slow cooker kielbasa with sauerkraut & potatoes

[Mosca]

A friend gave me about a gallon of fresh sauerkraut!

2 quarts fresh sauerkraut
3 lbs smoked kielbasa cut into 1"-2" pieces
4 lbs yellow potatoes (I used Yukon Gold. You can use redskin, but the waxy gold potatoes are better for this one.)
2 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp black pepper
a couple bay leaves
a cup of water

Pretty straightforward. Put the sauerkraut on the bottom, mix in the caraway seeds and the pepper. Mix in the potatoes & the kielbasa. cram the bay leaves in somewhere, dump in the water, and cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.

About 3 1/2 hours in it starts smelling heavenly (or awful if you don't like sauerkraut). It's actually very mild tasting, really delicious. Leftovers freeze well if vacuum sealed.

[Jon Solberg]

I love kind of stuff. Nice share.

[smarkley]

Looks great! This could be a Dutch Oven recipe, I bet... just add wood fire or coals!

[Mosca]

I was thinking of doing it that way, but I was concerned about the sauerkraut and cast iron not getting along well!

[smarkley]

Good point! It it is well seasoned, it should be ok... but yeah, the dutch could have problems with real acidic foods

[Strat50]

This is the type recipe where enameled cast iron shines!

[Eastonbeef]

On the subject of sauerkraut... scoff at me if you want (my wife did at first), try putting sauerkraut on pizza!!!!
Just add it to your favorite pizza, add more cheese on top and bake. Trust me, if you like sauerkraut this is good.
With meatheads pizza recipes homemade pizza with sauerkraut is a frequent meal it my house!

[Strat50]

I'll share something that my fraternal grandmother taught me. When she would make any kraut dishes, she would drain, and sometimes lightly rinse the kraut. If you do this with the above recipe, you'll be golden, without objectionable acidity and "skunkiness." She would sauté the drained kraut with a bit of brown sugar, then proceed with the rest of the recipe. Yes, it's a small step, but will yield tasty results, especially with kielbasa, pork shoulder, and sauerbraten type cooks.