Occasionally the time of year, one’s list of favorite foods and the traditions of one’s city all coincide to conjure up the perfect meal. In this case, in mid-winter, here in sauerkraut loving Baltimore, lovers of Alsatian cuisine can cook their way to heaven. And to Chef Jerry Pellegrino, we could only be talking about one thing: choucroute garnie.
In Alsace the standard restaurant-sized portion of choucroute garnie is enormous. It comes in a big bowl and it looks like it could feed an army. Essentially it looks like a huge bowl of sauerkraut with all sorts of chunks of meat and potatoes buried in it. The traditional wine is dry Alsatian Riesling, but I think Alsatian Gewürztraminer is actually better.
As you drive around the wine route in Alsace, you’ll see two crops growing in the fields: grapes and cabbage, and if you roll down the window, the cabbage has its own perfume. It is truly cabbage country and boy do they know what to do with it.
We grow a ton of cabbage here in Maryland and local vegetable processors know what to do with it. (If you want to try to make your own sauerkraut, give it a try, but it’s apt to end up looking like a science experiment gone wrong.)
This is an ideal dish for your Dutch oven. Use its tight-fitting lid to either cook it stove-top or bake it in a 325° oven.
The main components are your sauerkraut, assorted pork products and potatoes.
For added flavor for the kraut, sauté some cut up onion and garlic in some duck fat (if you can find it…if not, bacon fat will do well.) You’ll want four bags of sauerkraut to add to the onions and garlic when they’re cooked tender. Add in two cups each of chicken broth and dry Alsatian white wine. Sprinkle in your seasonings, including peppercorns, juniper berries, carraway seeds and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
For the pork you’ll want to search out Pahl’s Farm or Liberty Delight Farms for all of the following: bone-in pork chops, ham hocks, thick slices of bacon, your favorite sausages, and some cut up baby-back ribs. For extra fun, you can marinate the ribs the night before.
To prep your ham hocks, wash them and then deeply score the tough pigskin with a sharp knife. After cooking you can peel the tough pigskin off and reveal the succulent meat in the joint. The hocks and the other pork products should be nestled into the sauerkraut and left to cook slowly.
Peel your potatoes, cut them in half, and boil them separately until just slightly tender. After the kraut has been cooking for about an hour, you can add the potatoes in and cook everything for a further 30 minutes.
When it’s time to serve, bring it all to the table in one big warmed up bowl. Let you guests pick out their favorite pieces of meat to go with their sauerkraut. For an added authentic Alsatian bonus, serve three or four different kinds of mustard to garnish the meat. And of course, you’ll want some chilled Alsatian wine to wash it down. Make your choice from Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris or Pinot blanc. It all will be a perfect pairing.
If you want to get even more authentic, you can whip up some onion tarts, the Alsatian way. These are simple affairs: a piece of puff pastry with a slightly curled up edge, a thin layer of egg custard, a sprinkling of gently sautéed onion, some crumbled bacon and a bit of grated Emmenthal cheese. Cook the tart in a very hot oven for about 8-10 minutes.
