Sauerkraut

[Muley Gil]

As a youngster, I lived with my great grandmother and grandmother in Anne Arundel Co, Maryland. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, they always served hot sauerkraut as a sidedish with our turkey.

While living in Alabama, I found out that sauerkraut was NOT a common sidedish. And according to my Louisana wife, neither was it served there.

I spoke with a co-worker who grew up in NYC. While she has German relatives, sauerkraut was not served there either, although red cabbage was.

So, I turn to my fellow Forum members: did anyone else eat sauerkraut with turkey? I'm especially interested in responses from members from MD/PA. Family lore says that my great grandmother had family from PA.

 

[Indiana George]

Muley Gil,

I have fond memories of holiday dinners served at my grandparents farm, in central Indiana. On such occasions, seemingly huge platters of turkey, duck, sweet potatos, fresh vegetables and salads, etc. were passed around until dinner plates were heaping.

However, I also recall a rather smallish dish of sauerkraut that usually remained at my grandfather's end of the table and rarely passed. Said sauerkraut was often topped with horseradish or a spicy mustard of some sort.

I don't remember anyone other than my grandfather touching the stuff!!!

Today, as I am now a grandfather, I would probably enjoy it!

 

[klondike]

My mother of German extraction ate Sauerkraut with everything. I am ok with it but I like it rinsed well.
I love the sweet/sour kraut. Every German cook has their favorite recipe for it.

 

[jeepjeepwhat]

My Grandmother always had a crock pot of sauerkraut on the buffet during holiday meals. I believe she was the only one that ate the stuff, no one else in the family realls likes it, but it was always there. Thanksgiving dinner just doesn't smell the same without the undertones of sauerkraut throughout the house.

BTW my family is from western maryland for several generations now.

 

[Nathan Forrest]

Not with turkey, but I like it fried up with my home fries.

 

[gunlovingirl]

I had never heard of kraut with the turkey. But after reading this post, I asked a friend of mine, who is of German ancestry and originally from the Baltimore area. She said they always had kraut with their Thanksgiving turkey.

 

[JcMack]

My mothers side of the family was German. My maternal grandmother lived next door while my grandfather (who fought for Kaiser Wilhelm) was alive and many years after. Kraut was on the dinner table at least 3 days a week. Potato soup also. To this day I LOVE sour kraut. Lotsa salt in it though. Have to wash it. Kraut, potatoes, and sausage.

 

[feralmerril]

My people were krauts, er, german! Dad had several older siblings born over there. So saurkraut was on the menue a lot when I was a boy. I dont remember haveing it with turkey but I might have. Generaly it was always with pork hocks. Sometimes with corn beef, also they usualy had potatoes with it too. Sometimes sausage. I know at times depending on how hungry you were, the smell reminded me of a bedroom chamber pot! Stay loose with kraut juice!

 

[Beemer-mark]

My grandparents (with there parents) came from Germany in the late 1800's. 'Kraut with everything. The family lived in the Fremont / Port Clinton area. Fremont used to be (don't know now) the 'kraut capital of the USA. Cabbage was a big local crop and there was a number of Canneries in the area. I dated a gal that worked the 3-11 pm shift at the cannery and even today when I spell sauerkraut I think of her-

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Oh Yeah; My grandfather was born in Penn. & always had kraut. Don't remember having it with turkey however. My father wouldn't eat the stuff but I loved it.Ham hocks & sausauge were best.

 

[Beemer-mark]

Pickled pig hocks and sauerkraut! Volunteer Fire Dept ran that once a month in the winter.

 

[Capt Steve]

During the first and second world wars many restaurants began calling sauerkraut "Liberty Lettuce". Made about as much sense as calling french fries "Freedom Fries' when we were pissed at the French. (o; I like my kraut layered into sliced potatoes and baked with lots of cheese.

 

[JcMack]

There was a Pizza joint not far from here called The Polish Prince. Specialty was sour kraut pizza. When my stomach was younger I loved that stuff. Even so Polish kraut teamed with pizza can kill all but the brave at heart and body. Thank the Lord they closed. I think there's a hazmat sign on the abandoned building. I thought of making my mark on the world by creating a liver and onions pizza.

 

[diamonback68]

My wife is German and we have Brats, sweet and sour cabbage and hot German potato salad once or twice a month. No sauerkraut though 'cause she won't eat turkey.
My mother was full blooded Belgium (dutch) and she made "etzsaput", it was boiled cabbage, potatoes and neck bone meat all in one pot and them mashed up coursely. Excellent eating!

 

[Bullseye 2620]

Gil,

My Amish friends up in Dayton, Virginia, who are commercial poultry producers, serve it that way. Their family is from Pennsylvania.


Bullseye

 

[deduke1907]

my parents alway fixed sauerkraut and pork spare ribs here in ohio on new year day

 

[walter o]

My wife fixes a mean dish of spareribs and kraut.

 

[Marksman]

I grew up in northen New Jersey, family was of English and Dutch origin. I had grandparents form eastern Pennsylvania, while saurkraut was never served with turkey we always had it whenever we had pork. Pork chops were always prepared atop a large baking dish of 'kraut. It always accompanied corned beef and my favorite was knockwurst fresh from the German butchershop prepared in saurkraut and barbecue sauce. I was fortunate to work with a gentleman in St. Louis,MO who made his own saurkraut in a large stone crock. He invited me for dinner whenever the current batch of 'kraut was ready for consumption. Always ate my 'kraut with lots of stone ground mustard and a nice cold beer. Whenever the 'kraut dish was empty I always drank the juice.

 

[MDGasman]

My MIL, from western MD (and Pennsylvanian/German background) serves it with turkey every Thanksgiving. Cooks it in the crock pot w/ crumbled bacon strips, diced tomatoes, and brown sugar.

 

[mjr]

Not with turkey, but I like it fried up with my home fries.

Never heard of that but am definitely going to try it. Sounds great!

My family usually had kraut when a pork roast was on the table. Never that I recall with poultry.

 

[ohiobuckeye]

Pretty common around this neck of the woods. My mom used to make her own kraut in a huge stone crock when I was growing up back in the 40s and 50's. Smelled awful as it aged but the end result was tasty. I haven't seen home made kraut for years and my wifes kraut all comes from a can.

 

[Half Scale]

Interesting, i'm English/Scottish, grew up in Tenn (near Nashville), lived in Ala, Ga, Ohio, and now NC. We had homemade saurkraurt growing up in Tenn. and i loved it. Kinda got away from it in Alabama and Georgia.

Then we moved to Bowling Green, Ohio, i fell in love with it again.

We moved to NC in 1978 but saurkraut and brats are still part of out diet.

 

[rimfired]

It was always a staple side-dish beginning at Thanksgiving and still is the main New Years day ingredient. I do a cc brt pork roast in the oven in sauerkraut, remove the roast to rest, and make homemade dumplings in the kraut on the stovetop. Whipped potatoes and summer corn that I blanch and cut off the cob and freeze. That's good eatin"!

I started working in 1960 at ten yo. in a corner grocery store with two butchers. Just before Thanksgiving we would get a wooden barrel of fresh kraut delivered and would sell it in Chinese type take out boxes. Those butchers convinced me one day that a coffee mug full of kraut juice would be good for me. Fool me once........

 

[imjin138]

We always had kraut with holiday meals, in Union Grove there used to be a Meter Brothers saurkraut, my dad's secind wife worked there and we had cases of the stuff. In Franksville right down the road we had the yearly Kraut festival.

I am cooking Spare ribs and kraut right now for Sunday supper.

 

[loknload]

Don't know of ever having it with turkey, but on New Years Day it's Pork and Saurkraut for dinner to bring good luck for the new year!
Don't know for sure if it's a Pennsylvania Dutch thing but my family was PA. Dutch.

 

[Waldo]

I grew up in Prince George's county MD. My mother was from Iowa. We always had sauerkraut with turkey at Thanksgiving. My wife is from PG county also. Both her parents grew up in Washington D.C. They always had sauerkraut with turkey. We still do. I love it.

 

[Jim Shugart]

I like it and we eat it often with sausages.

Captain Cook tried to get British seamen to eat it in the 18th Century to prevent scurvy. (It's a great source of Vitamin C.)

It didn't work. They thought it sucked and threw it overboard.

 

[reddogge]

My wife's family and my family are Marylanders and we always have sour kraut with a turkey dinner. Several years ago a minor scandal erupted in the family when my sister in law in PA hosted Thanksgiving dinner and banned sour kraut from her house. We offered to make it and bring it but she banned it. The next year my elderly mother threatened to make it and keep it hot in the trunk of the car and go outside and spoon it on her plate. The sister in law relented and we now are allowed to bring it in a crockpot to be served Thanksgiving day.

To me a turkey dinner is incomplete without it.

 

[mtgianni]

I have added a jar of kraut to a dutch oven turkey breast the last 1/2 hour. It has to go to folks that will appreciate it and is much better hot than cold.

 

[Hermann]

Since I am here at the Kraut source (Germany) so to say ... I can say
Sauerkraut goes with mashed potatoes and with whatever comes with that.
Best Sauerkraut is cooked in/with white wine, but there are zillions of recepies out there.