Looking for the pork and sauerkraut recipe you remember from your childhood? It’s right here!
Champagne toasts. Caviar and blini. Chinese takeout. All laudable New Year’s rituals.
But if you’re smart, you’ll already be stocking up at the meat counter for the most important tradition of all: eating good luck pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day.
I remember being dragged to Christmas parties as a child, hiding under fold-out buffet tables pushed against wood-paneled walls and laden with steaming Crock Pots.
I’d breathe in the briny, slightly acrid perfume of the bubbling kraut and pork fat, watching the grownups’ feet as they shuffled back for another helping.
My parents remember their parents feeding it to them every year for luck and likely the great-grandparents were cooking up vats of the stuff when they arrived in the States too.
Though I grew up assuming that good luck pork and sauerkraut was just another weird western PA food quirk, it appears that this tradition is something we Pittsburghers can’t claim as our own.
The good luck meal is a staple across the great state of Pennsylvania, and in Ohio, West Virginia, or anywhere with a historically prominent Eastern European or German (which is what the Pennsylvania Dutch are, remember? Dutch=Deutsch) immigrant population.
The formerly green cabbage of the sauerkraut and the abundant fat of the pig symbolize riches and prosperity for the coming year.
The pig does double duty on the luckiness front, also representing progress as a forward-rooting and forward-thinking animal (its four hooves all point toward the front).
Slavic superstition also dictates that you should eat the long, skinny threads of sauerkraut to give you a long life–smart thinking when you consider the probiotics and other wonderfully healthy byproducts of the fermented cabbage.
The type of pork used is more a matter of personal taste and specific family traditions. I’ve seen recipes calling for bone-in pork loin, pork shoulder, and country ribs, and I doubt the good-luck gods are frowning on one and blessing another.
My mom, of German descent, always nestles a rolled pork roast into the sauerkraut and whips up a batch of mashed potatoes so she can spoon the meat and kraut on top and mush it all together.
My dad, the Italian, prefers kielbasa (or kolbassi, as we pronounce it in the Pittsburgh area). He also remembers many instances of hot dogs simmering in the sauerkraut, though that combo seems more appropriate for summer months at Citi Field.
As for me, I split my parents’ preferences right down the middle: kielbasa and sauerkraut atop mashed potatoes.
Watch the video and get the recipe below for good luck pork and sauerkraut!
Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
or Slow Cooker Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 12 hours15 minutes
Good luck pork and sauerkraut is usually served on New Year's Day. Find out why this German and Eastern European tradition persists (hint: it's delicious!).
Ingredients
olive oil (optional)
3-4 pounds pork: pork butt roast, pork shoulder, bone-in loin roast, kielbasa, or any combination
4 pounds sauerkraut in brine
1 sweet, white, or yellow onion, minced
1 medium apple, peeled and diced; Macintosh, Honeycrisp, or any firm variety are excellent
mashed potatoes on the side
Instructions
If using a whole cut of pork such as a roast, heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a Dutch oven or large saute pan over medium-high heat and brown the meat on all sides.
If using kielbasa, you can skip this step and instead cut the sausages lengthwise and then crosswise into half-moon shapes about 1 inch thick.
In a large Dutch oven or slow cooker, stir the sauerkraut and its brine together with the apple and onion.
Nestle the roast and/or stir the kielbasa into the sauerkraut and assess how much liquid is in the pan. You may need to add up to 2 cups water if your kraut is fairly dry.
If using a Dutch oven, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer, cooking low and slow for 3-4 hours. If using a slow cooker, cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours.
When the pork is done, it will be fork-tender and falling off the bone or separating from the fat. If using kielbasa, it will have darkened significantly (and require less cooking time).
Shred the pork into bite-sized pieces and discard any large chunks of fat.
Serve with mashed potatoes, if desired.
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Legend also says that pork is enjoyed because pigs look forward when they root for food, rather than chicken and turkeys which scratch backward, just as the Germans were looking ahead to the New Year. They also wished each other as many riches as there are shreds of cabbage in the sauerkraut they eat.
In case you haven't heard, it's tradition to eat pork and kraut on New Year's Eve at midnight, which technically means New Year's Day. Among the many traditions surrounding the coming of the New Year, this one is both tasty and easy to complete, unlike some of those tough resolutions.
On New Year's Day, friends and families throughout Pennsylvania will gather to enjoy a traditional feast of pork and sauerkraut to ensure good luck and fortune in the year to come.
Pennsylvanians commonly eat pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day. The tradition comes from German culture, and its prevalence in the state can be attributed to the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Looking for prosperity? As Southern tradition dictates, black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread represent pennies, dollars, and gold, respectively, so eating them together on New Year's will keep your purse full all year long.
It's said that you shouldn't eat winged fowl (read: birds like turkey or chicken), bottom feeders (like shrimp or catfish), or any seafood that swims backward or side to side (like lobster or crab).
Chicken. Some people believe that consuming winged fowl like chicken around the new year will bring you bad luck. Their reasoning is that because poultry has wings, they will “fly away” with whatever good fortune you had in store.
According to lore, the forward movement of pigs when they root around for food on the ground signifies a “moving forward” trajectory in life, and thus pork is a favorable meat to enjoy to start the year off on the right track.
Whole hogs, like those distributed on Christmas day, allowed slaves better cuts of meat and provided a source for lard, which they used for flavoring a wide variety of dishes. Beef was an even greater luxury.
The tradition of pork and sauerkraut still runs deep in central and south-central Pennsylvania. This is due mainly to the fact that these areas are heavily populated by the Amish and PA Dutch. There are tons of pork and sauerkraut recipes online.
If there was any corn left they made cornbread. So, theses three items have come to represent hope and prosperity for the New Year. The peas represent coins, the greens - paper money and the cornbread, gold.
The meal was initially created in Germany hundreds of years ago and was later introduced to the states by the Pennsylvania Dutch, where it quickly took off, PAeats stated. While pork and sauerkraut are commonly associated with Pa., and especially the Pa. Dutch community, it's not hard to find it elsewhere!
Raw, unpasteurized sauerkraut that is made purely from cabbage and lactic acid can be a healthy addition to your dog's diet – though it shouldn't be a main component. A small amount on a fairly regular basis can be good for their gut health, however most of these benefits can be found in traditional dog foods.
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — What meal do you enjoy on New Year's Day? If it's pork and sauerkraut, you're among many in Pennsylvania and Ohio who celebrate the tradition.
According to lore, the forward movement of pigs when they root around for food on the ground signifies a “moving forward” trajectory in life, and thus pork is a favorable meat to enjoy to start the year off on the right track.
The origin of eating pork and sauerkraut on New Year's
Germans and other pig-raising cultures have been eating these dishes for centuries, with immigrants bringing the tradition to the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries. People of Czech, Hungarian and Polish ancestry enjoy the food pairing as well.
Others say it started during the Civil War in Vicksburg, Virginia. The town ran out of food while under siege and the inhabitants were lucky enough to discover cow peas (a.k.a., black-eyed peas). Meanwhile, cabbage leaves are thought to bring prosperity to those who eat them on New Year's Day.
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