Recipes

Choucroute Garnie

  • Serves

    serves 10-12

Our version of this Alsatian specialty, a rustic dish of sauerkraut, bacon, sausage, and potatoes, is adapted from a recipe by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp. rendered duck or goose fat or unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 lb. sauerkraut, rinsed, drained, and squeezed dry
  • 2 tsp. dried juniper berries
  • 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • 1 raw pigs knuckles
  • 1 (1 lb.) piece uncured slab bacon (a piece about 4” wide)
  • 1 (1 lb.) piece double-smoked slab bacon (a piece about 4” wide)
  • 1 rack (about 1 lb.) baby back pork ribs, halved
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 (750-ml.) bottle dry Riesling
  • 6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • 3 Alsatian knacks or German frankfurters
  • Horseradish sauce, for serving
  • Whole-grain mustard, for serving

Instructions

Step 1

Melt fat and butter in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-low. Cook onion until slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in sauerkraut, juniper berries, and bay leaves; season with salt. Arrange knuckles, both bacon, and ribs over top. Sprinkle with garlic and add wine; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Uncover and add potatoes; cook, covered, until meat and potatoes are tender, 1 hour and 15 minutes more.

Step 2

About 20 minutes before serving, bring knacks to a simmer in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium; cook until heated through, about 15 minutes.

Step 3

To serve, transfer meat and potatoes, including knacks to a bowl. Transfer sauerkraut to a large serving platter; top with meat and potatoes. Serve with horseradish sauce and mustard on the side.

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