Choucroute Garnie (Alsatian Sauerkraut with Meats and Sausages)

Alsace’s feast platter: sauerkraut braised slowly in white wine with juniper, bacon, ham hock and pork, heaped with sausages, smoked chops and potatoes.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is part of the collection’s French batch and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

• 1 pound (450 g) boneless pork loin
• 1 pound (450 g) boneless pork shoulder
• Kosher salt, as needed to season the pork generously
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 ml) lard, goose fat, duck fat or vegetable oil, divided
• 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 12 ounces; 350 g total)
• 2 cups (480 ml) dry white wine, such as Riesling or Silvaner
• 1 cup (240 ml) chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 1 cheesecloth sachet of 2 crushed garlic cloves, 10 juniper berries, 2 cloves, ½ teaspoon caraway seed and 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound (450 g) slab bacon
• 1 ham hock (about ¾ pound; 340 g)
• 1 piece (8 ounces; 225 g) salt pork from the belly or side, not fatback (optional)
• 5 pounds (2.25 kg) good-quality sauerkraut, drained
• 1½ pounds (680 g) mixed emulsified sausages (frankfurters, bratwurst, weisswurst, knackwurst, boudin blanc or noir)
• 2 smoked pork chops (about 1¼ pounds; 560 g total)
• 5 small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, halved and simmered in salted water until tender
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) kirsch (optional)

Directions

Key ingredients

Salt

1. Salt the pork loin and shoulder generously. If there is time, refrigerate them uncovered on a rack for up to 2 days.
2. Heat the oven to 250 °F (120 °C). In a large Dutch oven, cook the onions in ¼ cup (60 ml) of the fat over medium-low heat, stirring, until soft but not browned, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the wine, stock and sachet. Nestle in the shoulder, slab bacon and ham hock and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lay a parchment lid directly on the meat and bake 1½ hours.
4. Meanwhile, roast the loin on another rack until it reads 120 °F (49 °C), about 1 hour, and set it aside. If using salt pork, barely simmer it in water for 1 hour, then add it to the Dutch oven.
5. Rinse the sauerkraut lightly, tasting, until it is as sour as you like, and squeeze it dry.
6. After the 1½ hours, mix the sauerkraut into the pot, raise the oven to 300 °F (150 °C), re-cover with the parchment and cook until the meats are very tender, about 1 hour more.
7. Poach the sausages at a bare simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes, and keep them warm.
8. Sear the loin in the remaining 2 tablespoons fat in a skillet over high heat, about 3 minutes a side, and slice it into medallions.
9. Add the loin, smoked chops and potatoes to the pot and return it to the oven until just heated through, 10–20 minutes.
10. Lift out the meats and discard the sachet. Season the sauerkraut and stir in the kirsch if using. Heap it on a warm platter with the potatoes and arrange the meats and sausages on top.

Notes

Source Adapted from Daniel Gritzer, “Choucroute Garnie,” Serious Eats.

Regional note The source places the dish in Alsace, on the Rhine border with Germany, and notes that juniper is the Alsatian seasoning and caraway the more German one. The kirsch finish is credited to the Alsace-born chef André Soltner.

The photo The photograph shows a choucroute alsacienne garnie.