I have been trying my hand at fermenting things. Kimchi was my first, and we have enjoyed it. This spring, when I harvest my cabbages, I put my new fermenting crock into service. (I still need to post about my first batch of sauerkraut!)
We have been nibbling on the sauerkraut for a while and I was hankering for some bratwurst to go with it. I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin with a lot of German settlers and we had a local butcher that we would get our bratwurst and sausages. There was another butcher in my mom’s home town where we would get our homemade hot dogs. I was craving both of those to go with my sauerkraut.
We have a lot of German heritage in the San Antonio area, but I knew I wanted to get some local pork sausage from a vender down at the Pearl Farmers Market. South Texas Heritage Pork. I have had their chorizo sausage (during the Dark Days Challenge), but I still hadn’t had any of their pork sausage.
It was a great meal.
Where did it all come from:
- Pork Sausage: South Texas Heritage Pork (55 miles)
- Cabbage (for kraut): My garden
- Caraway seeds (in sauerkraut): far, far away
*You can click on the SSFC badge above to link to the other participants and see what they prepared for this weeks meal.
Sincerely, Emily
P.S. I will be “unplugged” from technology for a few weeks, so you will not see you comment appear until I plug back in and get back in the swing of things. I look forward to reading your comments and will respond to each and every one of them.
Sincerely, Emily 
Having a local source for pork sausage comes in handy during these “hot dog” eating summer days. I think for one of our SSFC weeks, we’re supposed to can or preserve something. Will you be talking about fermenting then?
I hope you’re enjoying your trip!
HI Angela! I hope to find time to talk about fermenting (at least the parts I have learned) soon. The sauerkraut is so so good. I also should peak in my crock and see how the fermented cucumbers are coming along too!
I have several heads of cabbage in my fridge that would be perfect for sauerkraut. Do share your magic with us :)!
oh, so much hocus-pocus to share…. Seriously, making it is the easy part. Waiting for it to be ready is the hard part. I have started a post on my adventures in making sauerkraut, just need to work on it some more. Until then, head over to see how Jane made hers. http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/2011/10/sauerkraut-my-families-way.html
The basics are:
shred or chop cabbage
salt to release the liquid
pound, stomps, squeeze to get more liquid out
add additional brine if you need it
put in a crock or gallon jar (or what ever size you need)
WAIT!