I’m just here to disrupt your traditional turkey feast, and today I bring you the refreshing idea of throwing some sauerkraut on that turkey sandwich. Sure, it feels natural after you make the turkey pastrami we recommended earlier this month, but you’re going to be eating turkey long after the stuffing and potatoes are gone, and some bright, umami-rich sauerkraut will make that turkey feel fresh and new. Packed with texture and a little kick, it can turn a mediocre sandwich into a winner. The added probiotics are a nice bonus after a few days of cream, butter, pie, and more pie.
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Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage, but if you’ve only had the contents of the jars in the store, you’ve never had real sauerkraut—not the stuff purists approve of, mind you. Real sauerkraut still has a bite, with a vibrant, deep flavor, slightly salty but never overpowering, and lots of spice. It’s a living ferment, unlike the stuff you can buy in the store.
This is a quick sauerkraut, and we’re not making a lot of it, so it comes together quickly. Take your cabbage and cut it in half, cutting the core (the white stem you see somewhere on the cabbage) in half. Now use your knife to cut a v-shaped slit out of the cabbage halves, just to remove that tough core. All that’s left is the cabbage. Lay the flat side of the cabbage half on a cutting board and now cut slices in the short way (perpendicular to the core), never thicker than ¼ inch. This is a nice chiffonade, so to speak, that’s going to make for a light but crunchy sauerkraut.
Place an empty bowl on a scale and press the tare button so that the scale zeros. Now add your cabbage and note how much it weighs. We are going to add 2% salt to it, so multiply that number by 0.02. That is how much salt you will need. Weigh out the salt and then sprinkle it over the cabbage. Now for the important part: massage it into the leaves. Get in there with your clean hands and make sure the salt is really mixed into the cabbage and really rub it into those leaves. Leave the bowl on the counter for an hour, covered with a tea towel. I also like to add some caraway seeds to my sauerkraut, but fennel seeds, celery seeds, and coriander are also popular.
