Bavarian Sauerkraut

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Ingredients:

  •      30 oz    Sauerkraut
  •         ⅓ lb    Bacon, diced
  •      ½ cup    Onions
  •            ½    Carrot, slivered
  •             2    Bay Leaves
  • 2 pinches    Ground Caraway
  •           10    Juniper Berries
  •                   Water
  •             1    small raw Potato, grated (optional)

Directions:

Drain the sauerkraut and reserve the juice.
Rinse it under cold water and squeeze out. (It is a misconception, that Sauerkraut has to be sour)
Fry bacon until crisp, adding the onions toward the end to lightly brown them.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix through.
Add enough water so that everything is covered.
Simmer for 1½-2 hours.
After the first hour of cooking, taste it to see how sour it is, then you can either add some sugar to sweeten or sauerkraut juice to make it more tart.
Stir occasionally and add water if necessary during cooking.
Juniper berries are bitter when bitten into and should be removed when finished cooking along with the bay leaves. To eliminate the search for the elusive juniper berries in the sauerkraut, place them in a tea ball and remove before serving.

In Bavaria the grated potato is added during the last half hour of cooking to bind the sauerkraut and make the texture smoother.  

Note: Some imported Sauerkrauts do not need to be rinsed.
Sauerkraut can be frozen for a short peroid of time.

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