Post by chipperhiker on Jul 23, 2014 12:55:17 GMT -5
Originally posted by anitainkc:
Sauer Cabbages:
It's about a 20 day process, so it's not for the faint of heart.
You'll need:
*Cabbages
*Kosher salt
*(3) clean, 5 gallon buckets. Two for the cabbages, one for the rotation process
*clean wooden board or plate that can fit in the bucket
*weights (clean bricks, jars filled with water, etc.)
When you buy green cabbage, it's just that: green. I usually buy mine around St. Patrick's Day...it's cheap then. I buy a case, usually about 10-12 heads. I have a kitchen in my basement, with a stainless steel table. I just take the cabbages out of the box, put them on the table for 10 days to 2 weeks. Till the outside leaves are yellow.
Day one: Clean the cabbages. Strip the yellow leaves, and trim any blemishes. Wash gently. Core the cabbages, set them hole-side up, and pour kosher salt in the hole to fill up. Leave overnight.
Day 2: Put the cabbages in the (2) buckets. In the extra bucket, mix about 4 gallons of cool water with 2 cups of kosher salt. Mix until the salt disolves. Use this water to cover the cabbages in the other 2 buckets. (If you need more, just use about 1/2 cup salt to each gallon.) Pack the heads as tight as you can; they are hard & won't have much give to them. You'll need to weight them down to keep them below the water line. I use a plate with a couple mason jars filled with water.
Days 3 & 4: Rotate the heads around. To rotate, I usually have another bucket ready, so when I take the top heads out, and put them in the other bucket, they are on the bottom then. I can just go back & forth between the buckets, and it's easy to rotate. The heads on the top should be at the bottom now. Take the ones on the bottom, put them on top, etc. Make sure all are submerged. You'll probably still need the weights.
Days 5-7: Check & make sure they are still submerged. It's most important they stay BELOW the water line.
Day 8: Pack TIGHTLY into 5 gallon buckets. Again, use the leverage against each other to keep the heads packed down. You can also pull of an outer leave now & then, to fill up the space, or to help leverage the heads against each to keep them submerged. Pour liquid over, and cover. You shouldn't need the weights anymore. The heads should be getting less hard. Not really soft, but just...I don't know, permeated I guess. They are easier to pack against each other & keep in place. They should be starting to smell kraut-y by now.The heads should be softening up a bit. At this point, I put the lids on the white buckets tightly & leave alone for about a week in that cool place. (like my cool corner of the basement.)
Day 11: Check. Everything should be about the same. Rotate the heads again. Anyway, It should not be slimy at all. Slimy means bad...toss!! Make sure all the heads are submerged, and cool, and seal the lid tightly again. Wait about another week.
Day 17: Repeat day 11 - Check, rotate, repack, cover with juice, seal again, wait about 3-4 days.
Day 20: The heads should be done. They will smell very kraut-y, the heads will have give to them, and have gone a little opaque. They should still feel fresh, just not hard.
Now, I usually keep the heads in the bucket for another month or 2, longer if I can put the whole bucket in the fridge downstairs! If I need some kraut, just take out a head, either use in full, or cut in 1/2, and put the other 1/2 back in. Chop, there you go! After that, I'll freeze the heads individually in freezer bags, with juice. They'll keep till next year when I do it all again!
Whew...maybe posting the recipe for the sarma would have been easier. LOL! I'm not used to writing down my recipes, so if it's not clear, or you have questions, just holler.
Happy fermenting!
Anita
Sauer Cabbages:
It's about a 20 day process, so it's not for the faint of heart.
You'll need:
*Cabbages
*Kosher salt
*(3) clean, 5 gallon buckets. Two for the cabbages, one for the rotation process
*clean wooden board or plate that can fit in the bucket
*weights (clean bricks, jars filled with water, etc.)
When you buy green cabbage, it's just that: green. I usually buy mine around St. Patrick's Day...it's cheap then. I buy a case, usually about 10-12 heads. I have a kitchen in my basement, with a stainless steel table. I just take the cabbages out of the box, put them on the table for 10 days to 2 weeks. Till the outside leaves are yellow.
Day one: Clean the cabbages. Strip the yellow leaves, and trim any blemishes. Wash gently. Core the cabbages, set them hole-side up, and pour kosher salt in the hole to fill up. Leave overnight.
Day 2: Put the cabbages in the (2) buckets. In the extra bucket, mix about 4 gallons of cool water with 2 cups of kosher salt. Mix until the salt disolves. Use this water to cover the cabbages in the other 2 buckets. (If you need more, just use about 1/2 cup salt to each gallon.) Pack the heads as tight as you can; they are hard & won't have much give to them. You'll need to weight them down to keep them below the water line. I use a plate with a couple mason jars filled with water.
Days 3 & 4: Rotate the heads around. To rotate, I usually have another bucket ready, so when I take the top heads out, and put them in the other bucket, they are on the bottom then. I can just go back & forth between the buckets, and it's easy to rotate. The heads on the top should be at the bottom now. Take the ones on the bottom, put them on top, etc. Make sure all are submerged. You'll probably still need the weights.
Days 5-7: Check & make sure they are still submerged. It's most important they stay BELOW the water line.
Day 8: Pack TIGHTLY into 5 gallon buckets. Again, use the leverage against each other to keep the heads packed down. You can also pull of an outer leave now & then, to fill up the space, or to help leverage the heads against each to keep them submerged. Pour liquid over, and cover. You shouldn't need the weights anymore. The heads should be getting less hard. Not really soft, but just...I don't know, permeated I guess. They are easier to pack against each other & keep in place. They should be starting to smell kraut-y by now.The heads should be softening up a bit. At this point, I put the lids on the white buckets tightly & leave alone for about a week in that cool place. (like my cool corner of the basement.)
Day 11: Check. Everything should be about the same. Rotate the heads again. Anyway, It should not be slimy at all. Slimy means bad...toss!! Make sure all the heads are submerged, and cool, and seal the lid tightly again. Wait about another week.
Day 17: Repeat day 11 - Check, rotate, repack, cover with juice, seal again, wait about 3-4 days.
Day 20: The heads should be done. They will smell very kraut-y, the heads will have give to them, and have gone a little opaque. They should still feel fresh, just not hard.
Now, I usually keep the heads in the bucket for another month or 2, longer if I can put the whole bucket in the fridge downstairs! If I need some kraut, just take out a head, either use in full, or cut in 1/2, and put the other 1/2 back in. Chop, there you go! After that, I'll freeze the heads individually in freezer bags, with juice. They'll keep till next year when I do it all again!
Whew...maybe posting the recipe for the sarma would have been easier. LOL! I'm not used to writing down my recipes, so if it's not clear, or you have questions, just holler.
Happy fermenting!
Anita
