Bayerisches Kraut

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Sharp knife or mandoline
• •Wide heavy braising pan or Dutch oven with lid
• •Wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the cabbage

   Put the shredded cabbage in a large bowl with the 2 teaspoons of fine salt and work it hard with your hands for 2 minutes, then leave it 20 minutes. The salt pulls water from the leaves and softens the ribs, so the cabbage can braise in fat and seasoning instead of leaking a pond into the pan.

   Buy a head that feels heavy for its size. A light, loose cabbage is old and dry, and old cabbage gives you fibre where you wanted sweetness.
2. 2

   Squeeze it dry

   Lift handfuls of cabbage and squeeze out the liquid, then set the cabbage beside the stove. Don't rinse it. The salt left behind seasons the inside of the leaves, and rinsing puts back the water you just worked to remove.

3. 3

   Brown the base

   Warm the lard or bacon fat in a wide heavy pan over medium heat, add the diced bacon if using, and cook until the fat runs and the edges colour. Add the onion and cook until pale gold, then stir in the sugar and let it melt to a light amber. That little caramel gives the cabbage its round Bavarian sweetness; burn it and the whole pot tastes bitter.

4. 4

   Coat the cabbage

   Add the squeezed cabbage, grated apple, crushed caraway, bay leaf, and black pepper, then turn everything through the fat for 5 minutes. This first frying matters because the cabbage leaves get coated before liquid goes in, and coated leaves braise glossy instead of turning flat and watery.

5. 5

   Braise it soft

   Pour in the stock or water and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar, scrape the browned sweetness from the bottom, cover, and cook gently for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring now and then. Runter mit der Temperatur. A hard boil breaks the cabbage into dull shreds before the flavour settles; a low braise gives you soft leaves with body.

6. 6

   Finish sharp

   Uncover the pan and cook a few minutes longer until the cabbage is moist and glossy, not soupy. Stir in the last tablespoon of vinegar, then taste for salt, pepper, and sugar. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss: the final vinegar goes in late because its sharpness lifts the sweet cabbage instead of disappearing into the long cook.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh white cabbage, not sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is already fermented and belongs to a different pot; Bayerisches Kraut builds its sweet-sour balance from sugar, apple, vinegar, and time.
• •Crush the caraway lightly before it goes in. Whole seeds can taste dusty and hard; cracked seeds give the fat their flavour and still let you know they're there.
• •Make it the day before. Cabbage is one of the dishes that improves overnight because the vinegar, apple, and fat settle into the leaves. Reheat it gently with a splash of stock or water.
• •If you have a strip of smoked bacon rind, simmer it with the cabbage and pull it out before serving. Weggeworfen wird nichts, and the rind gives more depth than a cube from a packet ever will.
• •Serve it with roast pork, bratwurst, goose, or potato dumplings. A spoon of this beside a rich meat is not decoration; the vinegar is there to cut the fat.

Advance Preparation

• •Salt and squeeze the cabbage up to 4 hours ahead, then keep it covered in the refrigerator until cooking.
• •Cook the whole dish 1 day ahead for the best flavour. Cool it quickly, refrigerate it, and reheat gently with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water or light stock.
• •Leftovers keep 3 days in the refrigerator and are good folded through fried potatoes or served with cold roast pork.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 245g)