Looking for a simple, cheap and hearty meal to soak up the massive quantities of beer you may have been drinking lately in honor of Oktoberfest?  Try some polish sausage and fermented cabbage.  If you can find some fresh kielbasa, use that, but it will need to cook a lot longer.  I prefer to make this in a cast iron pan and then finish cooking in the oven.   But since I’m visiting some older relatives this weekend, I’ve been limited in my cooking materials and ingredients.  Even with this simple recipe, there were no leftovers.

Plus, the Germans swear that sauerkraut is good for digestion (along with apfelwein).  So consider this a “healthy” alternative to a hot dog and french fries.

Polska Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
Serves 2.

Ingredients

1 lb of precooked polish sausage (or a 14 oz package)
1/2 lb of sauerkraut
1/2 an apple, diced
1/3 cup of red onion, diced thin
1 tbsp of butter
1/2 a can of beer (optional)
Caraway seeds
Salt and pepper

Directions

Brown the sausage in a pan over medium-high for about 4 minutes on each side.  Set aside.  Remove pan from stove and lower the heat.  Add butter to pan, along with onions and apples (you can leave the peel on).  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Saute for 5 minutes or until onion is soft.  Add sauerkraut and increase the heat to medium.  Add caraway seeds if not already in sauerkraut.  Add beer if desired.  (Otherwise, if too dry, add some chicken broth or water so that sauerkraut does not burn.)  Cook and stir for about 2 minutes.  Return kielbasa to pan.  Cover.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Flip kielbasa and cook for another 5 minutes.  Cut kielbasa into links and serve over the sauerkraut with some spicy mustard (Lowensenf would be great if you’re lucky enough to find it).

Have some German potato salad on the side, if you need some carbs to counteract the alcohol.