At this time of year our Eaten Alive Smoky Pink Kraut has long been referred in-house as our, ‘Christmas Kraut’. This is in no small part down to the sweetly spiced aromatics we use in it’s formula. Chipotle chilli, cumin, coriander seed and black pepper rub shoulders with cloves, cardamon and cinnamon for a flavour profile that’s so close to something that resembles Christmas.
Here in our Ultimate Christmas Kraut recipe we marry brined cranberries in a similarly sweetly spiced pickling brine and a touch of citrus for a seasonal condiment that unashamedly screams 🎄 CHRISTMAS 🎄
Ingredients:
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400g Cranberries (frozen are fine if fresh aren’t available)
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300ml Apple cider vinegar
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150ml Water
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200g Organic cane sugar
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1 large Cinnamon stick
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3 x Star anise
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1 tsp Whole allspice
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1/2 tsp Whole cloves
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1/2 tsp Black peppercorns
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1/2 tsp Juniper berries
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1/2 tsp Salt
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1 x jar of Eaten Alive Smoky Pink kraut
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1 x unwaxed orange
N.B. The aromatics used in this recipe are chosen to mirror and compliment the aromatics we use in out Smoky Pink kraut. However if you don’t have them to hand it doesn’t matter too much as the aromatics in the kraut will lend themselves to the final flavour profile.
Method:
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Thoroughly defrost your cranberries if using frozen.
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Combine the apple cider vinegar, water and sugar in a medium sized saucepan. Heat very slowly stirring regularly until the sugar has dissolved into the pickling brine. Remove from heat.
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Meanwhile break the cinnamon stick into a few pieces. Add all the other aromatics to a pestle and mortar and roughly break them up. Add these broken aromatics to spice bag if you have one, otherwise add them loose along with the cinnamon sticks to the pickling brine.
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Heat the pickling brine and aromatic mix very slowly until it just about begins to boil. Keep this brine solution at a low simmer for a good 5 mins to infuse the brine with the aromatic flavours.
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Once infused with flavour remove from the heat and remove the spice bag or strain the brine through a fine sieve to remove all the aromatics.
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Return the brining solution to your saucepan along with your cranberries. Bring the solution and cranberries back to a medium heat being careful not to boil the berries. Watch the berries carefully, you’ll know when they’re ready as the skins will begin to split. This will take approximately 4 mins on a medium heat.
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Once done, use a slotted spoon to transfer the berries to clean (ideally sterilised) glass jars. Pop a piece of the broken cinnamon stick into each jar if using. Top your jars with the brining solution until the cranberries are covered. Seal the jars immediately whilst still hot.
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Leave the jars a good 24hr ideally for the flavours to develop.
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To make the ultimate Christmas Kraut, we add the pickled cranberries to out Smoky Pink Kraut at a 1:2 ratio by weight. i.e. 50g pickled cranberries to every 100g of Smoky Pink Kraut.
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To give the Christmas Kraut the final flavour flourish we add just a touch of freshly squeezed orange juice and zest from an organic unwaxed orange. Add this to taste at the end of the process just before serving.
Serving suggestion:
Perfect as a condiment for cheese boards, charcuterie and those all important leftover sandwiches.