Sauerkraut, pate, bone broth

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #1

Hello forum friends.

We have a really nice farmer’s market in Richmond, VA, USA and since the summer months are coming at us, its a good time to visit and see what is available.

Today I’m going to get some bones and do beef bone broth. I’ll use a pressure cooker today. Once the bone broth is started I’m going to make a batch of sauerkraut and chicken liver Pate.

I’ll try to remember to post pictures later today.

Later this summer I’m going to start doing fermented vegetables like spicy green beans.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Keto on.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #2

The Sauerkraut is up:

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This is the best video on making sauerkraut that I watched. I did watch many on the biochemistry and such. But this one was just 100% practical: https://youtu.be/Smo2SXv99w0

I think my container is too big. I could put 3 to 4 heads in this jar and have room left over.

I’m going to let this go for a week and taste it. We like our kraut strong so I will probably let it go for 2+ week. I’ll then store it in the fridge in qt mason jar(s).

Moving forward I want to do sauerkraut and maybe spicy green beans several ways and will probably migrate to these tools and smaller wide mouth mason jars. I will definitely make fermented pickles like half sauers.

Next up will be spicy sauerkraut.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #3

On the way to beef bone broth I found a supplier at the farmer’s market in Richmond, VA, USA that had good prices on chicken feet, backs and necks:

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Even with the chicken liver in this set, I paid ~$12us for all of this yummy broth and pate supplies. I’ll make bone broth in a week or two.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #4

I have made lots of fermented vegetables and three to six weeks is my favorite for sauerkraut. You can eat it at one or two weeks and it will have beneficial probiotics but three plus weeks is when maximum probiotic benefits are peak and the flavor will mellow and get better. I really like the science toward the end of the article about the different strains of beneficial bacteria.

Awesome that you’re getting into it, Dill pickles are easy and fun and ferment in a week or so if cut in chips. You don’t need an airlock because of the short fermentation time. I just use a mason jar and loosely put the cap on so gas can escape. Use a bag of brine to hold them under like you did on the kraut.

I found this to be a wellspring of inspiration for kraut making, and creating custom spice and vegetable variations.

Enjoy in good health Eric :cowboy_hat_face:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #5

Thanks for the links. I’m excited. Yes I went overboard with the airlock. I used to make ale before I went keto.

I saw the bag trick yesterday in a video and then it has been in several videos since.

We are traveling at 3 weeks from yesterday. So I will definitely be putting it up at that point in the refrigerator.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #6

You can take it out when you get home and it will continue to ferment. You could also safely put it in a cool cabinet or closet and let it continue to ferment. I did a six week old sauerkraut that’s really great last fall, I still have a quart and a half in my fridge. Sauerkraut was used to keep cabbage through the winter and spring till the next crop without refrigeration traditionally. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #7

David the site and articles you posted are great. I love the detail. My undergrad degree is chemistry and I’ve got and engr degree. So science is cool with me. I’m excited. I want to put up some kraut with some spicy peppers in it. I might do a couple of quarts in the week before we travel.

Thanks. I’ll be reading this a lot this weekend.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #8

Hello all,

@David_Stilley provided some links to https://www.makesauerkraut.com

This site is a very deep and comprehensive site for fermentation at home. I haven’t read it all but I have read enough to know this is my go to site now.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #9

I never made Pâté before. I grew up in a liver free family. My mother rejected her farm life upbringing. My wife grew up eating liver. She’s only had Pâté a few times but liver and onions and liverwurst were staples in her German descendant family.

She told me last night it was perfect. I did add some bacon pieces to the final mix and stirred the bacon in. I’ve frozen 1.5 lbs in 4oz portions. And I have some left for us to enjoy today.

I put up 6 6oz portions of beef bone broth and portioned out 14 grams of the fat in each one. I used a pressure cooker so it is not possible to add more water, or at least easily.

Next time I will:

  • use less bones
  • use more water
  • cook 2 hrs not 1.5 in the pressure cooker
(Full Metal KETO AF) #10

Since you like the science I think you’ll appreciate this book by Sandor Katz, the acknowledged guru of fermentation. His book on fermentation (Wild Fermentation) got him the James Beard Award and it’s unique because he isn’t a chef. It’s the most comprehensive book on fermentation out there.

Here’s an interesting article that I loved because there are so many myths about what works with fermentation on the web.

https://m.facebook.com/notes/wild-fermentation/mythbusters-wild-fermentation-edition-/10152528275575369/

:cowboy_hat_face:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #11

I tried a small amount of the kraut today on day 7. First the smell inside the container was a little sulfurish. I think that is normal. There was a small amount of white mold (or yeast?) on the ziplock. I just wiped it off.

Taste was good, but very early as expected. not very acidic yet. But definitely sauerkraut. I can’t wait for 2 more weeks. Or maybe three. Then I will put it up in the fridge.

My oldest said she is going to wait 2 hours to make sure I don’t get sick before she tries it. Oh what confidence in me she has.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #12

If it will make you sick it will also be unpalatable. And the smell quite off, also possibly slimy. I have never had a batch go bad, make sure all the vegetables are adequately covered in brine. If it’s not enough mix a teaspoon of salt per cup of water and add enough so that when the kraut is pushed down you have about an inch of liquid on trip. Definitely Kahm yeast, the white stuff is harmless.

Eric you should try making a batch of Paò Caí. It’s easier than sauerkraut because the cabbage is in chunks and easy to keep floaters off the top of the brine. I think you’ll really like this Chinese Sauerkraut, most likely the oldest variety of kraut. The Chinese invented air lock fermentation vessels about 2000 years ago. Most likely it spread across Asia to Northern Europe through what was the USSR.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #13

David,

Thanks. The cabbage is under brine so I’m good. I’ll check out Paò Caí. Thanks again for your help.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #14

I made a thread a while back in recipes.

:cowboy_hat_face:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #15

Put the sauerkraut in the fridge today. 4+ weeks fermenting. No mold or other oddness visible. Smelled good. Tried 2 tablespoons and it tasted just like I wanted it to be. I think when it is cold it will be even better.

Tart, or sour and has some crispiness. Salinity is present but not over salty.

Happy for my first successful batch. Had one previous failed batch.

1 head = 1 qt.

I hope to try some fermented pickles this summer.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #16

That’s great Eric, it really is easy isn’t it! I hope things ar going well for you. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #17

David,

I over thought the first batch and did not do my research. I have a BS in chemistry and MS in Environmental Engr. That got the best of me. :rofl:

You and others provided links and reading materials that served me well.

I’m doing great. Just got back from a week in Florida that was too hot, too rainy and I got my first chest infection in more than 5 years. Antibiotics fixed me up and the wife and I were able to drive the 960 miles back in a day and a half. I’m so glad to be home and able to cook what I want and know that the ingredients are of my choice.

In Florida, I spoke to one of my wife’s aunts that is 86 years old and of polish descent. She was describing for me a large crock they used to make sauerkraut every fall. They did many heads of cabbage at once. The kids crushed the cabbage with their feet. She also said they fermented many different vegetables. She was so excited to know that I was coming back to a batch of homemade sauerkraut. For that matter so was my mother-in-law who is of German descent.

Someday I hope to make moldy salami as well. Getting ready to get a dehydrator for beef jerky, again for controlling the ingredients. I’ve made jerky in the smoker but that is a bit of a hassle and the batch size is small. I want to be able to put up a large quantity of jerky. I’ll still smoke some but maybe one out of 5 batches.

Thanks for your support, David.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #18

You’re quite welcome Eric, and I know well about Florida. My good friend lives in Port Charlotte and we talk often. I was there over Christmas till February and it was pretty nice most of the time except a few tropical storms and a small tornado going down the street while I was inside at a dental appointment. :grin:

:cowboy_hat_face:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #19

I grew up in Winter Park outside of Orlando pre-disney. I miss the old Florida.

We were in the Ft Myers area just south of Port Charlotte. One day was 106F. That after it rained the first 3 days we were there. But we were occupied with a celebration of my father-in-law’s life. So the rain was not a big deal.

This was in the sound behind Sanibel.

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(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #20

Good video of half sour pickles and a young boy eating them at the end.

My mom used to buy me giant barrel pickles for my birthday. Pickle == love. :heart::laughing::rofl::+1: