Sauerkraut and Ribs
Sauerkraut and Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet onions (yellow or red)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon yellow or black mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed
- 1/3 cup dijon mustard (or whole grain mustard)
- 1/4 cup minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
- 32 ounces sauerkraut
- 1 pound smoked pork kielbasa sausage, medallion slices
- 2 pounds pork spare ribs, roughly cut into large pieces
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 servings mashed or boiled potatoes for serving
Instructions
- Using an Instant Pot (which is what cook time reflects), turn on Saute mode, slice onions into thin half moon slices and cook with olive oil. Stir every couple minutes, while gathering the rest of the ingredients, until starting to brown in places.
- If using a slow cooker, plan about a 6 hr cook on high. Skip the saute portion of the first step, and simply dump all of the ingredients into the slow cooker, mix, and let cook. Instant Pot folks, dump the remaining ingredients into the cooker. Mix, lock lid on steam (not vent), and use the Manual setting to cook on High Pressure for 35 minutes.
- After the Instant Pot has reached pressure and started counting down, or during the last half hour of slow cook, cook and prepare your mashed (or boiled) potatoes. I like to mash a mix of 1 part cauliflower to 2 parts potatoes, sometimes I mix some kale in too.
- Once the Instant Pot cook time has finished, let natural release for at least 15 minutes, then quick release. Taste and adjust with more salt if needed. Serve the sauerkraut and ribs over your mash, grind on some fresh black pepper.
Sauerkraut (sourkraut): people seem to love it or hate it. Fermented foods are found all over the globe and have really taken off in recent food trends. "It's Alive with Brad", is one interesting and hilarious resource to how some fermented foods and beverages are made. Check it out!
Sauerkraut and ribs was a dish my mother cooked while I was growing up that I didn't like or "get" until after I was moved out of home for a few years. Not quite a stew, not quite just meat and potatoes, this is a German heritage dish that my mom took from her own childhood and passed on. I've taken the dish a couple steps forward into the 21st Century by using an Instant Pot instead of a slow cooker and I added a couple umami boosters: the optional soy sauce and fish sauce.
Your full bowl at dinner will only be as good as the ingredients you're using, so the higher quality kielbasa sausage, pork, and, of course, sauerkraut you are able to use, the better! This is a homey, warms-you-deep-in-your-belly dish that is better appreciated during the colder months of the year, but serve crisp steamed green beans or salad on the side and you can enjoy in any season.
1.Using an Instant Pot (which is what cook time reflects), turn on Saute mode, slice onions into thin half moon slices and cook with olive oil. Stir every couple minutes, while gathering the rest of the ingredients, until starting to brown in places.
2. If using a slow cooker, plan about a 6 hr cook on high. Skip the saute portion of the first step, and simply dump all of the ingredients into the slow cooker, mix, and let cook. Instant Pot folks, dump the remaining ingredients into the cooker. If you're not sure the sauerkraut liquid will meet the 1 cup minimum for the Instant Pot to reach pressure, strain the cabbage to separate and measure the liquid. Add stock or water to reach 1 cup. Mix everything, lock lid on steam (not vent), and use the Manual setting to cook on High Pressure for 35 minutes.
3. After the Instant Pot has reached pressure and started counting down, or during the last half hour of slow cook, cook and prepare your mashed (or boiled) potatoes. I like to mash a mix of 1 part cauliflower to 2 parts potatoes, sometimes I mix in kale too.
4. Once the Instant Pot cook time has finished, let natural release for at least 15 minutes, then quick release. Taste and adjust with more salt if needed. Serve the sauerkraut and ribs over your mash, grind on some fresh black pepper.
