Super Duper Russian Sauerkraut

I'm Russian.

Actually, I'm Ukrainian. But I say Russian because it's easier. Really.

So sauerkraut is already a foreign thing... But I'm not talking about the limp clearish German stuff. No, no, Russian sauerkraut is friggin awesome. Seriously, if you don't like the German stuff, try this out, it's delicious! It's crunchy and fresh... And even my father-in-law likes it (whoa).

Thus, super duper. Yep.

Oh yea, and it's fermented... Which means there are millions of friendly little bacteria swimming around in it that are breaking down the food and making the nutrients more available to you... Plus they do wonders for your gut and digestion. Sounds yummy, right? GOOD.


Ingredients:

• 1 large Fido jar or wide mouth mason jar 
• 1 weight to submerge ingredients in brine (Google ferment weight for ideas, please don't pay that much though)
• 2 large heads of red cabbage
• 6 carrots
• 16 oz bag raw cranberries
• Raisins (eyeball it)
• 6 tbsp real sea salt

How To:

1. Wash cabbage and peal away outer wilty leaves. Cut the cabbage in half and then cut lengthwise. Like so:

 2. Transfer cabbage into a very large mixing bowl and sprinkle intermittently with about half of the sea salt. Wash and peal carrots. Grate carrots into the bowl.

3. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly to make sure that salt is evenly distributed. Set aside for some time to allow the salt to extract juices from the cabbage and carrots.

4. With a wooden spoon or a meat pounder, mash the contents of the bowl to release more juices. Then begin transferring to the Fido jar. After every few handfuls, use a wooden spoon to jam the cabbage tighter together and release more juice.

I ended up having to add a little bit of brine to cover the cabbage, my arm was going to fall off and I still couldn't get enough juice out! It's hit or miss, sometimes plenty of water comes out, other times not.

5. Place the weight on top making sure there are no floaters. Close the lid and transfer to a warm spot in your house (65-72 degrees F). Leave there for about 4 weeks, if you can stand it!

Our fermenting corner of the house... Wine, wine, wine, pickles, sauerkraut.

My first attempt at fermenting foods was with red cabbage. I simply used one head of cabbage to 2 tbsp salt. The carrots and sweeter additions is more in the Russian style, it comes out quite a bit more sour from the cranberries and I prefer just regular red cabbage sauerkraut... So don't feel bad taking the easy way out!

 

TA DA!

This post is shared at Fight Back Friday on Food Renegade.