Oktoberfest update

I was able to get my Sauerkraut made so its in jars just sitting on the counter.  I can't wait until I can give it a try. I got this recipe from my Farmer John Cookbook, its for Lacto Fermented Sauerkraut.

 Ingredients
1 small head of cabbage
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
2 tablespoons of sea salt

Preparation
Put all of the ingredients in a large wood or stainless steel mixing bowl. Using a pounder or meat hammer or a can from the pantry, pound the cabbage in the bowl for a full ten minutes so that the cabbage starts to release its juices.


Before



After 10 minutes of pounding

Transfer the cabbage to 2 clean 1 quart jars, leaving a good inch of head space below the rim of the jar. Screw on the lids. Let stand on the counter for 3 days. By about the second day you'll notice the lacto-fermentation process taking place-you'll see bubbles in the jars and the jars will hiss-this is good.
 

The sauerkraut will be ready and will have a wonderful sour, tangy taste after 3 days. The flavor will only get better with age. After the first 3 days, store the jars in a cool, dark cellar or in your refrigerator. This will keep for at least 6 months.

Yesterday I got Nanny's Sauerbraten recipe, which is apparently her grandmother's recipe, since I knew it took a couple days for the meat to be ready to cook so you have to plan ahead on this one.  As a result I am posting the recipe now but we won't actually be eating this until Friday night.

4 lbs. of beef chuck, round, or rump roast
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 onion sliced
3 bay leaves
1tsp. peppercorns
2 cups vinegar
2 cups water

Rub meat well with salt and pepper.  Place in pan with onions and bay leaves and peppercorns.  Heat vinegar and water, pour over meat to cover.  Cover pan and place in refrigerator for 4 days, turning every other day.

Place in a roasting pan with 1/3 to 1/2 cup of liquid with onions. remove bay leaves. Save the rest of liquid for gravy.  Roast at 350 degrees for 3 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the roast.
Heat gravy.  Add 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup raisins and 6 crushed ginger snaps.  Continue to heat gravy and stir until smooth.  Then add 2 Tbs. sour cream.  Slice meat and serve in gravy.

Nanny says she ususally serves with mashed potatoes but her grandmother typically made potato pancakes. She also said its good with a beet salad as opposed to a green salad.

Friday Night BBQ

Tonight's menu was certainly not fancy. We wanted to grill something and use up some of our fresh veggies so this was the best I could do.

Menu

Cheeseburger with Grilled Mushrooms
Coleslaw

Coleslaw

Slice very thinly one small head of green cabbage
Slice very thinly 3/4 of a green bell pepper
3 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup of grated carrot
Hendrickson's Original Sweet Vinegar & Olive Oil Dressing

I realized after I made my coleslaw that there was actually a recipe on the dressing bottle for coleslaw that was very similar to what I made.  You can find the Hendrickson's Coleslaw Recipe on their website.

Cheeseburger

Add 3 tablespoons of diced red onion and approximately one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce to 1.5 pounds of ground chuck.  Generously season the meat with a steak/burger seasoning. Tonight I used Olde Thompson Steak & Burger Seasoning.

We also grilled some sliced cremini mushrooms for a garnish.  I sliced 5 mushrooms, drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned them with the Olde Thompson Steak & Burger Seasoning.  To cook them I wrapped them in aluminum foil and put them on the grill while the burgers were cooking. The cheese we used was a 6 year aged cheddar.

I also garnished my burger with ketchup, spicy brown mustard, sliced red onion, tomato and red leaf lettuce.  Normally we would use Labriola Pretzel buns but the grocery store was sold out so we ended up with Z Best Hamburger buns.