Sausage and Sauerkraut
October 30, 2009
On my recent trip home, on the evening that we prepped for this meal, my family sat around and engaged in a healthy debate about which sausage to use. I fought hard for Ball Park all beef franks as that was the true recipe from when we were kids, when all our meals were pretty budget-friendly. Over the years, looks like this recipe has enjoyed a ‘fancy period’ as we gazed over several frozen brats that emerged from the freezer.
My brother argued that Hebrew Nationals were the best hot dogs as did my mother. But I argued, they weren’t the right size (yes, it matters). They looked anemic, as did (to my surprise) the package of Ball Park franks. When we were kids I remember the Ball Park franks that we roasted around campfires and found hidden under lumps of sauerkraut were fat like mafioso fingers.
The gigantic, fancier authentic brats we decided were too authentic and fancy. We also pushed around a frozen package of chicken breakfast franks that nobody would claim to have bought.
Someone finally noted that there just were no ‘quality’ hot dogs in this country anymore, which silenced us into solemn agreement.
SAUSAGE AND SAUERKRAUT
Serves 4
Time from prep:1 hr
Ingredients
2 medium sweet onions
1 package Johnsonville Beef Brats or
Hillshire Farms Beef Sausages
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs vegetable oil
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp salt
32 oz jar of sauerkraut( we used Claussen Sauerkraut)
Cooking directions:
Empty sauerkraut into a large bowl and rinse under water. Squeeze excess water out of sauerkraut and set aside in a bowl.
Chop onions into thin slices.
Over low-medium heat, add vegetable oil in a large pan. Add the minced garlic and cover for two minutes.
Over medium heat, add onions and stir fry until lightly browned. Then add sauerkraut, salt and pepper.
When adding sauerkraut, be sure there is enough oil or water in the pan so as to not burn the sauerkraut.
After 3 minutes, push the onion and sauerkraut to the edges of the pan. Add sausages into the center of the pan so that they are laying flat. Cover sausages with the sauerkraut and onions. Lower heat and cover for ten minutes.
Uncover and stir sauerkraut so that the top layer is at the bottom and cover for another 10. Repeat for 30 minutes or until sauerkraut is soft.
Serve with buns or for a healthy alternative serve over rice.
Reactions from around the table:
Caleb, 5: “It was good. I love sausage.”
