Choucroute garnie à l’alsacienne

This typical Alsatian dish tastes very different from Bavarian or Palatine Kraut. The Sauerkraut is stewed in the oven for hours together with the savoury ingredients. This is best done in an original Soufflenheim Baeckeofa casserole form. This wonderful casserole form keeps the food consistently hot, meat, sausages and sauerkraut become extremely tender, and you can use whatever is delicious and savoury in the ingredients. The recipe by Paul Haeberlin, the master chef from Alsace, calls for sausages from Colmar and Montbéliard, but there are also excellent smoked products in this country, for example, a fine raw Polish sausage or pepper bites.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 3-4 hours at moderate heat

Ingredients for 6 persons:

• 1 KG sauerkraut, preferably from the barrel
• 600 G pork shoulder or from the rump
• 4 medium onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 15 juniper berries
• 500 G potatoes
• 0,75 L dry white wine
• 4 pairs of smoked sausages according to taste
• 1 bunch of thyme
• 4 bay leaves
• possibly some salt
• a little sugar for the cabbage
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, preferably lightly crushed cubeb pepper

Preparation:

Cut the onions into ¼ slices and caramelise them with a little butter and sugar in a large pan. First put a layer of cabbage in the dish. Add the sausages, meat, wine, thyme and bay leaf. Add some potatoes cut into pieces. Pour in the white wine. Fill the dish layer by layer with cabbage and ingredients, pouring wine in between.
Cover the dish with the lid and put it in a preheated oven at 180°C. After 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to 150°C.
After 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to 150°C and leave to cook for 2-3 hours.
The spices can be added as a bouquet garni, so that the aroma is distributed throughout the dish.