Brats and Kraut and Mushrooms Oh-My!

Confession: sauerkraut and I haven’t been friends for very long. You certainly wouldn’t find a jar of it in my parents’ house growing up. Eating out as a kid, and in my early 20s, I’m pretty sure I hardly saw it on any menu at a restaurant I went to. On the off chance I actually ordered a hot dog somewhere, or was at a BBQ that had both a dog and some kraut, I would likely just cover it in only mustard and then eat relish by itself. I’m weird. I know.

I definitely didn’t know what a reuben tasted like until a few years ago (the tragedy!). The thought of the Russian/Thousand Island dressing always kept me away. I love them now, and so much so that I made Brown Eyed Baker’s Hot Reuben Dip last year.

Since I’m usually an equal opportunity eater [aka, I’ll try anything once!], I’m pretty sure our friendship blossomed once I finally started coming in contact with it. You know, casual encounters. It most notably happens when I’m at East Side Deli eating one of their massive build-your-own-salads. I always draw lines through every veggie checkbox on the menu. I want them all. It usually results in a 5lb container of salad. Generous is probably an understatement, and I’m forever grateful. It never occurred to me not to select the kraut. I know they keep it there for the hot dogs, but c’mon, it’s perfectly acceptable on the salad.

Andrew and I also end up at Prost! quite a bit now. It’s the German bar in the neighborhood. They also have fabulous kraut on the menu. I hadn’t eaten much German food until their currywurst and Brotzeit Teller, a meat and cheese board. When Whole Foods posted up their one-pot oktoberfeast recipe, I put it on the list immediately. It has just about everything I love with an excuse to buy sour cream. I spent an obscene amount of time in the mustard section of the store. How did I not know there were 438,349,823 types of mustard? I want to try every single one. We have olive oil tasting shops now, can’t we have a mustard one [or condiments in general]? Maybe I’ll start one. How could this fail?

Ingredients

• 12oz bratwurst, cut into 1″ chunks [I originally did bigger than that, and I regretted it]
• 32oz sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/4 cups broth of choice [I used beef]
• 2 teaspoons dill
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 pound crimini mushrooms, quartered
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 3 tablespoons German mustard
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preparation

In a large pot, heat the butter on medium high heat until melted. Add the bratwurst pieces, stirring occasionally until they’re browned on all sides. Add 1/4 cup of the broth, 1 teaspoon of dill, and the onion. Saute until the onions are starting to turn a caramel color.

Add the mushrooms, stirring occasionally for about 5-6 minutes until they start to turn colors and release their juices. Whisk together the remaining broth, sour cream, and mustard. Pour it into the pot and add the sauerkraut.

Bring the mixture to a boil before simmering until the broth is soaked up and everything is thick and juicy, approximately 10 minutes. Top with remaining dill seeds before serving.