holiday food you can't say no to

[Craig]

Anything dried fruit related. Christmas pudding, Christmas Cake, Mince Pies, Figs, Dates ... and Shortbread. Although the latter i rarely ever open cause i don't want to finish them.

[Derek‽]

Jan 2, 2020 14:14:17 GMT -8 elli said:

Jan 2, 2020 14:09:47 GMT -8 Derek‽ said:

New Year’s Day is all about the pork chops and sauerkraut, in a slow cooker together for eight to twelve hours until the meat practically falls apart just from glancing in its general direction. Add mashed potatoes and buttered Hawaiian rolls, unbuckle, and dig in. Mmm. Now, where’d I put those leftovers?

Tell me more... do you add any sauce to the pork, or just mix in sauerkraut?

The sauerkraut is the sauce. The pork (loin, sirloin, or tenderloin; preferably boneless) is submerged in the juices of the sauerkraut in a crockpot during the entire cooking process. You can add onions and garlic if you prefer, but it tastes just fine with just salt, butter, and ground pepper. Some people add a bit of apple juice or apple slices to sweeten the dish, but that’s heretical to my palate. Then again, my grandmother invited me to her house this year and she made homemade apple sauce, which complimented everything well, and I usually use authentic Amish apple butter on my rolls, so maybe there’s something to it.

Wait... have you never had pork and sauerkraut before? It’s one of those Pennsylvania Dutch dishes that on paper has no right to exist, like chicken and waffles, but once you get a taste you wonder how these mad definitely-not-scientist geniuses came up with this amazing dish of the gods!

[elli]

Jan 2, 2020 17:05:47 GMT -8 Derek‽ said:

Wait... have you never had pork and sauerkraut before? It’s one of those Pennsylvania Dutch dishes that on paper has no right to exist, like chicken and waffles, but once you get a taste you wonder how these mad definitely-not-scientist geniuses came up with this amazing dish of the gods!

Nope, I haven't experienced much sauerkraut usage out west. Sausage and polish hot dogs, sure, but not pork loin. My interest is piqued. Is there a recipe you'd recommend?

[Derek‽]

Jan 2, 2020 19:18:12 GMT -8 elli said:

Jan 2, 2020 17:05:47 GMT -8 Derek‽ said:

Wait... have you never had pork and sauerkraut before? It’s one of those Pennsylvania Dutch dishes that on paper has no right to exist, like chicken and waffles, but once you get a taste you wonder how these mad definitely-not-scientist geniuses came up with this amazing dish of the gods!

Nope, I haven't experienced much sauerkraut usage out west. Sausage and polish hot dogs, sure, but not pork loin. My interest is piqued. Is there a recipe you'd recommend?

Not really. It’s very simple to make, but I don’t know your palate tolerance or general preferences, so I’d recommend making it somewhat bland at first.


You’ll definitely need:

1 x Package of pork cut of your choice. Or a suitable quantity from a butcher based on intended servings. Given how long it’ll be in the slow cooker, you can use fatty chops for flavoring if you’d like; the fat will come out as tender as the meat.

1 x Jar of sauerkraut. Don’t get fancy with this choice, we’re talking about fermented cabbage, so the simpler the better. You’ll want a basic kraut of decent quality, nothing that’s advertised as being spicy* or “artisanal,” nor nearing its sell-by date. Vlasic is always a fair brand, as is Kroger’s own bagged offering.

1-2 x Tablespoon of butter. I prefer ordinary, soft table butter as opposed to saltier cooking butter, but that’s up to you. Sauerkraut tends to be high in sodium, so keep that in mind.


Add everything to a crockpot and get the ball rolling. DO NOT drain the juice from the sauerkraut! That goes right into the pot and you’ll want to fully submerge the pork in the juice. There’s no need to do anything special to the meat before it goes into the pot due to how long it will cook in the sauerkraut juice—any seasoning added will be dissolved into the broader concoction.

Plan to cook it for 8+ hours.

After about 4 hours you can sample it and see what you think (unless the pork still looks raw, in which case turn the heat up and check it every hour). If you feel it’s necessary to add table salt, do so now. Add ground black pepper—and feel free to do so liberally.

If you like garlic, great! It works really well with this dish, but use it sparingly. Add only a clove or better yet a light dusting of garlic powder. I’m not keen on onions here, and I would caution you against using onions and garlic together.

(Cabbage, garlic, and onions are three things the body has difficulty processing and this produces methane and hydrogen sulfide as a byproduct, leading to bloating and aches. This is why I suggest making it fairly bland the first time.)

After 8+ hours it’s ready to serve. Use a draining serving utensil, because you won’t need/want the juice on your plate.

It’s usually accompanied by mashed potatoes and rolls/bread. This year we had buttered oat nut bread in lieu of rolls and it worked out well. I’ve never used gravy for the mashed potatoes, because they mix well with the pork alone.



*I have authentic Amish “spicy sauerkraut salsa” in my fridge right now, and boy does it have a kick. If there’s one thing the Amish are known for, it’s their salsa! Wait...

[elli]

Derek‽ Done, I'm trying it 👍

[Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti]

Joshua Farrell
Cheesecake without the strawberries for me then.



elli
I think I had pot roast once. I would love to have that again. That sounds really good.
Do you do anything with the mashed potatoes?

When I make mashed potatoes I like to use this Ranch dressing stuff. It's in a powder form. I think most people use it to make a dip, I use it in mashed potatoes.


That pork chops and sauerkraut sound good.





Derek‽
I admit I've only ever had one slice of pumpkin pie in my entire life. Not a big fan of that. But Peacan pie, omg I could eat an entire pie.



@linette
My mom always made the boxed stuffing. I do eat homemade stuffing when I go to my sister's ex-in-laws Thanksgiving. One of the ladies daughters makes really good stuffing that the rest of the family picks on for being so dry. I love it.

Turtles? Are people talking about the real thing?

[Former Member]

Jan 13, 2020 10:46:07 GMT -8 Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti said:

@linette
My mom always made the boxed stuffing. I do eat homemade stuffing when I go to my sister's ex-in-laws Thanksgiving. One of the ladies daughters makes really good stuffing that the rest of the family picks on for being so dry. I love it.

Turtles? Are people talking about the real thing?

This is the stuffing my mom raised me on, all we added was fried onions then stuffed the chicken or turkey.

lol These are the turtles ......

These are SOoooo good, we sell the mini ones at work in bulk, I find myself picking at them from time to time. lol

[CrazyBoy]

Mine is Cake, I'll never say no for it

[Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti]

Jan 13, 2020 19:08:13 GMT -8 @linette said:

Jan 13, 2020 10:46:07 GMT -8 Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti said:

@linette
My mom always made the boxed stuffing. I do eat homemade stuffing when I go to my sister's ex-in-laws Thanksgiving. One of the ladies daughters makes really good stuffing that the rest of the family picks on for being so dry. I love it.

Turtles? Are people talking about the real thing?

This is the stuffing my mom raised me on, all we added was fried onions then stuffed the chicken or turkey.

lol These are the turtles ......

These are SOoooo good, we sell the mini ones at work in bulk, I find myself picking at them from time to time. lol

That stuffing actually looks really good. I will have to see if they sell it in the store.

OMG I remember I tried them before. I thought that everyone was talking about real turtles.  

[Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti]

Jan 14, 2020 1:17:34 GMT -8 CrazyBoy said:

Mine is Cake, I'll never say no for it

As long it's not a strawberry one, I wouldn't say no either.

[Former Member]

Jan 14, 2020 8:27:49 GMT -8 Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti said:

Jan 13, 2020 19:08:13 GMT -8 @linette said:

This is the stuffing my mom raised me on, all we added was fried onions then stuffed the chicken or turkey.

lol These are the turtles ......

These are SOoooo good, we sell the mini ones at work in bulk, I find myself picking at them from time to time. lol

That stuffing actually looks really good. I will have to see if they sell it in the store.

OMG I remember I tried them before. I thought that everyone was talking about real turtles.  

Out here, the stuffing sells fast, the stores always order more than what they can to keep up with demand. We turn into monsters when there's none to be found and have no choice but, to revert to the box.

I can't think of any Canadian who would eat a real turtle out here let alone a beaver, maybe in Quebec but, never here. Most of us here are animal lovers and we love our forests more than people. lol

[Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti]

Jan 14, 2020 9:00:41 GMT -8 @linette said:

Jan 14, 2020 8:27:49 GMT -8 Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti said:

That stuffing actually looks really good. I will have to see if they sell it in the store.

OMG I remember I tried them before. I thought that everyone was talking about real turtles.  

Out here, the stuffing sells fast, the stores always order more than what they can to keep up with demand. We turn into monsters when there's none to be found and have no choice but, to revert to the box.

I can't think of any Canadian who would eat a real turtle out here let alone a beaver, maybe in Quebec but, never here. Most of us here are animal lovers and we love our forests more than people. lol

I'm sad. I am not finding the stuffing anywhere near me.  

LOL   What no Turtle Jerky or Beaver Jerky?  

[Former Member]

Jan 14, 2020 9:34:25 GMT -8 Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti said:

Jan 14, 2020 9:00:41 GMT -8 @linette said:

Out here, the stuffing sells fast, the stores always order more than what they can to keep up with demand. We turn into monsters when there's none to be found and have no choice but, to revert to the box.

I can't think of any Canadian who would eat a real turtle out here let alone a beaver, maybe in Quebec but, never here. Most of us here are animal lovers and we love our forests more than people. lol

I'm sad. I am not finding the stuffing anywhere near me.  

LOL   What no Turtle Jerky or Beaver Jerky?  

Maybe they do have it but, call it something else or maybe they don't sell it in your area but, somewhere else or maybe you can request a local grocery store to order it in for you. Some grocery stores including my own will order it in if they can.

Nope, not for me, some will ingest it but, I just won't, it's a beaver, I love beavers.

But I'll eat a moose or a bison but, I will never hunt the animal I will eat, heck I could never survive alone in the wild unless I found a way to survive off of berries. lol

[Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti]

Jan 14, 2020 12:36:36 GMT -8 @linette said:

Jan 14, 2020 9:34:25 GMT -8 Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti said:

I'm sad. I am not finding the stuffing anywhere near me.  

LOL   What no Turtle Jerky or Beaver Jerky?  

Maybe they do have it but, call it something else or maybe they don't sell it in your area but, somewhere else or maybe you can request a local grocery store to order it in for you. Some grocery stores including my own will order it in if they can.

Nope, not for me, some will ingest it but, I just won't, it's a beaver, I love beavers.

But I'll eat a moose or a bison but, I will never hunt the animal I will eat, heck I could never survive alone in the wild unless I found a way to survive off of berries. lol

Yeah I don't think my grocery would actually order something they don't carry. They got rid of quite a bit since I started shopping there years ago and they still keep getting rid of stuff. I know it's not just foods I eat, but it seems like every time I like something they take it off their shelves. 

Yeah I wouldn't eat either of them. Do people actually ever eat turtle or beaver?

Not sure I would even eat moose or bison. I tried deer meat when I was younger and I thought it tasted gross. I'm not big on a lot of meat. I eat pork chops, but I'm getting sick of that and hotdogs, Turkey is my fave still. I can't handle chicken, I tend to dry heave. I can eat if it someone else makes it though. But not a big fan of chicken. Only once in a while I will crave a chicken. 

LOL. I don't know enough about berries so I would end up starving. I would never want to hunt any animal. 

[Former Member]

Jan 14, 2020 13:57:50 GMT -8 Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti said:

Jan 14, 2020 12:36:36 GMT -8 @linette said:

Maybe they do have it but, call it something else or maybe they don't sell it in your area but, somewhere else or maybe you can request a local grocery store to order it in for you. Some grocery stores including my own will order it in if they can.

Nope, not for me, some will ingest it but, I just won't, it's a beaver, I love beavers.

But I'll eat a moose or a bison but, I will never hunt the animal I will eat, heck I could never survive alone in the wild unless I found a way to survive off of berries. lol

Yeah I don't think my grocery would actually order something they don't carry. They got rid of quite a bit since I started shopping there years ago and they still keep getting rid of stuff. I know it's not just foods I eat, but it seems like every time I like something they take it off their shelves. 

Yeah I wouldn't eat either of them. Do people actually ever eat turtle or beaver?

Not sure I would even eat moose or bison. I tried deer meat when I was younger and I thought it tasted gross. I'm not big on a lot of meat. I eat pork chops, but I'm getting sick of that and hotdogs, Turkey is my fave still. I can't handle chicken, I tend to dry heave. I can eat if it someone else makes it though. But not a big fan of chicken. Only once in a while I will crave a chicken. 

LOL. I don't know enough about berries so I would end up starving. I would never want to hunt any animal. 

Omg I have had that happen a few times and just got used to it. You would think they would at least ween us off by substituting it with something else from a different company.

My store does the same thing and they don't sub it at all and boy does it ever tick the customers off, I didn't know people could get that miffed over sugar free chocolate chips.

I always tell them I didn't do it, if it was taken off the shelves of every store then it probably has something to do with the company themselves that make it and/or package it.

People actually do eat turtle and beaver, I couldn't do it, both way too adorable.

I've never tried deer meat and it's not important enough for me to want to go out of my way to try it either, when I tried bison and moose for the first time it was meat given to us from one of his friends they hunted.

Wild meat is so different, so much juicier, tender, and healthier, but I would never go out of my way to get it.

lol Chicken makes you dry heave?

I used to know all the berries in bush, but now it's been so long, heck I found some salmon berries a while ago at one of our parks and it took me an hour to realize they were actually salmon berries. My pup and I used to love hiking up in the mountains snacking on salmon berries along the way.