It is kind of an update on an old hobby. I used to dabble in home brew a lot. I love beer and like full bodied beer you just could not get around here. So I used to home brew double and triple bock and the occasional oatmeal stout. I realized it encouraged me to drink in excess, so I don’t do it as much anymore. I can splurge at the grocery now and get some great full bodied sixer from a “microbrewery” now instead of brewing a 5 gallons batch and being drunk all month. I still make an occasional batch of ginger beer, so it was just natural I started fermenting other things.
The love of German and Bavarian style beer can lead to only one thing. Sauerkraut! I have been working out a consistent ratio for the spices and a way to get naturally fermented sauerkraut. I also don’t cook it in the end as I like the light crunch. I even eat it cold.
I think I have found a stable ratio of 2 percent salt by weight of cabbage. It gets the right amount of salt and once it draws the moisture from the cabbage it has enough liquid to ferment great but not be too salty. I have as always liked fennel and caraway in my kraut, so why not both!
Finally as a nod to my fermenting of Kimchi too. I take half of my “Bavarian” style sauerkraut and add Gochugaru or the dry chili flakes to some and becomes the perfect mix of sweet and spicy delicious. The perfect topping for a lazy hod dog meal.
So along with the sauerkraut I might as well ferment all the things. Daikion radish, carrots and cauliflower, I’ll ferment almost anything into a pickle because it is delicious. I have not made pickles yet, so I hope for a bumper crop of hydroponic calypso cucumbers this “season”
You know living in the “international district” of my town I cannot help to mix cultures it is the American way, so butterflied and fried spicy boudin with Bavarian style sauerkraut with Gochugaru. I wish you could taste how delicious this combination is. I’m going to have to go to the local red BBQ truck to get more boudin.