It is a tradition on my mom's side of the family to eat pork and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes every new year's day. Growing up, I never appreciated the deliciousness of this Pennsylvania Dutch comfort food – though I really loved instant mashed potatoes out of a box!
Now a real food-lovin' grown-up, there's not much I enjoy more than slow cooked pork. Add some homemade sauerkraut and spoon it over cauliflower mash for a warm bowl of love any time of the year. I prefer cauliflower instead of potatoes for my mash because they are amazingly delicious and equally comforting, but don't create the sensation of eating a bowl of paste that I get when I eat spuds.
Ingredients for slow-cooked pork and sauerkraut
- 5-6 pound pork roast (butt or shoulder) – this can be boneless or bone-in
- 1/4 cup juniper berries, crushed
- 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 cup white wine (substitute with 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar and 1/4 c. water if on GAPS diet)
- 2 tablespoons sea salt – where to find sea salt
- 2 quarts homemade or store bought naturally fermented sauerkraut – where to find cultured veggies
- 2 cups homemade chicken or pork stock – how to make great stock
- 5 1/2 quart or larger slow cooker
Steps for making slow-cooked pork and sauerkraut
- Rinse the roast and pat dry with paper towels
- Mix wine, juniper berries, garlic, and sea salt. Pour over roast, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Remove roast from marinate, pat dry.
- Sear all sides of roast in a hot pan (fat side first) until browned.
- Place roast into slow cooker with marinade and stock.
- Cook for 8 hours on low or until meat begins to falls apart.
- Add sauerkraut and cook until well mingled – another hour or 2 on low.
- Serve over mash below.
Ingredients for cauliflower mash
- 2 heads organic cauliflower, rinsed and broken into florets
- Plenty of grass-fed butter (or ghee
)
- Sea salt
- Food processor
Steps for making cauliflower mash
- Add cauliflower florets to a large sauce pan and fill halfway with filtered water.
- Cover and steam until florets are soft, strain and discard water.
- Add cauliflower to your food processor and process in small batches until very smooth.
- Add plenty of butter and salt to taste.
Notes: The secret to awesome cauli' mash is using a food processor to make it creamy. If you don't have a food processor you could try processing small batches in a blender, but in my experience a hand potato masher or a electric mixer won't do the trick because you want the florets to be completely pureed. You could also roast the cauliflower instead of steaming for a richer flavor, but don't add any extra liquid until the florets are completely pureed, otherwise you may end up with cauliflower soup.
Feeds 6 with leftovers.
This sounds INCREDIBLE! I make A LOT of pork and sauerkraut. I wish I’d thought of serving it with mashers! We usually eat it with egg noodles.
Love the sound of this recipe! I just had one question: will cooking the sauerkraut for 2 hours kill all the healthy bacteria it acquires during fermentation?
Yes. The sauerkraut will not longer be a probiotic food. But the deliciousness of the dish will make up for it. 😉
Wow! This recipe is delicious!! Didn’t know where to get the juniper berries so made without and used the GAPS version (cider vinegar/water instead of wine) and still turned out amazing. This is second recipe I’ve made off this website (ratatouille was also delicious) will definitely be trying many more. Thank you 🙂
Glad you like it, Sheena! 🙂
If the mashed potatoes you’ve had gives you the sensation of eating paste, then they’re not being done right.
Properly made mashed potatoes should be silky and smooth and creamy and airy, and be like a bite of heaven.
Using the wrong kind of potatoes, not cooking them properly, not adding enough butter and / or milk, not beating long enough, not starting with cold water, not having enough water–any 1 or more of those things can give them the “paste” like mouth feel you’re talking about. I call that kind “gaumy”. It’s an old fashioned word, but it’s what you describe-“A sticky mess”.