Choucroute garnie
Choucroute garnie à l'alsacienne
Alsace sauerkraut braised slowly in Riesling with goose fat, juniper and onion, then piled with smoked pork, sausages and boiled potatoes.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Choucroute garnie à l'alsacienne.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 2 hr
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 2 hr 30 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Treat yourself$28+ USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Choucroute garnie is sauerkraut braised in white wine with smoked and salted pork until both are soft, then served on a platter with sausages and potatoes. The sauerkraut is rinsed if it is very sour, squeezed, and softened in goose fat with onion before going into the pot with Riesling, juniper, cloves, bay and garlic. Smoked belly and a smoked shoulder cook buried in it for an hour, the smoked loin and the big sausage join them, and the small sausages are warmed separately at the end. Mustard goes on the table. A large cast-iron pot and a long, gentle oven do the work. This is a dish for a crowd; it does not scale down well.
What you'll need
17 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Cabbage
- Meat
- To serve
Ingredients
Cabbage
- Sauerkraut, raw, not cooked1½ kg
Choose one
Goose fat, or lard50 g- Onion, thinly sliced2 medium
- Garlic, crushed3 clove
- Dry white wine, Alsace Riesling or Sylvaner300 ml
- Water250 ml
- Juniper berries, about 10, lightly crushed4.9 ml
- Peppercorns2½ ml
Meat
- Bacon, smoked pork belly in one piece400 g
- Smoked ham, smoked pork shoulder or a ham hock800 g
- Pork, smoked pork loin chops (Kassler)600 g
- Sausages, a smoked Montbéliard or Morteau sausage, or another large smoked pork sausage1
- German sausages, Strasbourg sausages or frankfurters8
To serve
- Potato, waxy, peeled1.2 kg
- Dijon mustard59 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Taste the sauerkraut. If it is very sharp, rinse it once in cold water. Either way, squeeze it hard a handful at a time and pull the strands apart.
8 min
Tip: Rinse only if you must. Every rinse takes flavour with the sourness.
Step 2
Heat the oven to 150°C. Melt the goose fat in a large cast-iron pot and soften the onion over medium heat for 10 minutes without colouring. Add the garlic, then the sauerkraut, juniper, cloves, bay and peppercorns, and turn everything over for 5 minutes until coated in the fat.
16 min
Step 3
Bury the smoked belly and the smoked shoulder or ham hock in the cabbage. Pour in the wine and water; the liquid should come about halfway up. Bring to a simmer, cover and put in the oven for 1 hour.
60 min150°C
Tip: A raw smoked ham hock needs longer than shoulder. Simmer it in plain water for an hour before it goes in, or it will still be tough at the end.
Step 4
Push the Kassler chops and the large smoked sausage into the cabbage, cover again and cook 45 minutes more. Check once; if the pot looks dry, add a splash of water.
45 min150°C
Step 5
Meanwhile boil the potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes until tender. Warm the Strasbourg sausages in a pan of barely simmering water for 8 minutes.
20 min
Watch: Do not boil the small sausages. They split and lose their snap.
Step 6
Pile the sauerkraut on a large warm platter. Slice the belly, shoulder and big sausage and lay them on top with the chops and Strasbourg sausages, potatoes around the edge. Serve with mustard.
8 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 1093 kcal
- Protein
- 98.6 g
- Carbs
- 49.6 g
- Fat
- 52.4 g
- Saturated fat
- 18.1 g
- Fibre
- 6.9 g
- Sugar
- 6.7 g
- Sodium
- 433 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- No major allergens flagged in the structured ingredients.
- Dairy-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Riesling → Any dry white wine, or a pale lager
Beer choucroute is also made in Alsace. It is slightly sweeter and maltier.
Tips
- Raw sauerkraut from a butcher or deli barrel is better than the jarred, pasteurised kind, which is softer and flatter.
- Leftover choucroute reheats well and is arguably better the next day. Reheat the meat in the cabbage with a splash of wine.
History & culture
It is the dish of the Strasbourg winstub, the wood-panelled wine bars, eaten in autumn after the cabbage harvest and through the winter, with Riesling or a beer. Every butcher in Alsace sells a choucroute pack of the meats. In Paris it is a brasserie standard, a legacy of the Alsatian families who opened many of them.
Fermenting cabbage to keep it through winter is old across Central and Eastern Europe, and Alsace, German and French by turns, shares the habit with its neighbours over the Rhine. The garnished version, with wine and several cuts of pork, is the Alsatian contribution. After 1871 Alsatians who moved to Paris opened brasseries and took choucroute with them.
Traditional — In Alsace the pack has Strasbourg sausages, a smoked Montbéliard or Morteau sausage, smoked and salted belly, smoked shoulder or loin, and sometimes liver dumplings or blood sausage. Outside France, a ham hock, smoked bacon in one piece, Kassler chops and frankfurters cover it well. Check sausage labels for wheat if that matters to you.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Choucroute garnie take?
2 hr 30 min all in — 30 min prep, 2 hr cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 8 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Treat yourself — about $28+ USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What equipment do I need?
Dutch oven, Saucepan, Chef's knife, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.
What can I use instead?
Riesling → Any dry white wine, or a pale lager. Beer choucroute is also made in Alsace. It is slightly sweeter and maltier.
What should I watch for?
Do not boil the small sausages. They split and lose their snap.
Any tips from this recipe?
Raw sauerkraut from a butcher or deli barrel is better than the jarred, pasteurised kind, which is softer and flatter. Leftover choucroute reheats well and is arguably better the next day. Reheat the meat in the cabbage with a splash of wine.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Leftover choucroute reheats well and is arguably better the next day. Reheat the meat in the cabbage with a splash of wine.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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