Ibtsoom
Well-Known Member
Been stuck in the house either due to weather or one ailment or another so I decided I'd make the best of it. Made a batch of Jalapeno Dill Kraut - Man is it good stuff! This recipe fits a 4 gallon crock perfectly. (new sterilized 5 gallon bucket works just as well). Makes about 28 pints.
20 lbs cabbage (I always mix in 3 or 4 heads of red cabbage for color)
Canning Salt
Fresh Jalapenos
Fresh Dill
Slice cabbage to desired thickness - I generally leave it pretty coarse but it doesn't matter either way. I also remove the hearts but you don't have to - they're good in there too!
Work in 5 lb batches.
Weigh out 5 lbs of shredded cabbage in a tub and add 3.5 Tablespoons of canning salt. Squeeze / smash the cabbage with your hand until it starts to wilt and weep. Put it in the sterilized crock and tamp it down with your fist until the juice starts to well up around it.
On top each 5 lb layer of cabbage, place sliced fresh jalapenos and fresh dill. I usually put 4 to 5 large jalapenos and about 4 sprigs of dill in each layer.
Keep repeating this process until the crock is within about 3 inches of the top and the juice is still welling up above the cabbage. You need to leave some room in the crock because the cabbage will "swell" (gets bubbles in it) during fermentation.
Place a crock stone (they make them just for this) or something heavy (sterilized gallon jug of water on a plate) on top of the cabbage to keep it below the surface of the brine. I then cover the crock with a towel to keep stuff out as well.
Usually takes about 14 days for the fermentation process to be complete but I always leave mine about 3 weeks. Check the crock every couple of days and skim off any yeasts that form on the top of the brine. These are not harmful but can effect the taste of the kraut.
That's it - Done! It's best when you eat it right out of the crock but... You can either cold pack the kraut into jars at this point and water bath for 20 min or place the kraut in a large stainless pot, heat it till almost boiling, hot pack it into sterilized jars and water bath for 15 minutes. (the latter is the method I prefer).
20 lbs cabbage (I always mix in 3 or 4 heads of red cabbage for color)
Canning Salt
Fresh Jalapenos
Fresh Dill
Slice cabbage to desired thickness - I generally leave it pretty coarse but it doesn't matter either way. I also remove the hearts but you don't have to - they're good in there too!
Work in 5 lb batches.
Weigh out 5 lbs of shredded cabbage in a tub and add 3.5 Tablespoons of canning salt. Squeeze / smash the cabbage with your hand until it starts to wilt and weep. Put it in the sterilized crock and tamp it down with your fist until the juice starts to well up around it.
On top each 5 lb layer of cabbage, place sliced fresh jalapenos and fresh dill. I usually put 4 to 5 large jalapenos and about 4 sprigs of dill in each layer.
Keep repeating this process until the crock is within about 3 inches of the top and the juice is still welling up above the cabbage. You need to leave some room in the crock because the cabbage will "swell" (gets bubbles in it) during fermentation.
Place a crock stone (they make them just for this) or something heavy (sterilized gallon jug of water on a plate) on top of the cabbage to keep it below the surface of the brine. I then cover the crock with a towel to keep stuff out as well.
Usually takes about 14 days for the fermentation process to be complete but I always leave mine about 3 weeks. Check the crock every couple of days and skim off any yeasts that form on the top of the brine. These are not harmful but can effect the taste of the kraut.
That's it - Done! It's best when you eat it right out of the crock but... You can either cold pack the kraut into jars at this point and water bath for 20 min or place the kraut in a large stainless pot, heat it till almost boiling, hot pack it into sterilized jars and water bath for 15 minutes. (the latter is the method I prefer).
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