Crockpot Pork and Sauerkraut Recipe

Crockpot pork and sauerkraut. The traditional New Year’s Eve recipe for good luck in the new year. Pork shoulder and sauerkraut, with apples, onions, and bacon to add flavor, cooked in the crock pot all afternoon.

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• Ingredients
• Equipment
• How to Make Crockpot Pork and Sauerkraut
• Recipe Notes
• Variations
• Storage
• What to serve with crock pot pork and sauerkraut
• Crockpot Pork and Sauerkraut Recipe
• 💬 Comments

I’m republishing this recipe because my sister-in-law asked me about it, and I figured polishing it up for the New Year is a good idea.

Pork and sauerkraut is a New Year's tradition in my wife's family. She remembers the tradition fondly.  Or at least, she does now.  When she was growing up, she wasn't a big fan.  (Sauerkraut?  Eeew!) Her grandma would always hound the kids to eat at least one strand of sauerkraut, "because it brings good luck in the new year". Needless to say, the grandkids weren't convinced.

I grew up loving sauerkraut; I have fond memories of hot dog carts in downtown Cleveland, dogs loaded with everything, where the highlight was the sauerkraut. My love of these hot dogs was a turn-off to Diane when we were dating; she couldn't believe I loved those "smelly dogs" so much. I was thrilled with her family's New Year's sauerkraut tradition. I had to work on Diane, thought; she ate her sauerkraut out of obligation, not because she wanted to. Eventually I was able to find some sauerkraut recipes that she didn't hate. In fact…she kind of likes this one.

And! Now I get to torture our kids with sauerkraut on New Years Eve. "Come on, kids, you have to eat one strand. Great Grandma is watching you!"

Want to guarantee good luck in the new year? Have some pork and sauerkraut! You can only have one strand if you have to. But I'll bet, once you taste it, that you'll have more than that.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bacon, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
• 2 pounds sauerkraut, drained and rinsed (I prefer bagged sauerkraut)
• 1 pound new potatoes, scrubbed
• 2 apples, cored and diced
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon coriander seed
• ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 pounds pork western ribs or pork country ribs
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups Riesling or other dry white wine

Equipment

6-quart or larger crock-pot or other slow cooker.

How to Make Crockpot Pork and Sauerkraut

Brown the bacon

Put the bacon in a cold fry pan and turn the heat to medium. Cook, rendering the bacon fat and turning occasionally, until the bacon is browned and crispy, about ten minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon. Leave 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan and discard the rest.

Prep and layer ingredients in the crock pot

While the bacon is browning: Drain and rinse the sauerkraut, and place in the bottom of the slow cooker crock in an even layer. Scrub the new potatoes and put them in a ring against the outside edge of the crock. Core and dice the apples, and put them in the middle of the potatoes. Sprinkle the brown sugar, thyme, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and bay leaves into the crock. Sprinkle the pork with 3 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon ground pepper, then layer on top of the other ingredients in the pot. Put the browned bacon in the pot whenever it is ready; in my case it wound up on top of the apples.

Saute the aromatics

When the bacon is done, add the diced onion and crushed garlic to the pan, then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, scraping the browned bacon drippings into the onions, until the onion is starting to brown around the edges, about five minutes. (While the onion is cooking, continue with the layering the ingredients step if it is not done yet.) Add the wine to the pan and bring to a simmer. Scrape any remaining browned bits from the bottom of the pan, then pour the onion/garlic/wine mixture into the crock over the top of the pork.

Slow cook the pork

Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours.

Plate and serve

Remove the pork ribs to a plate. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon, cut into quarters, and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaves and throw them away. Stir the ingredients left in the crock into the sauerkraut, then remove the sauerkraut to a serving platter using a slotted spoon. Ladle a cup or two of the liquid left in the crock over the sauerkraut, ribs and pork. Put the pork and potatoes on top of the platter of sauerkraut, serve, and enjoy.

Recipe Notes

• Riesling: Riesling comes in a variety of sweetness levels, from dry (no sweetness) to syrupy sweet (dessert wines). A dry to semi-sweet Riesling is my preference for this recipe. German Rieslings have their sweetness level as part of the name; look for halbtrocken (off-dry), or trocken (dry). Really, any inexpensive white wine that isn't too oaky will work. (The only wine I would avoid is cheap chardonnay, which tends to be heavy on the oak.)
• Why a cheap white wine? Because about half a bottle goes into the slow cooker. I want to drink the good stuff, not cook it. If you're serving a crowd, get a cheap bottle for the pot, then some better wine for everyone to drink with the meal.
• No Alcohol: The alcohol helps bring out the flavors in the meal - some flavors are only alcohol-soluble - but if you don’t drink alcohol, just replace it with water or apple juice.
• Apples: I use granny smith apples because they hold up better to the long cooking time, but you can use whatever apples you have on hand.

Variations

• Pork Roast: Instead of the pork ribs, use a pork shoulder roast. Increase the cooking time to 10 hours on low or 5 hours on high.
• Add smoked sausage: If you have a pound of kielbasa or smoked sausage, slice it and add it on top of the apples. You'll have bacon, smoked sausage, pork ribs, and sauerkraut. What could be better?
• Red wine instead of white wine: Red wine is common in German sauerkraut, so if that's what you have on hand, ahead and use it.

Storage

Leftovers are good for a few days in the refrigerator, or for months in the freezer. Try to add some liquid from the pot into the container when you freeze it.

What to serve with crock pot pork and sauerkraut

Crock pot pork and sauerkraut can be a one-pot meal. But, if you want to serve a spread of dishes, I recommend mashed potatoes, green beans, and a salad on the side, as well as some crusty French bread or dinner rolls.

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What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts:
Slow Cooker Pork Pot Roast
Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut
Instant Pot Sauerkraut and Sausage
My other Crock Pot and Slow Cooker Recipes

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