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Choucroute garnie served with sauerkraut, smoked meats, sausages, and potatoes

Choucroute Garnie

How to make the traditional Alsatian sauerkraut dish also known as choucroute alsacienne.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Alsatian, French, German
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For the Sauerkraut

  • 1.2 kg sauerkraut 2 lb 10 oz
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 oz lard, goose fat, or duck fat 80 g
  • 1¼ cups dry white wine 300 ml; for an authentic version, use Riesling or Sylvaner
  • ¾ cup water or cooking liquid from the smoked meat, or stock; 200 ml
  • 10 juniper berries
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 cloves whole

For the Garnish

  • 4 potatoes medium to large
  • 4 frankfurters
  • 4 sausages
  • 2.2 lb smoked meat 1 kg
  • saltto taste to taste, only for the potato cooking water

Instructions
 

Preparing the Meats

  • If you are using any large pieces of smoked meat, it is a good idea to precook them in barely simmering water for 1–3 hours, depending on their size.

Preparing the Sauerkraut

  • Peel the onion and garlic. Finely chop the onion.
    Chopping an onion for the recipe
  • Taste the sauerkraut. If it is too sour and/or salty for your taste, rinse it with water—more than once if necessary—to mellow its flavor.
  • Heat a wide pot over medium-high heat and add the rendered fat. Sauté the onion for a few minutes.
    Sautéing onion in rendered fat
  • Add the seasonings to the fat—the whole garlic cloves, juniper berries, bay leaves, and cloves—then add the sauerkraut. Stir to combine. Pour in the white wine and water.
    If you precooked the pork, use its cooking liquid instead of the water.
    Adding sauerkraut, wine, water, and seasonings to the pot
  • Cover and cook over low heat for about 1½ hours, until the sauerkraut has softened slightly but still has a definite bite.
    Sauerkraut simmering for choucroute garnie

Finishing the Choucroute Garnie

  • Add the smoked meats to the sauerkraut, cover, and cook over low heat for 1 hour.
    Smoked meats simmering with the sauerkraut
  • Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and boil them whole—or halved if they are large—in salted water until tender, about 30 minutes.
    You can also boil the potatoes in the cooking liquid from the meats. Or, if there is a lot of liquid in the sauerkraut pot, add some of that to the potato water.
    Peeled whole potatoes ready to be boiled
  • Add the sausages and frankfurters to the sauerkraut at the very end. Cook for another 15–20 minutes.
    Sausages and frankfurters simmering with the sauerkraut
  • When everything is done, spoon the sauerkraut onto a large platter. Arrange the sausages and frankfurters on top, along with the smoked meat—sliced or cut into serving-sized pieces—and the potatoes. Serve hot.
    Finished choucroute garnie served on a platter
Keyword classic, flavorful, Gluten-free, tangy
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