Klausenburger Kraut

Serves 8

This was one of my favorite meals for dinner. My mother could never serve enough of this. One of my daughters, grown and married, demanded it as a side dish for Christmas dinner. That raised some eyebrows and immortalized Oma.

While living at home, my two brothers and I immediately wanted to dig in, but the protocol was that my father always came first. So, as we watched our mother serve him, our legs shook like woodpecker beaks on fresh oak, hammering to greet the 4 AM morning sun, resounding for miles.

We hoped there would be enough for us and, of course, there always was.

Not a word was spoken, as the stainless steel forks were lifted and our stomachs were filled. Mutti (German for mother), as we called her, was content and smiled - all her men were pleased and satisfied.

Guten Appetit…!

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Ingredients

• 1 lb of sauerkraut – in a glass jar
• ¾ lb of fresh ground beef
• ¾ lb of fresh ground pork
• ½ lb of fresh ground veal
• 1 cup white rice
• 16 oz sour cream
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp ground fresh black pepper

Preparation

Prepare the Rice:

• Place 2 cups of water in a large pan and bring to boil
• Add 1 tablespoon of salt to boiling water and bring to re-boil
• Spread rice evenly across the bottom of the skillet and bring to re-boil
• Cover skillet and turn heat to low, gentle simmer – 20 minutes
• When water has evaporated, uncover skillet, mix rice thoroughly and recover
• Let stand for 10 minutes, covered

Prepare the Sauerkraut:

• Drain sauerkraut into a container, squeeze juices slightly into container

Prepare the Meat:

• In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high
• Hand mix and blend all meats – do not over work, it should stay loose
• Break and crumble all meat into small pieces into the skillet to brown
• Add salt and pepper while browning
• Remove meat and set aside when finished, drain most (90% of meat juices), but not all, and set aside

Prepare the Layers:

• In a large 3” deep pan, or 5 qt. Dutch oven, place a layer of rice – 1/3
• Layer 1/3 of sauerkraut on top of rice
• Layer 1/3 of meat mixture on top of sauerkraut
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sauerkraut juice on top of meat
• Layer ¼ of sour cream on top of meat
• Repeat process 2 more times
• Add 1/4 cup of water to the mixture

Finish the Layers:

• Cover pan or Dutch oven and place in preheated oven - 350º
• Bake for 30 minutes and remove from oven

Serve the Course:

• Serve on plates
• Cover each serving with ¼ cup of sour cream
• Mix each serving thoroughly
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste

Guten Appetit…!