Choucroute Garnie, an iconic Alsatian dish of braised sauerkraut garnished with all forms of pork can be a bit daunting, but this simplified version takes 15 minutes to prep with the rest of the work being done in the oven.
Pork and sauerkraut are thought to bring luck and fortune when eaten on New Year’s Day. I personally, feel lucky any time that I have a dish that combines pork and sauerkraut. As you can imagine, Choucroute Garnie is one of my all-time favorite dishes that pair these ingredients.
What Is Choucroute Garnie?
Choucroute Garnie is a Alsatian French dish. Quite literally, this dish means garnished sauerkraut. And the garnish is not of the herbaceous type. Oh, no! This sauerkraut is garnished with all manner of pork. You will find recipes for this dish that include smoked pork chops, pork loin, pork shoulder, pork belly, ham hocks, bacon, knockwurst, bratwurst, and kielbasa as well as vegetables like carrots and potatoes.
You might look at this list and think, “holy cow, that’s a lot of different types of meat and veggies that cook at different rates,” and you’d be right. When I set out to recreate this recipe for my family and friends I wanted something that really kept all of the flavors, but didn’t require me to spend the entire day in the kitchen.
I decided to use one cut of pork and build the flavors with some of the other traditional ingredients and spices. And it worked deliciously!
What Cut Of Pork Should I Use?
Pork shoulder is the cut that I chose. It cooks to tender-perfection under low heat over a longer period of time which gives the rest of the ingredients time to work their magic.
With the exception of the sausages and potatoes, all of the ingredients are layered in a heat-proof casserole dish or Dutch oven and placed in the oven to cook. No sautéing and transferring ingredients in and out of the pan.
Because the sausages are fully cooked, it’s just a matter of scattering them around the pork shoulder along with the potatoes once the pork shoulder has cooked for about 2 hours. While the potatoes cook, the sausages warm up and impart a little more flavor to the choucroute garnie.
The hands-on time for this rich, satisfying dish is about 15 minutes so there is no excuse not to try this iconic Alsatian celebration of sauerkraut and pork. If you’re looking for a quick pork and sauerkraut recipe, check out my Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut recipe. But promise that you’ll give this recipe a try too.
Enjoy! – Christine :)
PrintChoucroute Garnie
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: French
DESCRIPTION
Choucroute Garnie, an iconic Alsatian dish of braised sauerkraut garnished with all forms of pork can be a bit daunting, but this simplified version takes 15 minutes to prep with the rest of the work being done in the oven.
Serve with assorted mustards and a crusty bread.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. pork shoulder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 quart sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 4 oz. thick-sliced hickory smoked bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tsp. juniper berries
- 1 tsp. caraway seeds
- 1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp. allspice
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup dry white wine, or apple cider, chicken stock or water
- 1 and 1/2 lbs. mixed fully cooked sausages, such as kielbasa, bratwurst, or beef frankfurters, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325˚F.
- Pat the pork shoulder dry and season with salt and pepper.
- Spread the sauerkraut over the bottom of a large Dutch oven or heat-proof casserole.
- Layer the onion and bacon over the sauerkraut.
- Sprinkle the juniper berries, caraway seeds, peppercorns, allspice, and bay leaves over the onions and sauerkraut and pour in the wine or other liquid.
- Nestle the seasoned pork shoulder in the center and cover tightly with a lid or foil. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours.
- Insert a fork into the pork shoulder, if it slides out easily, arrange the sausages and potatoes around the pork. (If the pork isn’t fork-tender, cover and cook for another 25 – 30 minutes before adding the sausages and potatoes.)
- Cook for another 30 minutes covered. Increase the heat to 425˚F, remove the lid or foil and allow the pork shoulder, potatoes and sausages to brown a bit, between 10 – 15 minutes.
- To serve, pull the pork shoulder into chunks with two forks. You can leave all of the ingredients in the pan and serve with a large spoon or transfer to a platter with the pork, potatoes, and sausages arranged over the sauerkraut.
- Pass the assorted mustards and bread to accompany.