Hi..... I came across your site looking for a recipe for a beef shoulder roast. I needed to know how long to cook it. Anyway, I really have enjoyed looking through your recipes and plan to try them. I enjoyed finding your recipe for spareribs in sauerkraut because my mother made them as well. She learned from her father and they always put a peeled and chopped apple in the roasting pan with the ribs. Gives it a delicate sweetness and the apples pieces taste delicious. We love it. Thanks for your recipes...
Sheryl

I agree with Sheryl Crawford. During the depression we ate a lot of affordable Spareribs & Sauerkraut. Also,...there was a ground beef dish she made almost in the same way. It wasn't creamed just boiled with onion and we ladled it with an open ladled spoon (no liquid) over a piece of bread....or she would add a potato to this boiled dish. Is there still that kind of recipe around? I remember that "simple" recipes always tasting good when I was a kid.

When I was in Ohio a few years ago, we went into a pub that served lunch. Spareribs and sauerkraut was what they were serving that day ~ everyone was very happy to eat it up. It's a regular lunchtime meal. The only thing that was different from your recipe is, they served it over mashed potatoes.

I found it interesting they were eating this for lunch....and still had room for dinner later.

Hi Sheryl - adding a chopped apple is a great idea, thank you.

Hi Daisy - I don't know about the dish to which you refer, but I'll ask my father. If you come across the recipe, please let us know about it.

Hi MsOktober - it has always seemed to me that they do things somewhat differently in the midwest than they do in California. I think my mom and dad found a place in Minnesota that served Sauerkraut and Spareribs, but I've never found it anyplace but at home.

Oh good heavens. You're the first person I've run across who eats ribs and sauerkraut outside my own family. (My father's family are from Germany.) We do them differently though. Slice the onion and put it in a 9x13 pan and put the ribs on top. Put in the oven around 350 degrees for an hour or so. Add the sauerkraut mixing in the juices and cook for another half hour or until the ribs are done. They brown beautifully so the meal is less grey and a bit more attractive.

MKK

Hi Mary Kay - I'll have to try that method, thanks for sharing. And by the way, I don't know anyone, except the members of my family and the folks who have commented on this recipe, who have even tried spareribs and sauerkraut.

I was given a recipe for this and tried it yesterday, it was really enjoyable. I served it with dumplings or "sparrows". I am in Australia and my friend in MN.

Oh this is most definitely a German dish! My family (though we aren't at all German) eats this every single New Year's. It is the traditional good luck dish to ring in the new year. We bake the ribs and put the sauerkraut on top, like Mary Kay said. We also use the carroway seeds. No ketchup, though - I would never have even thought of that! We usually serve it with/over really basic mashed potatoes to add substance and the all-important STARCH! ;) I'd love to see this in a restaurant, but I would worry that it was too greasy. Yum!

My fiance and I are both German (he from PA and me from CA) and we eat this over mashed potatoes. Also, we have it with a tenderloin instead of spareribs as a traditional New Years Day meal.

We use a piece of roasting pork with onions tomatoes pearl barley and a fresh cabbage as well as tinned sauerkraut.Add a sprinkle of carraway seeds into large baking pot and cover and leave in oven till meat falls off bone-several hours!

We also had this meal EVERY New Years Day. My father and all his family were German. My Mother always put in the chopped apple... and always served it on mashed potatoes. I think there are many many people here in the USA who follow this tradition. : ) Happy New Year to all.

Also,...there was a ground beef dish she made almost in the same way. It wasn't creamed just boiled with onion and we ladled it with an open ladled spoon (no liquid) over a piece of bread....or she would add a potato to this boiled dish. Is there still that kind of recipe around? I remember that "simple" recipes always tasting good when I was a kid.

I agree! And that ground beef dish is very similar to what we grew up on - we called in "minch" or "mince" - I guess because everything was minced up all in one pan! We eat it to this day and here's how I make it:

Brown ground beef in skillet, add chopped onion, diced potatoes and enuf water to cover. Cover the skillet and let everything simmer until the veggies are cooked. Some members of the family add other stuff, like carrots. We all serve it with the juice, which is very flavorful. Add a "bread and butter sandwich" to help sop of the juice so you don't miss a drop!

Many's the time I've used it as an emergency dinner! Even if your ground beef is frozen, it doesn't take long to defrost in a skillet while you're preparing the veggies, and after you add the veggies it only takes as long as the veggies to cook and you're dining like a king!

Londa

Great recipe for spareribs, my mom made them the
same way. I forgot how long to cook. delighted
someone knew how.

Thanks.

I use bottled sauekraut to avoid the can taste and I rinse the kraut before adding, otherwise one of my favorite dishes.

This is great! My grandmother made this all the time. It was always served with potato dumplings and sometimes there would be meatballs tucked into the sauerkraut as well. Divine!!! She was Irish, but grandpa was all German. Droool. I now make this whole mess once a year, usually around Easter.

My family does pork hocks and sour kraut with dumplings. Very simular cooking method to these ribs. Isn't it great to know you aren't the only one whose family still enjoys these old recipes?

My parents are both from the Midwest, and my mom makes the most amazing sauerkraut . . . with potatos and apples and my dad's homemade Polish sausage. I can relate -- during the time we lived in Sacramento, we sure met with some odd responses regarding this dish! People just don't know what they're missing . . .

sounds fantastic, both the original recipe you posted and all the variations suggested in the comments! my husband loves sauerkraut, and my kid will eat anything with a healthy lashing of ketchup. :)

i'm wondering if this would adapt nicely to a crock pot... hm. should do, yeah? will try it out this weekend and see.

My family makes this recipe - with a few variations. We add (1) large can of the canned potatoes and throw everything into the crockpot for 6 hours or so.

I also find, like a few others, that it helps to rinse the kraut before adding it to cut down on the taste - I've also tried adding a little apple juice to cut the kraut.

It definitely is german, from the frankfurt region, there it's called "rippche mit kraut", which actually means the same. There it is cooked with a kind of dry bacon called "dörrfleisch". And I think the sauerkraut should not come from a can but should be fresh, tastes much better then!

oh, and it is eaten without the ketchup. Definitely!

I make this in a crock pot every New Years. My Texas German husband fell in love with it when he met me ....a Pennsylvania girl of German descent. He says it's not New Years without it. And we eat it on mashed potaotes. We adopted Hispanic kids and now they eat it too!

WOW! My father's family is German and we used to eat this all the time for dinner when I was a kid. I had totally forgotten how good it was until I saw it in print here. I know what to do with the last two racks of ribs in my freezer. Now, if I can just make it down to the local German deli, Thurn's,and pickup some fresh kraut...

A lady from Romania gave this recipe to my Mom in the 50's. It is comfort food at it's best! Cut two racks pork babyback ribs into several pieces ( two ribs per cut ) Place in the bottom of a large kettle. Make cabbage rolls ( filling: 1lb ground beef, 1/4 lb pork sausage, 1/4 C long grain rice, 2T fine chopped onion, couple pinches of salt, dash of pepper ) place on top of ribs. Cover cabbage rolls with 2 cans sauerkraut, topping with 2 cans stewed tomatoes. Add water to bring liquid level close to top. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce temp and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Adding water if necessary. Make onion roasted potatoes ( recipe on onion soup pkg )Serve with warm crusty bread and dipping oil with balsamic vinegar. ENJOY!!

I too am from MN and my mom made this a lot growing up because it is very tasty and inexpensive. The only difference is that we cooked the peeled potatoes in right with the ribs and kraut and onion. That way they absorb the flavors, too. Also, you can use other cuts of pork just fine.

Mom said it was an Irish meal, or possibly Polish. Mom was Irish and Dad was Polish and she couldn't remember if she got from her family or his.

We also had a dish called "Boiled Dinner" that used a "smoked pork shoulder butt" with potatoes and cabbage. very yummy but I have not been able to find a smoked pork should butt in over 20 years.

Then there was a beef dish with potatoes and carrots and onion that was cooked in the same manner. It was a pot roast, basically.
Thanks,

My great-grandfather was of German descent and my great-grandmother was of Dutch descent. Spareribs and sauerkraut was a staple with boiled new potatoes in the skin. I am one of the few left in my family with the recipe. My great-grandmother used Applejack (hard cider) in the cooking liquid and always cut up a few apples with the skins on. Wow!

sounds an awful lot like a take on choucroute which is a dish that orginiated in the alsace region of france
but then again, maybe choucroute is a version of this
who knows whether the chicken or the egg came first after all....

Spareribs and sauerkraut is typical and traditional Austrian, Hungarian, (Istrian) Italian, Slav, and German cuisines. In San Pedro, CA. where one the largest Slav populations in the country resides the dish is a standard. In the past there were several restaurants and cafes that featured Slav menus. Now Ante's is the sole survivor, and their spareribs and sauerkraut is to die for. Ante's now bills itself as a Croatian restaurant, but the late Ante, my Cub Scout den dad, was Dalmatian. The Croatian Club of San Pedro (once the largest fishing port in the world) still hosts an annual Slav dinner for the beginning of the fishing season. Also typical of Slav cuisine are cevapcici - a spicy ground lamb/pork sausage, sarma - stuffed cabbage rolls, and mostaccioli and pot roast of spareribs, bacon, and a pork roast.

Here's a San Pedran version of the dish:

6# sauerkraut washed and drained
2c. water
3# spareribs cut into pieces
Hungarian paprika to taste
1 onion
2 green bell peppers
2-3 stalks of celery
4 Polish sausages

Simmer the sauerkraut in water for 1-2 hrs.
Bake covered the remaining ingredients except for the sausage for 1-2 hrs and then add the sausages in the final 15 minutes uncovered.
Combine the meats with the sauerkraut and simmer for 30 minutes.

Ante's Restaurant
729 S. Palos Verdes Street
San Pedro, CA 90731
310-832-5375

I am of Greek ancestry. Many cooks in the northeastern part of Greece where my grandmother was born have a tradition of cooking sauerkraut and pork. It is a favorite during the winter holidays, especially during New Year's. My grandmother and my mother make their own sauerkraut, and then use it as needed during the season. It is cooked with pork and onions and a quantity of tomato sauce and flavorings is added. It is a delectable dish. I would have to say that it is of Middle European origin, that versions of it date back centuries, and that its popularity spread with the spread of the Ottoman Empire which from the middle ages until the 1800s occupied many parts of Middle Europe and Greece.

Worked out beautifully in the crock pot - threw in everything, left it on low all day, and it was falling apart tender and good! I used boneless ribs, since that's what i had, and subbed chicken broth for wine, because that's what was on hand. :)

Reading through everyone else's comments, this will definitely go in the rotation, with some variations. thanks, Elise, and everyone else who commented!

My mother added either brown sugar and/or maple syrup. This flavor contrasted nicely against the tartness of the kraut.

I'm Swiss, from Wisconsin, and this was a classic weeknight recipe at my house. Sometimes mom also made it with butcher-shop hot dogs (really more like small kielbasas). She always served it with mashed potatoes, and she liked to brown the kraut first in a cast iron skillet with onions.

On the hamburger dish, mom also had a dish called "hamburger with milk." I'm pretty sure this was a Depression-era thing. It was hamburger and onion simmered in some milk and a little water, eaten with boiled potatoes or over white bread.

My wife came home with sauerkrout and ribs today. God knows what for. She is Thai and only cooks Thai food. Suddenly a light went on; spare ribs and sauerkrout! I'm German born and my mother made it often. Thanks for the recipe.

Wow.... what a lot of comments people have written in about this dish since I did. It is fun to read through them all and see how much we have in common. I definitely think this dish belongs in a cookbook of comfort foods!

As I think back, my mother learned from my grandfather to sprinkle a bit of brown sugar and some chips of butter over the dish before baking. (I think my grandfather added a bit of brown sugar and butter to practically everything. No wonder his cooking was so good!) I will add that we always had these ribs with mashed potatoes like so man others. We always had candied carrots and we served ketchup with it as well.

I like the idea suggested above of browning the ribs a bit before adding the cabbage to give them more color. I'll try that next time. After reading all these great comments, I don't think I can wait til New Years's to have them again!

Wow, I thought only our family was nuts for this! I make it in the crock pot with some smoked sausage sliced on top. I will definately have to try it with brown sugar. And instead of ketchup being the main condiment, mustard is a must for me and my father!

I was searching high and low for a spare ribs and sauerkraut recipe and am delighted to find yours! My non-German mother always made spare ribs and sauerkraut on New Years, with collard greens, black eyed peas and cornbread. I love the recipe and plan to try it this weekend, cooking it in my crockpot.

I never minded the grey color; I was too thrilled with the taste. We never used ketchup, but sometimes had mashed potatoes with the dish. I had no idea it was of German origin - a little kid doesn't care about things like that.

I'm from Lithuanian grandparents on both sides of my family. We've eaten spareribs and sauerkraut many a day and grandma also put the potatoes right in with the meat and sauerkraut. Boy that sure brings back memories. I haven't had this dish since I was a teenager. Will need to make this soon and you all have made my mouth water. YUMMY!!

Spare ribs and sauerkraut was a weekly meal in my young days, almost like hot dogs are today. My mothers concoction was grey (I never thought of it like that) and the potatoes were mashed. Another German dish that we had regularly is Wilted Lettuce - that's a real YUM!

My kids also grew up on sauerkraut and pork but we've always served our with baked apples, dumplings and mashed potatoes to catch the great kraut' juice. Usually served in the winter months for us. Wonderfully satisfying!

I remember growing up my grandmother would make this for me and I loved it. It's now my traditional birthday dinner. One thing I'd suggest is cooking the ribs in the kraut juice without the kraut in for half the time, and then adding the kraut later so it stays a little crunchy. The juniper berries sound excellent, and next time I'm going to give that a try.

Country ribs & sauerkraut. I grew up in Minnesota. It's one of my favorite comfort foods. Works great in the crock pot. I like to add some quartered potatoes and some caraway seed. When I eat it, I mash the potatoes and sauerkraut and meat together with some butter and salt. A German version of Colcannon?

My husband's father is of German decent and we live in Illinois but neither of us had heard of this before. My husband can't stand Sauerkraut so I may have to do this the next time he is out of town - perfect thing for this nasty weather we've been having! :)

OH, this is a wonderful dish. My father makes it with pork roast, (got the recipie from a family friend of German decent), and serves it with heavy noodles.... have to remember to get that recipie from him....

This is exactly how my dad (Wisconsin, German decent) makes these, minus the wine. I know of several restaurants in southeastern WI that used to serve this, although I can't vouch for if they still do. It's truly one of my favorite meals, wonderful on a chilly day. It does smell up the house a bit though :)

I still make the dish, just like my mother and grandmother did. They did not wash the kraut, but they mixed in potatoes, chopped apple, onion, and sprinkles of brown sugar with the ribs, and baked for several hours.

When I saw this recipe on the list I couldn't believe it. This is my husbands favorite recipe with just a couple adjustments. We make it with beef short ribs and in the crock pot. And I love barbecue sauce on the side instead of ketchup. I always serve it with potatoes and carrots. The carrots add a little color.
YUM YUM!

This dish is also a favorite of mine. My Mother cooked it a lot back home in Ohio and I brought it with me to Illinois. My husband likes it with mustard. I never heard of serving it with ketchup before or BBQ sauce. Very interesting.

Hi Elise! My oh my what a wonderful read! I adore the recipe and all the great, generous comments. Keep up this incredible blog. Blessing sent your way.........

Boy, did all these comments bring back memories! I remember having spare ribs and kraut at several German restaurants in Minnesota and Wisconsin as a child. My mother had a diner in Minneapolis during the 60's, and she served them with mashed potatoes regularly. It's where I learned to make them, and they joined my weekly rotation as a young wife. Then I forgot about them until a few years ago, now in San Diego. I made them for my son and my sister-in-law, neither of whom had ever tasted sauerkraut -- they hated it! I guess you have to develop the taste for sour food in childhood.

Great read.. Have sent recipe home to my wife who is Czech and although not mentioned in any of the posts, this is a popular dish throughout the Czech Republic. Im not sure of the origins but I can tell you its a favourite of mine whenever I head back to Prague to visit my wife's family (we reside in Australia and have to go looking for decent European cuisine). And always served with dumplings - I would have my hands cut off if I poured ketchup over it.

Great recipe and hopefully my wife is keen to try it in the near future..

It has been so good reading all these comments; got some new ideas for an old stand-by. I am originally from the N. panhandle of West Virgina and we ate this dish quite often when I was kid. We also had a "special" version for New Years Day which was for good luck. When I moved to South Carolina my husband had never heard of this tradition or tasted sauerkraut and spareibs. (Down here it is blackeye peas and collard greens on New Years) He likes the savory flavor and I like the walk down memory lane. Thank you so much for posting this recipe and all the versions.

I've had something very similar. I'm in Cincinnati, which has some great German heritage, so a dish like this goes over well here.

I used to make this recipe all the time. I would buy a 28oz. tin of whitewine sauerkraut add a couple of blackpepper corns and a few bay leaves in my pot for extra flavour.

Elise, I came across this post the very night before I was going through my fridge looking for inspiration. I used tenderloin chops and put it in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours with 1/2 cup beer, but with the caraway and onion as you suggest. It was delicious.

For those of your readers in the Northeast, there's a company called Real Pickles that makes real, unpasteurized salt-fermented sauerkraut (and other things) that is phenomenal, so much better than anything else that isn't made at home.

My father was Ukrainian and this was a favourite dish of mine growing up in Ottawa, Canada. It is so simple and satisying. I still prepare it frequently.

Elise,

I'm going to be making this dish tomorrow. What's your take on rinsing the kraut? (Your instructions seem to imply dumping the entire can in.)

Thanks,
Josh

Elise,

This turned out excellent. I didn't rinse my store-brand sauerkraut and everything tasted great! :-)

Thank you!

Josh

I didn't read all the comments, but I did want to say that I grew up with this dish. I'm cooking it tonight. Of course, I'm from Minnesota and my mother was German. It's a great Saturday night supper!

Wow! I came across this site just looking for short ribs and kraut, I was missing my mom today. She used to make short ribs and kraut, but she was from Eastern Washington, and of Scottish descent. I wonder where she got the recipe. I hunger for them on cold wintery days, and haven't had any since long before mom was gone. Can't wait to fix some.

There is a wonderful German restaurant in Southern California called Jaugerhaus Restaurant. They have a wonderful spareribs and sauerkraut dish on the menu. They are on Ball Road in the city of Anaheim.

I have cooked pork, sourkraut and dumplings for years. I use any cut of pork and any type of dumplings. Don't understand why most of the commentors only eat it for New Years. It is great anytime and yes it does "smell" up the house but it is a smell that makes you drool.
Happy eating all,
Linda

This post brought a smile to me. My husband is Korean whose widowed mother remarried an American GI (originally from KY) in the 70's. My mother-in-law would make this for dinner, sometimes with the addition of chopped celery. Sauerkraut is a similar concept to fermented kim chee so I imagine that is why she made this so frequently. Now this tasty dish is part of my dinner repertoire even though I'm Chinese-American!

This recipe sounds delicious I will surprise my husband this new years with it.
He is always wondering who has the recipe for mulligan stew I not even know if I spell it correctly. But you may know what I am talking about
Thank you
Marcie

I was in Germany recently and was shown an interesting way to make the sauerkraut. They added tomato paste, beef bouillon and marjoram, along with the white wine, onions, apples and cranberries. Delicious!

I am living in Germany now, and my hubby loves ribs and kraut. I grew up with the dish too, my grandma and all her daughters made it. The "heavy" noodles that melissa mentioned are called "spätzle" which means cut noodles and are very easy to make. Start a pot of water to boil then:

7 oz flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
5 tbsp water

If you have dough hooks use them, if not it doesnt matter. Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Beat eggs salt and water together and gradually mix the liquid into the flour. Beat until the dough forms bubbles (a couple minutes).

Turn the dough onto a small cutting board, and with a sharp knife scrape small 2-inch bits into boiling water and simmer till the spätzle float to the top. With a slotted spoon, scoop them out as they rise, and place in a colander. When they are all done, rinse with cold water and toss with browned butter! Yum! The German cooks usually add a little nutmeg to the flour - really good.

Somone asked about a recipe for ground beef and potatoes over bread. Its also very simple. Just add a pound of ground beef. potates and some chopped cabbage to 2 quarts of water. S+P, a little parsley and then cook till done. I love this dish,
You can spice it up anyway you like and its always good.

I am of Polish and German descent and my mom and grandmother made sauerkraut & pork all the time. I was just looking for some reminders about this dish since my mom has passed away and I can't ask her. We make homemade sauerkraut each year in my family so I am using that. I purchased flat ribs and country ribs both (the flat has lots of flavor and the country lots of meat). I browned the meat but then for a little different twist I carmelized some onions in the pan drippings. I will save those to add at the very end. We always use whole peppercorns, they add a little color. We also cook new, small red potatoes in the juice of the meat and kraut, the potatoes soak up the jucie and are so yummmy. I added one large onion while the kraut and ribs are cooking.

Back in Milwaukee, we made this with smoked pork chops (hard to find out here in California), chopped apple, and I like to add a can of chickpeas, which work very well with the sauerkraut. We also added any leftover grilled bratwurst that may have been in the fridge.

My family is Lithuanian (father) and Irish (mother). My mother made this dish frequently when I was growing up in Philadelphia. Since I've become an adult, it is always the meal she makes for me when I visit her. Mom's dish does vary a little. She always cooks bacon and onion together in the pot before adding the pork (usually a pork shoulder or butt --sometimes country ribs), apple, and kraut. She never uses wine, but adds enough water to moisten it a bit. Mostly she cooks it on the top of the stove. If she cooks it in the oven, she uses back ribs. When we were kids, the best part of the oven method was that the acid in the sauerkraut would soften the rib bones to the point where we were able to eat them. We all thought this was great fun.