Chef Norm Boucher
Munich Haus, www.munichhaus.com, Chicopee, MA
Ingredients:
- ½ gallon fresh sauerkraut (preferably not canned)
- ½ lb. granulated sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup water
- Salt and pepper
Method:
Drain sauerkraut and rinse thoroughly.
Add sauerkraut, bay leaves, water and sugar to a large skillet.
On low heat and covered cook sauerkraut for approximately 20 minutes. If water has evaporated, add another ½ cup water.
Remove cover and sample sauerkraut for flavor and doneness. The sauerkraut should be slightly sweet and nice and hot.
Prepare a slurry with the cornstarch and add to hot sauerkraut.
Mix well with kitchen spoon to avoid liquid from lumping up.
Serves: 8
Recommended wine/beer for Sauerkraut:
Château Le Sartre 2001 Pessac-Léognan [Bordeaux, France]
Can you imagine the poor wine that has to serve as [perhaps one should say be subservient to] an accompaniment to bacon, mustard, onions and dill pickles folded into beef [not to make it too easy, let’s not forget the Sauerkraut]. The more I contemplate the match, the more I am tempted to recommend Paulaner Oktoberfest or Augustinerbräu Lager. To the rescue comes Ch. Le Sartre, a sturdy and earthy red Bordeaux from the region formerly known as Graves. I suppose it came to be called Graves because of all the gravel in the vineyards. It is the gravel composition that gives the wine a flavor of earth, iodine and mushrooms, and it is the oak-aged Cabernet that wraps it in a blanket of cassis and cedar. The cabbage and pickles will still be sour and dill, but the complexity of our 5-year old Bordeaux will wash them down all the same.