Kapusta
This is traditionally served with kielbasi at Easter and Christmas, but it goes well with any pork dish. You can reheat it forever until its gone, and in fact is better the second day. Youre probably wondering what G Washington Seasoning and Broth is. I grew up with this seasoning added to almost every meat dish. Its sort of like Herb-Ox, and you can usually find it near the boxes of Lipton soup in the grocery store. If your grocer doesnt carry it, you can find it online.
This is traditionally served with kielbasi at Easter and Christmas, but it goes well with any pork dish. You can reheat it forever until its gone, and in fact is better the second day. Youre probably wondering what G Washington Seasoning and Broth is. I grew up with this seasoning added to almost every meat dish. Its sort of like Herb-Ox, and you can usually find it near the boxes of Lipton soup in the grocery store. If your grocer doesnt carry it, you can find it online.
- Carbohydrate 5.98404 g
- Cholesterol 5.712 mg
- Fat 3.89046 g
- Fiber 2.16200000524521 g
- Protein 2.15752 g
- Saturated Fat 1.291728 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (122g)
- Sodium 110.7895 mg
- Sugar 3.82203999475479 g
- Trans Fat 0.450482 g
- Calories 64 calories
Step-by-step
- Chop the onion, shred the small head of cabbage and put in separate prep bowls.
- Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry slowly in a small frying pan until bacon is crisp and fat is rendered. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon an put it in the shredded cabbage. Fry the onions in the bacon fat until golden. Pour onions and the bacon fat back into the prep bowl.
- Put the cabbage, sauerkraut with juice, bacon, seasoning and water in a large pot. Add the onion with as much or as little bacon fat as you would like. (More adds flavor, less is a little healthier.)
- Cook until the cabbage is soft, at least an hour. This can also be prepared in a pressure cooker.
Replacing fresh cabbage with pre-bagged coleslaw mix introduces excess moisture and ruins the structural integrity required for a proper traditional braise. Sauerkraut packs a high sodium punch and often overpowers delicate brassicas unless managed correctly with water dilution and deliberate cooking durations. Too many home cooks dump raw ingredients straight into a cold pot without properly rendering the pork fat first, leaving the dish greasy instead of harmoniously rich. Rendering bacon slowly over medium-low heat until the fat completely liquifies provides the necessary medium to sweat onions until translucent without browning them too quickly.
Simmering the mixture for at least sixty minutes breaks down the tough cellulose walls in both the shredded head cabbage and the fermented strands, yielding a uniform tenderness throughout the pot. Retaining the sauerkraut juice supplies vital acidity, but draining a portion of it prevents the finished dish from becoming overwhelmingly sour. Controlling the amount of rendered bacon fat added back into the braising liquid allows precise calibration of richness before the long simmer begins.
Preparing this dish twenty-four hours in advance allows the flavors to meld significantly, making overnight refrigeration in a sealed container an essential step rather than an afterthought. Reheating leftovers gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat prevents scorching at the bottom of heavy-bottomed Dutch ovens.
