Sauerkraut & Dumplings

Sauerkraut & Dumplings

Sauerkraut & dumplings is a signature dish of sorts for Mom.  She’d make it in a great big soup pot, & flavor it with pork spare ribs.  I’d know dinner was almost ready when she added the dumpling dough to the pot at the very end of the cooking time.  The dumplings were always my favorite part, as they’d lend a little creaminess to the dish, & tame the kraut flavor.  The dumplings were just about as fluffy as little clouds, floating on top.  It seemed as though there were never quite enough dumplings, but maybe that’s what enhanced it’s appeal.

After the pork, potato, kraut & dumplings were ladled into our soup bowls, we’d dot the top of the dumplings with at little pat of butter.  The next day, if there was juice left in the pot, Mom might make another round of dumplings when she heated it up for dinner.

The interesting thing about this dish is that it’s incredibly simple to make, you don’t have to worry about seasoning, & there are few ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 large jars of sauerkraut, drained & rinsed

1 slab of pork spare ribs (I use country style ribs instead – about 4 lbs.)

6 red or white potatoes, leave the peelings on (or peeled russet potatoes)

2 cups Bisquick baking mix

2/3 cup milk

water

Sauerkraut & Dumplings

Directions:

Place the pork ribs, & sauerkraut in a large soup pot, & cover with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover, & continue to cook for several hours, or until the meat is cooked through & tender, & a rich pork & sauerkraut flavor can be tasted.  About an hour before serving, add the whole potatoes (I cut mine in half – your preference) & continue to cook until tender.

For the dumplings:  Mix the Bisquick & milk together until just combined, taking care not to over-mix.  Remove the lid from the soup pan, and carefully drop by spoonful until the surface is covered.  I have a large pot with a wide surface area, so I make about 2 – 3 batches.  Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, then cover & cook an additional 10 minutes.

Serve hot with butter for the dumplings.

Recipe Notes:  

The dumplings in my photos are not as big & fluffy as I would have liked, but that is because I made my sauerkraut in a crockpot with not much room when I covered them, they stuck to the lid!  Not everything is perfect in blog-land, ha!

By the way, if you do cook in the crockpot, everything will take longer, even the dumplings, so just allow a little extra time.