How to Make Sauerkraut Recipe in a Crock

Step 1

Prep the ingredients: wash the cabbage, vegetables, ginger root and fresh herbs well. Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and peel the carrots if they are mature. Peel the garlic cloves.

Step 2

Shred the washed cabbage and vegetables using a box grater or food processor with a slicer or grater blade. Add the shredded veggies to a large mixing bowl.

Step 3

Thinly slice the garlic cloves. Smash ginger with a mallet or flat edge of a kitchen knife. Add them along with the rest of the ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix everything together using spoons or clean hands. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes to let the juices release from the veggies.

Step 4

Pack the sauerkraut mixture into a clean fermentation crock or large glass mason jars. Pour any extra juices in the bowl over the mixture.

Step 5

Cover the sauerkraut mixture with the horseradish leaf or other tannin-rich leaves to help retain the crispness of the veggies.

Step 6

Press the sauerkraut mixture down with fermentation weights until it is submerged in its own juices. The brine should cover the mixture by at least 1".

Step 7

Cover the fermentation crock with the lid and let veggies ferment on counter-top at room temperature for anywhere from 2-8+ weeks. Check it periodically to make sure veggies are submerged in liquid, and for spoilage. It should smell pleasantly sour, not off-putting or moldy.

Step 8

Taste it at 2 weeks and weekly thereafter until it is fermented to your tastes. At that point, remove and discard the leaves if used. Pack the fermented sauerkraut into sterilized mason jars and seal them with plastic lids. Store the jars in the refrigerator.