Maxime

Better known by its German name saurkraut, choucroute is quintessential to Alsatian cuisine. You may have heard of the iconic Alsatian ‘choucroute garnie’, which includes different cuts of meats and sausages. We often forget that the main ingredient of this dish is actually the ‘choucroute’ i.e. fermented cabbage, which ties together all the ingredients of the final ‘choucroute garnie’ – garnished fermented cabbage.

Making homemade ‘choucroute’ is super easy. You just need three ingredients: cabbage, salt, and time!

INGREDIENTS/TOOLS FOR CHOUCROUTE

• Green cabbage
• Kosher salt
• Large sealable jar
• Pickling weight

DIRECTIONS FOR CHOUCROUTE

1. Rinse the outside of the green cabbage and cut off any broken leaf.
2. Tear off one large leaf and set it aside.
3. Using a mandoline, slice all of the green cabbage.
4. Add the sliced cabbage to a large bowl.
5. Add the salt to the bowl.
6. Mix well by hand. This should take 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Let the cabbage sit for 15 minutes.
8. Mix again for 1 minute.
9. Wash the jar with hot water and dish soap. Rinse well.
10. Add the cabbage to the jar. Press down as much as possible. There should about 5 cm of space between the top of the cabbage and the and the top of the jar.
11. Add water until it almost reaches the top of the cabbage.
12. Get the leaf that was set aside at the beginning, and add it on top. This leaf will help keep the sliced cabbage submerged.
    Note: if you have a pickling weight, place it on top of the cabbage leaf.
13. Add again water until everything (including the picking weight) is submerged.
14. Close and seal the jar.
15. Let it sit at room temperature for 3 weeks. Open the jar every other day to release any buildup during fermentation.

RECIPE VIDEO

[coming soon]

Choucroute • Alsatian fermented cabbage

Recipe by MM Bon Appétit Course: SidesCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy

Makes

4

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Fermentation time

3

weeks

Total time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 kg 1 green cabbage

• 20 g 20 Kosher salt

• 1 1 large sealable jar

• 1 1 pickling weight

Directions

• Rinse the outside of the green cabbage and cut off any broken leaf.
• Tear off one large leaf and set it aside.
• Using a mandoline, slice all of the green cabbage.
• Add the sliced cabbage to a large bowl.
• Add the salt to the bowl.
• Mix well by hand. This should take 1 to 2 minutes.
• Let the cabbage sit for 15 minutes.
• Mix again for 1 minute.
• Wash the jar with hot water and dish soap. Rinse well.
• Add the cabbage to the jar. Press down as much as possible.
  There should about 5 cm of space between the top of the cabbage and the and the top of the jar.
• Add water until it almost reaches the top of the cabbage.
• Get the leaf that was set aside at the beginning, and add it on top.
  This leaf will help keep the sliced cabbage submerged.
  Note: if you have a pickling weight, place it on top of the cabbage leaf.
• Add again water until everything (including the picking weight) is submerged.
• Close and seal the jar.
• Let it sit at room temperature for 3 weeks.
  Open the jar every other day to release any buildup during fermentation.

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