The Kraut

One of my first cooking disasters occurred in 7th grade. A buddy and I were totally bored one summer afternoon and wanted something to snack on while we waited for American Gladiators to come on.

Problem is, my friend's mom is something of a health nut and all they had were triscuits and low fat mozzarella--and a can of kraut at the back of the fridge. So we did what kids do: we made a Super Dish.

We piled the cheese and kraut onto those triscuits as high as we could, which was pretty tall considering we had a 32 oz can of kraut to deal with. Then, of course, we topped it with hot sauce, nuked it and devoured the entire plate.



Ten hours later, my buddy and I were still sick. I'd been raised on brats with kraut--I ate probably two or three every Sunday since I've had teeth to chew with--and was no stranger to kraut's tangy deliciousness. But until that day, I was not familiar with the havoc "Atomic Triscuits" can wreak on a young body. This is an important life lesson, parents--let the kids play with their food until they get sick. It teaches limits.

Last night, though, I took a much more grown up approach to cooking with kraut. I took a big shoulder roast and cut a large diagonal pouch into it. Then I stuffed the pouch with drained kraut.




Then I put the whole thing into a crock pot, covered it with the leftover kraut, and sprinkled brown sugar over the top. Then I slept while it cooked.

This had to be one of the weirdest looking things I've ever cooked--looked like a giant festering wound. . .with sauerkraut spilling out of it. Hot, I know.





But for as unappetizing as it looks, this finished product was incredible and couldn't be easier. And for those of you who are kinda "uhh" about the taste of kraut, the meat isn't terribly krauty at the end--just juicy and rich.

The Meat
1 5 lb Pork shoulder roast (aka Butt, Butt roast, Boston Butt, Shoulder Butt, etc)

The Rest
1 32oz jar of sauerkraut, drained
2 tbsp of brown sugar

Putting it all together
Cut a 5 inch diagonal pouch into your roast, making sure not to poke through the bottom or out the sides. Then, using your fingers, spread the pouch open and stuff it with kraut.

Put the kraut-stuffed butt into your slow cooker and top with the additional kraut. Sprinkle the sugar over the top, cover, and cook on low for 9 hours.

Remove the roast and let it sit for about ten minutes. Then, try to slice it. If it's too shreddy, don't worry. Just shred the thing and put it on kaiser rolls. This goes really well with mashed potatoes, green beans and warm applesauce. Enjoy!




-jaf