Copenhagen cabbage
bunches fresh baby dill sprigs
coarse salt
*50 lbs cabbage and 2 bunches dill makes about 6 gallons, about 40 pints of finished kraut

Remove large and/or darker green outer leaves. Wash and save enough to cover your kraut.

Shred cabbage 1/8" - 1/4" no more than a couple of inches long, but don't include the cabbage core.

In a large stone crock place several inches of cabbage and a good sprinkle of salt. Pound cabbage until very juicy. A large smooth piece of wood with a flat bottom mounted on a broom handle could be used for pounding the cabbage. Add some dill. Repeat.

The first stomp will require the most work. Keep tasting the juice before putting the next amount of salt on. Juice shouldn't taste salty, if it is ease up on the salt. Should be able to taste dill somewhat.

Leave several inches of space at top of crock. Place leaves to cover kraut. Put a plate on the leaves and put a clean heavy rock or other clean heavy object on the plate. This keeps kraut submerged in juice. Keep crock in a cool dark place.

Within a day or two you will begin to see bubbles and may begin to see mold on top after about a week. Once this happens, do the following on a daily basis: remove crud, clean plate and rock, taste strength of kraut. Kraut is finished when it has reached your desired strength. Avoid warmer storage areas if possible since more heat will accelerate the process.

If allowed to go to the very end, when the fermentation is over, the bubbling will stop and liquid level will drop, can drop below the cabbage. Once it reaches this point can it or get it in the fridge ASAP.

The fermentation ends once the acidity reaches a level strong enough to kill the lactobactilli. It's important to keep an eye on it when it's reaching the end. The level can drop fairly quick once this happens. If you catch it right away you can scoop out some of the top cabbage and get it into the fridge with a little brine ... enough to keep the remainder of the kraut submerged.

If cabbage is exposed to air and you don't know how long it's been like that it's safest just to throw that cabbage out ... throw out the top cabbage up to about an inch below the brine level if that happens.

Transfer kraut to a large pot. Bring kraut to a boil, stirring frequently. Pack very hot sterilized canning jars with boiling kraut, top with kraut juice to leave 1/4" - 1/2" air at top. Seal and cover immediately. When cool, check seals. Kraut jars can also be processed in a canner.

The kraut does not freeze well.


Sept 2008 Update, a note on salt: we did 250lbs (weight nefore cleaning cabbage) and used just over 3.5C (1035g) of coarse pickling salt. This scales down to roughly 3/4C (200g) per 50lbs of cabbage. Please note this is approximately 1/3 the amount recommended by USDA for home kraut making.

The higher salt level is recommended to ensure safety and prevent spoilage at higher ambient temperatures during the fermentation, but this much salt really affects the taste (too salty). We do ours the traditional way using less salt in an outdoor shed where average ambient temperature would be in th 50ºF to 65ºF range.

Please make an informed decision regarding the amount of salt to use in your kraut. Some links I found that might be of interest:

Science Direct: Impact of low salt concentration, salt quality on natural large-scale sauerkraut fermentation

Wikipedia: Sauerkraut

Jardine Voltaire Blog

FAO: Fermented Fruits and Vegetables, A Global Perspective: Chapter 5, Bacterial Fermentations


Nov 2008 Update: added some more info around 'finish' ... I calculated percentages, our percentage is 1% salt and USDA is 2.45% where total weight equals mass of salt plus mass of cabbage after cleaning. We covered our large crock with the crock lid this year without issue so we will continue to do that, we like the idea of keeping airbourne stuff out.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Shawn W,

Thanks Shawn,

Sounds like a very involed process...I bet it is good.

Is there any other type of container which can be used instead of a stone crock?

NP Anthony, we really like it and many people who say they don't like store bought sauerkraut like this stuff. Fry it up with bacon bits and serve on perogies with sour cream, put in on smokies in a bun, heat it up with sliced sausage or spam and of course, Reuben sandwich. It's great with 'gamey' tasting meat, like deer or moose as well.

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Originally posted by Anthony G.:
Is there any other type of container which can be used instead of a stone crock?

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The cabbage stomping is the thing. It takes some effort to pound the juice out of cabbage, and the stone crocks we use are flat bottomed. Some other non-reactive container should be fine provided you won't pound the bottom out of it. Also, the exposed surface area during fermentation process should be kept to a minimum so a narrow cylinder shape works well.

If you want to try a smaller batch, perhaps a wooden meat tenderizer and an ice cream pail would suffice. I haven't tried this but it should work. Once fermentation is complete, boil the kraut once, then refrigerate. It should keep for many weeks.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Shawn W,

Shawn W, Thanks so much for the recipe. Can't wait to make some.Thank you again, Bryan

You could try 25 lbs cabbage, 1 bunch baby dill in a 3 gallon crock. Perhaps don't shred it all until you are sure. It might be better to use a single 4 or 5 gal if there is such a thing or two 2 gal for this amount of cabbage to ensure room. The smallest we have done is 150 lbs into 18 gallons.

I have seen people do this successfully in a 5 gallon food-grade plastic bucket.

Shawn, one question for you. What type salt? Non iodized i would guess? Pickling salt. Thanks Bryan

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bryan S,

quote:

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I have seen people do this successfully in a 5 gallon food-grade plastic bucket

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Tony, were you speaking of the amount of 25 pounds of cabbage, or just that 5 gallon plastic pails work?

Bryan, Mom's words were 'coarse pickling salt'. Does that answer your question, I'm not too familiar with different salts yet ....

Shawn,

Thanks for the recipe. I got some shoppin' to do

Take care,

If you are waiting until fall, I was told the Grandpa always said that particular cabbage was the best to use and it's at it's best after the first frost hits. Young, green cabbage makes yellow sauerkraut. This stuff is gonna be slightly green, not white.

Hope it turns out great for you guys!

Shawn, Getting ready to make some kraut in the next month. What would/do you consider a bunch of dill. How many sprigs of baby dill in a bunch. Thanks in advance Bryan

quote:

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Originally posted by Bryan S:
Shawn, Getting ready to make some kraut in the next month. What would/do you consider a bunch of dill. How many sprigs of baby dill in a bunch. Thanks in advance Bryan

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Bryan, 3 dozen per bunch is about what we've seen around here. Baby dill is probably the distinctive feature of this recipe. You don't want to over do it, but ya gotta go by your taste. Make sure you have enough. It's cheap (here anyway) compared to cabbage cost and cumulative effort to produce the kraut.

Can't wait to hear what you think of it!

Bryan, I got it a bit mixed up. At 1 dozen per bunch (not 3 dozen per bunch as previously stated) we used not quite 4 bunches for 150 pounds of cabbage. (go by taste as you're making it) ... my mistake, sorry

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Shawn W,

Shawn, I guess you mean 12 stems/sprigs per bunch. Just don't want to screw this up. Cause i'm making a 50 lb batch. Now if we would only get that first frost. Thanks Bryan

I did some searching for a salt baseline when making kraut. Every recipe i came across was the same. 3 Tbs of salt for every 5 lbs of cabbage. Just thought i would post this in case anybody wanted to know. Bryan

Well i made the Kraut today Got 70 lbs of cabbage in the Red Wing 10 gallon crock. Now we wait Thanks for all your help Shawn. Bryan

Update: The Kraut is bubbling away and i had a 3 gallon crock just sitting there so i made another 12.5 lbs. Had to use up some leftover cabbage. Why isn't it done yet. Bryan

anytime Bryan ...

can't help with the wait though, your just gonna have to be patient ...

but hey, after only a week or so you can start tasting ... you know, just to see if it's strong enough for ya and time to can it) ... 'oops did I just throw some in a pulled pork sandwich? clumsy me ....'

Not sure if anybody else made this but it is the Bomb and by Bomb i mean the Bigidty Bomb. It got rave reviews by all who have tasted it. My mom who is german can't get enough of it. Thanks again bud for posting this. It will be a yearly event in my household.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it Bryan.

Great to hear from you too!