Alsatian Choucroute

Name: Alsatian Choucroute
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: 2 pounds sauerkraut; 2 tablespoons duck fat or vegetable oil; 5 whole duck legs, cut into thighs and drumsticks; Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped (about 2 1/2 cups); 3 cloves garlic, chopped; 2 carrots, peeled and cut into large rounds; 10 juniper berries, or 1/2 cup gin; 6 peppercorns; 2 bay leaves; 2 cups dry white wine; 2 cups chicken broth, plus more if necessary; 12 small Red Bliss or Yukon Gold potatoes; 5 garlic-chicken sausages, beef sausages, or hot dogs; One 3-to-4-pound corned beef (see preceding recipe); Mustard or mustard sauce (recipe follows) as garnish; Horseradish as garnish; 2 tablespoons strong French Dijon mustard; 2/3 cup red-wine vinegar; Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; 1 scant cup peanut or safflower oil; 2 large shallots, diced; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley; 1 French cornichon or Russian gherkin, diced (optional); (about 2 cups)

December 9, 2011

One-Dish Sabbath meals like choucroute and pot-au-feu are for Alsatians what cholent is for Jews from eastern Europe. In the nineteenth century, the author Alexandre Weill mentioned the Sabbath lunch meal of his childhood, which included a dish of pearl barley or beans, choucroute, and kugel, made with mostly dried pear or plum. Choucroute with sausage and corned beef is also eaten at Purim and has particular significance. The way the sausage “hangs” in Alsatian butcher shops is a reminder of how the evil Haman, who wanted to kill all the Jews, was hanged. Sometimes Alsatians call the fat hunk of corned or smoked beef “the Haman.” Michèle Weil, a doctor in Strasbourg, makes sauerkraut on Friday, lets it cool, and just reheats it for Saturday lunch. She varies her meal by adding pickelfleisch, duck confit, chicken or veal sausages, and sometimes smoked goose breast. You can make this dish as I have suggested, or vary the amounts and kinds of meats. Choucroute is a great winter party dish; the French will often eat it while watching rugby games on television. When you include the corned beef, you can most certainly feed a whole crowd.

Recipe notes