Sauerkraut and Pork Chops

Four hot dogs with a couple spoonfuls each of sauerkraut does not use up an entire 32 ounce package of the stuff. Needless to say, I had quite a bit left over. So I decided to make pork chops smothered in sauerkraut.

I used the B & G Reduced Sodium Sauerkraut for our Labor Day picnic meal. Let me be perfectly frank, it is LESS sodium but certainly not NO sodium. The package claims that it is 25% less sodium than the regular stuff. Two tablespoons contain 135 mg sodium while the regular kraut has 180 mg. Now that's OK if you're eating one hot dog with just the 2 tablespoons of kraut as a topping. But it's not OK if you're going to have sauerkraut as a side dish.

So the first thing I did was rinse the sauerkraut well -- twice -- under cold running water. Then I drained it and placed it in a bowl. To that I added a grated medium-sized potato, a grated apple, a couple of cloves of crushed garlic, and a finely chopped medium-sized onion that I had sauteed in butter until translucent. I mixed everything up in the bowl. The combination of the rinsing and all the additional vegetables cut the sodium content considerably. This is just another example of how to lower the sodium content of favorite foods by experimentation and imagination.

I started putting this meal together mid-morning for some reason, so I decided to use my crock pot instead of waiting to bake everything later in the afternoon. All I did was put four pork chops on the bottom of the slow cooker and cover them with the sauerkraut mixture. (I have to admit, I was feeling rather lazy, so I didn't even brown the pork chops.)

I set the slow cooker on high for about an hour and then turned it down to low for an additional four hours. By dinner time, they were done. For an added flavor adventure, I could have sprinkled each serving with a bit of slightly crushed caraway seeds. (I wouldn't want to cook them with the chops because the flavor might become overwhelmingly powerful.) I served the sauerkraut smothered chops with some lovely beets from the farmer's market. All in all, a pretty easy and very tasty meal.

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2016 Update: B & G no longer produces their low sodium sauerkraut, and I have not found another online source.