Pork and Sauerkraut

As I started this year out with my new New Year’s ritual of eating the Scottish traditional steak pie served up with the customary lucky collard greens and black eyed peas of the South and soul food, I’m ending 2016 with a rich recipe for pork and sauerkraut: Beer Braised Country Style Pork Ribs and Sauerkraut with Jägermeister Reduction.


While most of my lineage is Irish, there is a part of me that is German. Philadelphia was the entry way for many a German immigrant and their mark has been left on the city – the German “s” for example* in the Philadelphia accent of English. If you don’t have any German heritage, you may still have some German traditions if you hail from this area of the country. The big one is having pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Eve.Eating sauerkraut on New Year's Eve is a long-standing tradition in Germany because Germans believed that eating sauerkraut will bring blessings and wealth for the New Year. Before the meal, those seated at the table wish each other as much goodness and money as the number of shreds of cabbage in the pot of sauerkraut.

Adding to that tradition, the pig has long been a symbol for good luck and well-being because they root in the ground while moving forward. Plus, they’re fat – a universal symbol of prosperity. Therefore, many people believe that eating a meal with pork will bring luck in the coming New Year. Such meals include pork schnitzel, Bratwurst made with pork, any kind of wurst made with pork, pork roast and so on.

I tackled the idea of having some pork and sauerkraut in my home. I didn’t look up any recipes but instead looked up the essence of German cuisine: the use of caraway seeds, bay leaf and dill, plus the omission of garlic in the dishes. I knew that I was going to braise the pork, therefore I was going to use beer. I went to the store and picked up some supplies, include potatoes to roast as an accompaniment and sauerkraut, because I don’t have that on hand. I was all really to cook and add caraway seeds to my concoction, but I didn’t have them.So I searched for “caraway seeds substitutions” and that brought me to The Cook’s Thesaurus which suggested anise seed or cumin seeds in lieu of caraway.

Beer Braised Country Style Pork Ribs and Sauerkraut with Jägermeister Reduction, serves 4

Ingredients:

All ready for New Year's Eve

• 2 T butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 ¼ to 1 ½ lbs country style pork rib**, cut into individual portion sizes
• salt and pepper, to taste
• cumin powder, to taste
• ½ T anise seeds (or fennel seeds)
• 2 lbs of sauerkraut (roughly: either one 2lb bag or two 14.5oz cans) with the liquid
• 12 oz bottle of beer (I also suggest a Christmas or winter style if making it for New Year’s Eve – I used 21st Amendment’s Fireside Chat, a Winter Spiced Ale.)
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ t thyme
• 1-2 bay leaves
• ½ T olive oil
• 2 shots (3 oz) Jägermeister
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium pot; sauté the most of the onion (save about 1-2 T for the reduction) until translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Generously season the pork ribs on all sides with salt, pepper and cumin. Add the ribs and sear all pieces on all sides, about two minutes or so each side.
3. Add the anise seed to the pot to toast and wait for them to get fragrant, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the sauerkraut, beer and apple cider vinegar; season with the thyme and bay leaves and mix together.
5. Bring to a boil; when at a boil, immediately reduced the heat to a simmer and let cook for an hour at least.
6. Soon before serving, mince the remaining onion to ensure smaller pieces.
7. Add olive oil to a small skillet and heat; sauté the onion until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
8. Add Jägermeister to the small skillet and deglaze; set on a medium heat to reduce to half to quarter of the volume then stir in salt.
9. Remove the ribs from the pot and plate; top each rib with the Jägermeister reduction.
10. Remove the bay leaves and serve up the sauerkraut with the pork, including the braising liquid.

As I said above, potatoes are an easy starch accompaniment to the dish. Roast, mash, fry or what have you to cook them to ensure that they can help sop up the braising liquid, which I treat just like pot likker. When the potatoes are gone, make sure you have some good bread to help out, too.

*The German “S” is when the sibilant /s/ is palatalized to [ʃ] (as in she) before /tr/. Thus, the word streets [ˈstɹits] is pronounced "shtreets" [ˈʃtɹits]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_English

** As the article in the link explains, this cut is not from the rib, but a budget friendly portion of the loin.