Fermented foods are excellent for your digestive system, and some of the oldest and most basic in every food culture are cabbage-based. For those of us with German heritage, that means Sauerkraut. And this is the easiest way I know to make truly delicious kraut with tender succulent sausages for your own fabulous OctoberFest feast!
Try different varieties of krauts from Hidden Pond Farm or Primal Delights, with your favorite style sausages from Old Major Market!
Easy Meat and Kraut
recipe from Jinny Sauer Bastianelli – family recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. fresh sausage or bratwurst
- 32 oz. of sauerkraut
- 1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Set your oven to 250-300 degrees.
- Place the sauerkraut in the bottom of the roaster and distribute apples slices and brown sugar over it. Arrange the sausages or bratwurst on top, pushing them down to nestle in the kraut. Cover and roast for 2 hours. (up to 3 hours if at 250 degrees)
- Serve with mashed potatoes. Serves 6-8.
Cook’s Note: Green beans cooked with bits of bacon and carrots with honey and butter are tasty side dishes to go with this recipe. But it can easily stand alone. For a real Octoberfest celebration, a good wheat beer would not be amiss. Also, you can easily halve this recipe. It works just fine in a heavy casserole dish covered tightly with foil (if you have no lid) and reduce the cooking time by 15-20 minutes.
