**Embrace the Authentic Flavors of Alsace with La Petite Choucroute: A Culinary Journey Through History and Taste**
Originating from the heart of Alsace, France, La Petite Choucroute is a delectable dish that embodies the region's rich culinary heritage. This traditional Alsatian dish features succulent pork cuts, savory sausages, and tangy sauerkraut, all simmered together in a flavorful broth. As you embark on this culinary journey, discover the secrets behind this iconic dish and explore the diverse recipes that capture its essence. From the classic La Petite Choucroute Garni to the modern interpretations with duck confit or seafood, each recipe offers a unique twist on this Alsatian gem. Prepare to tantalize your taste buds and immerse yourself in the captivating flavors of La Petite Choucroute.
CHOUCROUTE GARNIE à L'ALSACIENNE (ALSATIAN BRAISED SAUERKRAUT WITH MIXED MEATS AND SAUSAGES) RECIPE
Meat and sauerkraut: It's a combo we all know and love, but no version takes it to such exalted heights as Alsatian choucroute garnie. Making it requires knowing a thing or two about all the cuts of meat involved and how best to handle them. This recipe will ensure that your lean cuts don't dry out and that your tough ones become meltingly tender.
Provided by Daniel Gritzer
Time 4h15m
Yield 10
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 250°F (120°C). In a large Dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup (60ml) goose fat (or duck fat, lard, or oil) over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, Cook Pork Loin: Place pork loin in a small ovenproof skillet or on a rimmed baking sheet and cook on a separate rack in oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 120°F (49°C), about 1 hour. Set aside.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 1074 kcal, Carbohydrate 43 g, Cholesterol 239 mg, Fiber 10 g, Protein 72 g, SaturatedFat 24 g, Sodium 5448 mg, Sugar 9 g, Fat 66 g, ServingSize Serves 8 to 10, UnsaturatedFat 0 g
CHOUCROUTE GARNIE
Categories Pork Potato Bake Sauté Super Bowl White Wine Fall Winter Oktoberfest Bon Appétit
Yield Makes 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Place ham hocks in large saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat is very tender, about 2 hours. Transfer hocks to medium bowl. Boil broth until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove meat from bones; discard bones. Place hock meat in medium bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover hock meat and broth separately; chill.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add bratwurst and bacon. Sauté until bacon is crisp and bratwurst is brown, about 10 minutes. Place in bowl with hock meat.
- Add onions, spices and bay leaves to same pot. Sauté until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add apples; sauté 2 minutes. Mix in sauerkraut. Add all meats; press to submerge. Add reserved broth and wine. Boil 10 minutes. Cover choucroute and bake 1 1/2 hours.
- Meanwhile, cook potatoes in pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 18 minutes. Drain; cool slightly. Cut potatoes in half. Dip cut sides into parsley. Arrange sauerkraut and meats on platter. Surround with potatoes. Serve with mustards and horseradish.
LA PETITE CHOUCROUTE
Steps:
- Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until fat begins to melt, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage, onion, pears, caraway and bay leaf. Cook until cabbage wilts and onion is tender, tossing frequently, about 10 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover and cook until liquids are almost absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
CLASSIC CHOUCROUTE
Provided by Mark Bittman
Categories dinner, project, main course
Time 2h
Yield 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Boil ham hocks in unsalted water until tender, at least 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, wash sauerkraut in cold water; drain. Wash again, in hot water; drain and squeeze dry.
- In a heavy, ovenproof pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the fat over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook it until soft and tender; do not brown. Add wine and 1 cup water, then bacon. Cover,and cook 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Season sauerkraut with pepper and a tiny bit of salt; add to pot,covering bacon. Combine garlic, juniper berries, caraway and bay leaf in cheesecloth and tie into a sachet. Bury this in the sauerkraut. Lay a circle of parchment paper directly over sauerkraut, cover, bring to a boil, transfer to oven and bake 1 hour.
- Add pork loin, top with potatoes, and return to oven for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
- About 15 minutes before potatoes are done,add bratwursts and frankfurters to the pot with hocks. Reduce heat to simmer, and heat through. Heat remaining fat in a skillet, and carefully brown blood sausages (they burst if overcooked).
- Add kirsch to sauerkraut; taste and add salt if necessary. Discard herb sachet.
- To serve, slice bacon and pork loin.Cut sausages and hocks into pieces. Put sauerkraut on large platter with meats and potatoes on top and around it. Serve with hot mustard and beer or white Alsatian wine.
CHOUCROUTE GARNIE (GARNISHED SAUERKRAUT)
Provided by Pierre Franey
Categories dinner, casseroles, main course
Time 45m
Yield 6 or more servings
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- Put the sauerkraut in a colander and rinse well. Press with the hands to extract excess liquid.
- Heat the lard in a large, heavy casserole or Dutch oven. Add one cup of the chopped onions and the garlic. Cook, stirring, until wilted chopped and add the pork hocks. Scatter sauerkraut over all. Add the wine and chicken broth.
- Tie the parsley sprigs, bay leaf and thyme into a small bundle and add it. Add the cloves and juniper berries. Cover closely and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter in a saucepan and add the remaining half cup of chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until wilted.
- Put the pork in a mixing bowl and add the cooked onions, caraway seeds and chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Blend the pork mixture well. Shape it into 12 balls of approximately the same size. Arrange them on top of the sauerkraut. Add the smoked pork butt and continue cooking.
- When the sauerkraut and meats have cooked for 30 minutes after the first boil, add the kielbasa. Cover and cook 15 minutes longer. Serve the sauerkraut with the sliced meats and potatoes.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 1019, UnsaturatedFat 40 grams, Carbohydrate 19 grams, Fat 72 grams, Fiber 8 grams, Protein 68 grams, SaturatedFat 25 grams, Sodium 2410 milligrams, Sugar 7 grams, TransFat 1 gram
SHORTCUT CHOUCROUTE
This pork and vegetable braise requires about 3 hours of time and 5 minutes of work. Spend a few minutes making broad strokes with a sharp knife and layer the ingredients in a deep roasting pan. Then walk away for more than 2 hours. Pass through the kitchen again to uncover the pan and turn the oven up, then go back to your business. You've just spent a productive 3 or so hours cooking and doing something else.
Provided by Mark Bittman
Categories dinner, roasts, main course
Time 3h30m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Core the cabbage; cut it into wide ribbons and scatter in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Drain the sauerkraut and spread it on top of the cabbage. Halve the onions and nestle them among the vegetables. Tuck in the bay leaves and sprinkle with the caraway seeds or juniper berries and lots of black pepper.
- Put the meat and sausages on top of everything and pour in the wine or other liquid. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and cover tightly with foil. Transfer to the oven and cook, undisturbed, for 2 hours.
- Test the pork shoulder by inserting a fork into the thickest part: If it slides out easily, turn the oven up to 450 degrees, leave the pan uncovered and return it to the oven until the meat and the vegetables brown a bit, another 25 to 30 minutes. If the pork isn't fork-tender, re-cover the pan and return it to the oven for another 30 minutes before proceeding.
- To serve, just break the pork into chunks with two forks and set the pan on the table with a serving spoon and plates, plenty of roughly torn baguettes and crocks of mustard and butter. Don't bother removing the bay leaves unless they really bug you.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 655, UnsaturatedFat 24 grams, Carbohydrate 27 grams, Fat 41 grams, Fiber 10 grams, Protein 42 grams, SaturatedFat 13 grams, Sodium 1982 milligrams, Sugar 11 grams, TransFat 0 grams
CHOUCROUTE GARNIE
Provided by Florence Fabricant
Categories dinner, casseroles, main course
Time 3h30m
Yield 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Drain sauerkraut, reserving juice. Rinse in two changes of cold water, wring out well, and set aside. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large casserole,at least 5 quarts,cook salt pork or bacon over medium heat until golden. Remove,draining well.Leave fat in casserole. Add onions and carrots, and saute until soft. Add garlic and apple, and cook, stirring, several minutes. Add sauerkraut, and return pork or bacon to casserole, tucking it into sauerkraut. Add stock and wine. Bring to a simmer.
- Add bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves and juniper berries. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover,and bake 2 hours.
- Tuck sausages into sauerkraut. If sauerkraut looks dry, add stock. If sauerkraut needs more bite, add a little reserved juice. Cover,and bake 20 minutes.
- Place smoked pork on sauerkraut. Cut ham slices in half, and add them to top. Cover with parchment cut to fit inside casserole and placed directly on ingredients. Cover pot,and return to oven 15 minutes.
- While meats cook, simmer potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain.
- Serve choucroute directly from casserole, placing potatoes on top first. Or spread sauerkraut on a platter, and top with meats and potatoes. Serve with mustard.
CHOUCROUTE GARNI
This is a super-tasty one-pot meal with Savoy cabbage as the star. A delectable braised family meal, featuring succulent German garlic sausage
Provided by Tom Kerridge
Categories Dinner, Main course, Supper
Time 2h5m
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or heavy-based pan. Fry the onions for 10-15 mins until soft. Add the wine and vinegar, along with the herbs and spices, and reduce to a glaze.
- Add the carrots, celery and garlic to the pan, mix well, then lay the wedges of cabbage on top. Snuggle the sausages and bacon between the cabbage chunks before pouring over the stock. Put the pan on the heat, bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 1 hr 30 mins, stirring halfway through.
- Once cooked, serve in bowls with mashed potato, if you like.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 736 calories, Fat 49 grams fat, SaturatedFat 21 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 23 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 17 grams sugar, Fiber 11 grams fiber, Protein 36 grams protein, Sodium 4.6 milligram of sodium
Tips:
- Choose the Right Cabbage: Opt for a firm, compact cabbage with tightly packed leaves for the best texture in your choucroute.
- Prep Your Cabbage Properly: Remove the outer leaves and core of the cabbage, then thinly slice it to ensure even cooking.
- Layer Meticulously: Layer the cabbage, juniper berries, and pork belly or bacon in a large pot or crock, pressing down firmly to create a compact mixture.
- Season Wisely: Use a combination of salt, pepper, and bay leaves to season the choucroute, adjusting the quantities to your taste preferences.
- Allow Sufficient Fermentation Time: Keep the choucroute in a cool, dark place for 3-4 weeks, allowing the natural fermentation process to take place. Monitor the choucroute regularly, skimming off any impurities that may rise to the surface.
- Rinse Before Cooking: Before cooking, rinse the choucroute thoroughly to remove any excess salt and impurities. This helps balance the flavors and prevents the choucroute from being too salty.
Conclusion:
La Petite Choucroute is a culinary delight that showcases the essence of Alsatian cuisine. By following these tips and embracing the traditional methods, you can create an authentic choucroute that captures the harmonious blend of flavors and textures. Whether you prefer a classic preparation or a contemporary twist, this dish is a testament to the enduring legacy of Alsatian culinary traditions. Bon appétit!
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