everyone else didn't. Miss her. I make my own sauerkraut from scratch now. Wonderfully lacto-fermented. Grammy would have proud!
Eileen
This is great. Reminds me of Grandma. I used hard apple cider instead of beer and it came out great. Baked it with good sliced smoked sausage on top.
deborah
Excellent exactly as written. However, I did follow one person’s suggestion to shred the onion and apple. And another person’s suggestion to not rinse the sauerkraut. Rinsing the sauerkraut takes away the probiotic goodness of it and the sour flavor.
Mark
It's delightful as is, and, as noted, great substituting apple cider, alcoholic or non, or a Germanic white, such as a crisp Riesling, for the beer. I often add a sprig or two of thyme. Btw I associate this with Pennsylvania Dutch Thanksgiving traditions. Perhaps it migrated down to neighboring Maryland?
Bill A
I'm going to try this with a half dozen smoked apple bratwurst I picked up at a local shop.
Patricia
I hate beer so I used 16 oz of Chardonnay . I also added 4 Shishito peppers for some spice ( cause Texas) and used butter instead of bacon. Turned out quite nice
fletch
I have made this several times. Always a hit and serves 6-8 people generously
Laura
1- small onion thinly sliced 5 slices Amish smoked bacon 1- 16oz jar Vlassic Sauerkraut, drained. 1- grated granny smith apple Handful of mushrooms sliced 1- bottle Guinness 5 browned on stove Amish Bratwurst, placed on top. Ingredients were Prepared on stove, baked in 350 oven 1 hour My German Mother made it this way minus the beer. Made me super nostalgic.
Lori in Vancouver
I grew up in a community with lots of Eastern Europeans where sauerkraut was a New Years tradition. My mom cooked sauerkraut in a large pot in the oven, with pork and cooked low & slow until the pork fell off the bone. Now, a vegetarian, I skipped the pork when using this recipe, replaced apples with carrots (although I usually do love apples in my kraut), reduced the butter to 4T, added a bay leaf, oregano, dill & 2 cloves garlic. Delicious! Serve with perogies, potato dumplings or gnocchi.
Cathy
I made this as written. It was delicious, and a big hit at the family reunion.
Mark
This is actually more of a Pennsylvania tradition that migrated south to Maryland along the Susquehanna. Still delicious!
Jon B.
Any recipe that starts out with sauteeing bacon in butter gets a big thumbs-up from me. Here's another vote for not rinsing the sauerkraut. Or draining it, for that matter. No need to incorporate a lot of brine, but no need to be afraid of it either; the tartness of the kraut is the whole point here. I've made this several times, using homemade sauerkraut (which is a million times better than any commercial version) and dry hard cider. It's wonderful, much more than the sum of its parts.
Irene
I added a 12ozcan of beer, does not look like enough liquid. What should I add if anything?
visser.ja
Needs salt.
HenryLM3
I sliced the apples really thin, less than 1/8 inch, and they just disappeared. I would aim for 3/8 to 1/2 inch the next time.
visser.ja
I had the same experience. Are the apples supposed to be present as pieces in the final dish, or are they supposed to become applesauce?
Gail
Delicious! My beau is from MD and always had sauerkraut as a Thanksgiving side. This is great with pork!
BG
This was delicious! I did not rinse the sauerkraut as I thought that would take away from the “tangy” flavor. Used apple cider instead of beer. Cooked a couple of sausages, sliced them, and added to the pot at the end to make this into a complete meal. The sweet and sour flavor profile was quite enjoyable.
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