Slow Cooker Pork and Sauerkraut Recipe
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This twist on the classic Alsatian choucroute garnie is perfect for the slow cooker. Sausage, sauerkraut, boneless spareribs, and spices gently cook together until the pork is meltingly tender. Serve this hearty meal with some peppery mustard on the side.
If you’re feeling up for the challenge, make your own batch of sauerkraut.
Special equipment: You will need cheesecloth and butcher’s twine. If you don’t have either, add the peppercorns, juniper berries, and bay leaves directly to the pot and pull them out when everything’s done cooking.
This dish was featured as part of our Slow Cooker Recipes slideshow.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds prepared or homemade sauerkraut, drained and excess liquid squeezed out
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 10 black peppercorns
- 5 juniper berries
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into roughly 1-1/2-inch chunks
- 2 pounds boneless country pork spareribs, cut crosswise into 3-inch pieces
- 12 ounces cooked kielbasa, cut crosswise into 3-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- Dijon or whole-grain mustard, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the onion in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, toss to coat, and place in the slow cooker. Place the sauerkraut and caraway seeds in the bowl, season with ground pepper, toss to combine, and lay evenly over the onions.
- Place the peppercorns, juniper berries, and bay leaves in a 5-by-5-inch piece of cheesecloth, tie tightly with butcher’s twine, and tuck the packet into the sauerkraut. Place the potatoes in the bowl, season generously with salt and pepper, toss to coat, and place in an even layer over the sauerkraut.
- Generously season the spareribs all over with salt and pepper. Arrange the spareribs and kielbasa over the potatoes in an even layer. Pour the chicken broth and wine into the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low heat until the spareribs are fork tender and almost falling apart, about 6 to 8 hours. Remove and discard the cheesecloth with the spices. Arrange the meats, potatoes, sauerkraut, and onions on a serving platter and drizzle with any remaining juices. Serve with mustard.
Last night, doing a trial run for Oktoberfestt I did an enamelled cast iron dutch oven version of a very simplar recipe (Jacques Pépin's adaptation of Alsatian Choucroute Garni for the home cook on foodandwine.com). I was really happy with the flavor combination in the recipe -- it was similar to yours here with the combo of caraway + juniper berries instead of one or the other, and the absence of oversweetening that a lot of English language versions of this recipe are prone to add. The broth cooked up really delicious. I just want to add that for those who don't eat pork, a really delicious discovery I mad eyears ago was that good quality smoked turkey wings are amazing in this recipe. They stand up to the long cooking much better, making the sauce really creamy and delicious, and becomng fork tender. The sausages can be added closer to the end of cooking so they don't get too overcooked and bland. Thanks for this recipe, a slow cooker versiin of this dish can come in handy!
A great dish for the slow-cooker. I recommend not just draining the sauerkraut, but rinsing it too before cooking, to make sure the overall dish is mellow rather than acid. It's also good with a chunk or two of good slab bacon in the mix.
I made this in my slow-cooking rice cooker, and it was great. I would recommend using a very hearty sausage, not a commercial sausage, for lack of better word. It was really hearty and nice. I served it with buttered peas and homefry style potatoes instead of cooking the potatoes in the dish.
Oh, I left the peppercorns and juniper berries free. They are delicious little bonuses of flavor to munch on! Nobody minded them and some, like me, were glad to bite into them. After the long cooking they are not hard and the pepper is not sharp.
I ended up using a high quality sweet Italian sausage because the store didn't have kielbasa that day. I followed the recipe exactly otherwise and it turned out wonderfully. Everyone really enjoyed it and asked for the recipe. One thing, when I make it tomorrow I will use the same sausage, it was tender and delicious, but I will add another half amount of kraut and the same of potatoes and adjust the seasoning a little to compensate. We were all wishing for more veg.
I had really bad luck with this and it sounded so good. After 6 hours in the slow cooker, the sausages changed texture (well really - no texture). They were just mush. Everything else was OK - but just OK.
I wonder if you can add a little more liquid and then plunk a few dumplings on top and let it ride. I wonder how long you would have to cookem. Anyone done that?
I agree with doing the spuds seperately but I always steam mine rather than boil. You lose less nutrients that way. I find that potatos cooked with sauerkraut tend to get rubbery. Something in the enzymes of the kraut does it.
I just made this dish over the weekend and it was wonderful! I used apple cider instead of white wine and was super happy with the results. Not too sweet--just right!
I use a paper coffee filter for the spices and tie it with butcher's twine.Plus for some reason potatoes don't cook well in the slow cooker, so I boil the spuds separately.
I would add a couple of apples, a clove or two of garlic, and a little brown sugar to this recipe.
tarantilla, pork n' kraut needs a bit of sweet delicious pork grease. to rock the slow cooker you need a bit of a fatty/connective tissue laden cut. If you go nuts with like a pork belly I can imagine this dish might be a little greasy, but with country ribs... you should be fine. Honestly country ribs can be a little dry sometimes depending on what your store defines country ribs. I generally use a hacked up pork butt. mmm pork n' kraut.....
What about the grease from the country pork ribs? Would you expect onions and sauerkraut to be greasy?
ottawanicole - We never tested this by baking it in a Le Creuset dutch oven, but my best guess is that you can try it in a 300F oven, covered, checking after 2 hours to see if it is done? If you try it this way, let us know what you think! Christine Gallary, CHOW Test Kitchen
Could this also be made in a Le Crueset dutch oven? If so, for how long and what temperature?
nofunlatte - This was made in a classic 5-quart slow cooker, and the ingredients didn't fill the top - probably an inch or two of room left there. Hope this information helps! Christine Gallary, CHOW Test Kitchen
just a guess, but most of its mass being <3 pounds of meat, 2 pounds of kraut and a pound of potatoes, this should fit into a 4 quart crock pot with room to spare?
Slow cookers come in many sizes. What size would this recipe require?