Kielbasa and sauerkraut
I really enjoy sauerkraut, but I like to temper the sourness with a bit of sweetness. All I had on hand this time was some orange juice and some brown sugar, and it turned out so great that I felt like I needed to write this version of the recipe down for later.
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz. jar of sauerkraut, drained, 1 tbsp brine reserved
- 1 package of turkey polish sausage or polska kielbasa
- 1 apple, diced
- 2 red potatoes, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Drain the sauerkraut and reserve a tablespoon of the brine. I put a cup under the strainer and reserved most of the juice in case I wanted to add more tartness later. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Melt the butter in a dutch oven. When the butter is melted, add the shallot and sausage and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the shallot and sausage begin to brown. Add the apple and potato and saute for another minute or two.
Add the orange juice and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the dutch oven. (That's where the flavor lives!) Add a tablespoon of the reserved sauerkraut juice and a tablespoon of light brown sugar.
Put the lid on the dutch oven and put in the oven for 30 minutes. I would've given it a full hour, but because I also was going to bake rolls at the same time, I needed to halve the baking time. After the 30 minutes in the oven, put the dutch oven back on the stovetop on low. Remove the lid and stir the contents. Replace the lid, and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes, until the juice is mostly absorbed.
The rolls are a modified recipe for sour cream and chive rolls from Dessert Person, halved and without chives. They bake in the oven while the kielbasa and sauerkraut finishes cooking on the stove.