Cooking from the Freezer

Portland is in the midst of a "Winter Event". We've had a week of winter weather and frankly those of us in Western Oregon don't handle it very well. We don't get snow every year and only occasionally do we get more than an inch or two. So anytime we get more than a trace of snow we compulsively watch 24/7 Storm coverage, wring our hands and suffer excessive angst.

Yesterday was blizzard like with steady blowing winds and several inches of accumulated snow. Since I wasn't going anywhere it seemed like a good day to clean out and defrost the freezer.

As always there are hidden treasures to be discovered when I start unloading the contents. The last packages of Polish and Bratwurst Sausage from last Spring's sausage making marathon. A package with a couple of smoked pork chops and another with a few chunks of bacon ends were hiding among the frozen vegetables on one shelf. I had most of the ingredients for Choucroute Alsacienne which seemed like a perfect meal for a snowy winter evening.

Choucroute Alsacienne - Inspired by the recipe in Anne Willan's French Regional Cooking

Ingredients
3 or 4 pounds of Sauerkraut well rinsed and drained
2 lbs of Assorted Sausages (if you're using fresh sausages brown them briefly to render off some of the fat)
1 lb of smoked pork chops (I had three)
1/4 lb or so of smoked bacon diced into
2 medium onions - peeled, halved and thinly sliced
2 T minced garlic
1 bottle of dry white wine
12 medium Yukon Gold potatoes.
For the spice bag, tie the following in a small square of cheesecloth:
1 bay leaf
8 juniper berries
6 coriander seeds
4 black peppercorns
2 cloves

Cooking:
This can be cooked in a stockpot on top of the stove or in a roasting pan or enameled dutch oven in the oven

• Saute the bacon until crisp. Set the bacon aside, but keep the bacon grease in the pot
  
• Saute the onions in the bacon grease until lightly brown
• Add the garlic and cook until the air smells of garlic - a couple of minutes
• Put half the sauerkraut on top of the onions
• Layer the sausages and chops on top of the sauerkraut
• Put the remainder of the sauerkraut on top of the meat
• Pour in enough of the wine to not quite cover the sauerkraut
• Tuck the spice bag in deep enough to be submerged
• Bring to a boil and simmer if using a stockpot or put into a 300F oven if you've got an oven proof pot.
  

Cook for 3 hours if you like your sauerkraut with some crunch. If you like your sauerkraut tender like I do, pull out the meats after 3 hours and cook another 2 hours. Put the meats back in the pot and cook another 30 minutes to reheat.

Boil the potatoes in salted water

Serve on a large platter with the sausages and chops on top of the sauerkraut and the potatoes on the side. Sprinkle the reserved crisp bacon over the top of the platter. Have some Dijon and or grainy mustard available to slather on.

I opened a really nice bottle of 2006 Hugel Gewurztraminer and it was perfect with this meal.

Riesling, Gewurztraminer or the German beer of your choice would go well with this dish.