He rinsed it really really well before heating it and cut the butter into it in layers. I mean this was not your fancy sauerkraut. He literally microwaved it but it was purdy damn good. It’s one of my favorite meals for when I’m in a hurry. I put turkey kielbasa in a pan with onions and maybe peppers, heat up the sauerkraut. Slap the kielbasa in a bun and serve it with the sauerkraut or put it on top.
So, so, so gross. Which makes me a blood traitor since I’m >50% German. We had it kind of a lot growing up, my mom would make it and slice up polish sausage and mix it all up. I would be served a big helping and just eat the sausage (which was delicious), leaving only sad strings of orphaned kraut behind.
My mom was nice and didn’t make me eat the kraut though, since I loved spinach and green peppers and boiled cabbage and brussels sprouts. She knew I didn’t hate all vegetables. Just kraut!
I really enjoy corned beef and cabbage, though. The Irish REALLY nailed the leafy-veggie-and-meat recipe, way better than the Germans. The slightly bitter taste of boiled cabbage is a perfect foil for the super-saltiness of corned beef. I could eat that stuff every day.
No, that’s just your weird girlfriend and this weird Doper. But I wouldn’t call sauerkraut spicy. Just hearty.
Kimchi is spicy. Kraut is just…kraut.
Cabbage in all forms is divine.
Fair enough. I don’t really like cabbage in general, although I don’t mind sweet(ish) cole slaw or sweet(ish) German red cabbage.
I’ve never had sauerkraut that I liked, though. Not a kimchi fan, either.
Oh, now we’re onto kimchi. Now, like I said, I love sauerkraut, but if you put kimchi in the mix, I’m going to have to cheat on my Polish heritage, because kimchi is going to win every time. You won’t find me eating a bowl of sauerkraut straight out of the fridge, with nothing else, but you may find me with a pair of chopsticks eating a bowl of kimchi (or, more likely, straight out of the jar.)
Thanks for clearing that. But actually, not only my girlfriend was weird (how did you know :)), but also the restaurant or the chef, since the fruit pizza was on the regular menu.
And you’re right, hearty describes the taste of sauerkraut better than spicy.
Canadian bacon, pineapple & sauerkraut pizza. Heaven. And for some reason, no one ever horns in on my half of the pie! 
Yup, that’s me. Happily, I’m the only one who likes at home, so I get it all to myself!
Usually, I make Sauerkraut as a bed for Bone in Country Ribs but sometimes Sausage. My trick is to rinse the Sauerkraut really well with cold water in a colander and toss in a couple of sliced apples and an onion, then stir in a heaping tablespoon or two of brown sugar. Makes for a very mild and delicious kraut. If you don’t like it normally, you might like it this way.
THIS sounds delicious! Gonna have to try this one!
Count me in for caraway seeds. I prefer it hot, but am ok with cold.
And you guys mention the buttery effect. Like I said, I usually bed and snuggle some well marbled, fatty, bone in Country Ribs (actually a dissection of Pork Shoulder) on the Kraut, Apples (sometimes pineapple… I can see Maastricht’s Craut Casserole going really well with pineapple as well, Pineapple juice and Kraut juice would make a nice mix with tequila or vodka… A Dirty Olga.), and Onion. The Pork Fat exceeds butter and melds well with the sour, fruity, melange. The original sour skittles.
I love it when it’s good, but it isn’t always good.
My favorite is my Austrian grandmother’s recipe, which is a vinegary and mustardy concoction that emphasizes the crisp cabbage and carrots instead of burying them under a heavier cream sauce. Not to say that I could never like a creamy sauerkraut, but I could never like it as much as my grandmother’s vinegary sauerkraut.
Just to see how archaic you all are, anybody ever buy and consume Kraut Juice? I guess my Grandparents used to drink it. They, however, also drank Buttermilk and Goat’s Milk. It’s available under the Fremont company label.
I add Pickle juice to my Virgin Marys. And I’m sure a fair number of people here have drunk a desperate jar of pickle juice.
Love it on dogs or brats, esp. beer brewed brats w onions, yum. I also like it with a porkchop + spaetzel + taters; it balances the strong flavors with a tart/astringent flavor, similar to how a pickle spear balances a sandwich.
I hated it as a child but that was before I ever had stuff that wasn’t out of a can. I love Bubbie’s kraut. Cold and crunchy is best but I sometimes put it over pork chops or spare ribs in the slow cooker. And a brat just isn’t a brat without kraut.
When I’m up for it, I make my own. Cabbage, kosher salt, boiling water and canning jars. It’s good when you add caraway seeds to the mix too. It’s ready in six weeks.
I do, however, frame the Fruity Skittles Kraut against a buttery, creamy, mashed potatoes with the magical rib. I call it the magical rib, because it isn’t really a rib, but it looks like a rib, only it’s better. Schulter Rippchen, I think that’s Rot Käppchens Bruder. 
Guilty as charged. It’s an old Eastern European hangover cure. It also makes for a refreshing summer drink when cut with carbonated water, but I could understand how that might not be for everyone.