Dill Pickle Sauerkraut
I’m relatively new to fermenting, but it’s become a bit of an obsession for me this year. We’ve always been a very kraut forward family, but since discovering curried cauliflower pickles earlier this year, I’m now constantly thinking about ways to pickle and preserve all of our favourite veggies.
I had grand plans to make a bunch of dill pickles, having recently finished a batch from a couple of years ago, but our pickling cukes didn’t do very well during our cooler than usual summer. Our cabbages, however, always do well, so I decided to try a fusion of sauerkraut and kosher dills, using a single long English cucumber. The final product is garlicky, tart, and loaded with dill flavour; it’ll be a great addition to burgers, sandwiches, and pasta salads – no chopping needed!
You can use a knife or a mandoline to slice cabbage for sauerkraut, but things are quicker and easier with a tool that’s made for the job, and that’s where a European made, solid wood Cabbage Shredder comes in. I was given one of these beautifully made tools to try out, and not only is it a dream for making sauerkraut, it’s fabulous for coleslaw, scalloped potatoes, salads, or anywhere else you want uniformly sliced vegetables. I have the professional size shredder, perfect for those of us making big batches of sauerkraut on a regular basis, but they also carry a selection of smaller shredders for every day home cooking. Cabbage Shredder has been generous enough to offer a discount to Eat What You Sow readers using the following discount codes:
- eatwhatyousow10%off (expires November 15, 2020)
- eatwhatyousow5%off (expires at the end of 2021)
These codes can be used on the compact shredder, stomper, salad tongs, and maple end grain cutting board. (The professional sized shredder is currently sold out, but the discount will apply to them as well once they’re back in stock.)
Dill Pickle Sauerkraut
Fermented cabbage and cucumbers flavored with with dill and fresh garlic. Delicious on burgers, hot dogs, and in sandwiches and salads.
Ingredients
- 1 large green cabbage shredded or sliced finely
- 4 – 5 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp dill weed (or more, to taste)
- 1 cucumber sliced thin (do not peel)
- 4 – 5 large cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tsp salt dissolved in 1 cup water (if needed)
Instructions
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Put the shredded cabbage in a large bowl. Sprinkle over with the salt.
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Massage the salt into the cabbage, squeezing and pressing as you go, to extract as much liquid from the cabbage as you can. This can take 10 minutes or more.
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Add the dill and minced garlic to the wilted cabbage; stir well to combine.
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Start layering your cabbage mixture with the cucumber slices in your fermentation jar(s), starting with a small amount of cabbage, followed by a layer of cucumber, then more cabbage, and another layer of cucumber, until your jar is full. Pour any remaining brine from your bowl over the vegetables.
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Press down on cabbage and cucumbers until they are completely submerged in brine. If there's not quite enough, you can make extra brine solution by dissolving 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of non-chlorinated water (use this ratio to make as much as you need).
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Put a small piece of parchment or waxed paper over the cabbage, weigh it down with a fermentation weight, small dish, or other small heavy object. Add enough brine to ensure no cabbage is exposed to air (which can promote mold growth).
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Add your airlock, if using. You can also cover your jars with a cloth secured with an elastic band or string. If you're not using something that will release the fermentation gases (such as a screw top lid), you will have to open your jars daily to release the gas in order to avoid an explosion.
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Place your jars in a rimmed dish (the jars will often release liquid as the fermentation progresses) and set aside. The fermentation can take anywhere from a week to a month. Check periodically for any signs of mold (this can just be removed), and to top up with brine as needed. Start tasting your sauerkraut at the one week mark, and pop it in the fridge when it tastes good to you (I let mine ferment for two weeks). A long, cool ferment is better than fast, so there shouldn't be any need for supplemental heat.
I canโt wait to try it!
I hope you try it, I’d love to hear what you think!
Hi Cheryl, I made it today. Hopeful it will turn out as good as yours. Thanks
I hope you enjoy it, Jody! I let mine go until it was nice and tart (about two weeks), but you can stop it whenever it tastes good to you. Keep me posted! ๐
This is the most delicious recipe. The garlic and dill just enhance the flavour so much. Thank you. I make this regularly.
Thank you so much for your comment Susan, I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! It’s a great way to stretch a few cucumbers into something wonderful. Thanks again! ๐