Making sauerkraut is a January tradition for me so it seemed appropriate to kick off a restart of this blog with a post on my method of making it. The ingredients are simple; cabbage, salt, and time.
I use a mandolin for slicing the cabbage...it does a good job of keeping the shreds evenly sized.
I measure about 2.5 Tablespoons of kosher salt into a small bowl. This is enough salt for 3-4 medium sized heads of cabbage.
I slice a half of head of cabbage and place in a very large bowl and sprinkle with a big pinch of salt.
Then using the handle of a thick wooden spoon I smash the cabbage to break it down and distribute the salt. This is how it looks when I'm done...
From there it goes into the crock.
I use my hand to pat it down in there, pressing it into the crock tightly. Then repeat the steps over and over until the crock is full....
Once it's full, I pack it down as tightly as possible then add the weights....
I put the lid on the crock and keep it at room temperature and let it ferment. I'll check on it every few days...depending on the temperatures it should be ready within a month!
