Sauerkraut the old fashioned way
Historical society holds program at Kiesling House
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NEW ULM -- With a little help from good friend Nancy Paulson, Kathleen Backer made sauerkraut the old fashioned way by hand at the Kiesling House Saturday.
The event was part of the Brown County Historical Society preparation for winter program.
Cabbage and sausage, using a hand-powered grinder with about 80 percent meat and 20 percent fat, were part of the recipe.
Backer recalled making sauerkraut at home as a young girl.
"You can do anything you want with spices. A lot of us think of mustard seed, pepper and oregano. It's really up to your imagination," Backer said.
She began making sauerkraut by cutting meat and fat into tubes before grinding it a second time.
"You want your meat almost freezing so it grinds and cuts up better, otherwise it gets sticky," said Backer. "Then you start mixing sausage, adding salt, mustard seed and maybe oregano if you're making Italian sausage. Stir it up really, really well."
She said in the "good old days," hog intestines are used, soaked so they are more pliable and straightened.
Backer ground the meat and fat together.
"You tie a knot at the end and put sausage in, press it and twist it, or do a whole, long ring and swing it. Put it in the refrigerator. By the next day, it should be all stuck together," added Backer.
She also put cream in a small jar and shook it to make butter.
Backer said making sauerkraut by hand is not as easy as it may appear.
"You grate your cabbage and dump it into a pot every so often," Backer said. "Then put about three teaspoons of salt it. Stomp again. It takes about three to four weeks at room temperature to process. You weight it down. We put a plate and jar with water in it on top of it. That's it."
The historical Kiesling House was built in 1861. It survived the U.S. Dakota War of 1862.
For more information, visit the Brown County Historical Society at browncountyhistorymn.org. Call 507-233-2616. Email education@browncountyhistorymn.org