German Meatballs with Sauerkraut

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A hearty stew of German meatballs with sauerkraut, the perfect recipe for cold autumn and winter days.

German sauerkraut

This stew with meatballs and sauerkraut is a dish of Saxon origin. What sets it apart from a traditional Romanian recipe is the use of the wine sauerkraut, which is different from the typical Romanian sour cabbage or varza murata.

Romanian sauerkraut is sourer, more robust, has a stronger taste, and comes in rougher pieces. In the beginning, I found German sauerkraut to be too delicate, too soft, tasting of wine, and sweeter than I was expecting it to be.

However, over the years, I’ve learned to appreciate exactly these qualities, its delicacy, its sweet and sour taste, which makes it perfect not only as a side dish for many meat main courses but also for salads.

I usually buy fresh sauerkraut from at the butcher’s, it tastes amazing and 1 kg costs only about 1 Euro. However, canned is good as well. To make this recipe I used 1 large can of Mildessa, which is incredibly overpriced on Amazon.com. (Amazon affiliate link)

You can choose another brand of German sauerkraut. But do choose the German kind, it tastes different than the American/Romanian/Eastern European sorts.

And learn how to cook simple sauerkraut, to serve as a side dish for many meat recipes.

This stew with meatballs and sauerkraut is actually a German/Romanian cooked by the Transylvanian Saxons who have been living in Romania for centuries.

The first colonists of German origin started arriving in Transylvania about 850 years ago. Many of them were searching for a better life than the one they had in their homeland and were hoping for more freedom and rights in the new territories.

In a relatively short period of time, they grounded a number of communities, which developed into towns over the years, towns that still exist today, for instance, Sibiu – Hermannstadt (my hometown), Sighisoara – Schessburg, Brasov – Kronstadt, Cluj-Napoca – Klausenburg and so on.

How to make sauerkraut meatballs?

Meatballs:

• I used mixed ground beef, half pork and half beef.
• Soak the white bread for a couple of minutes in cold water.
• Chop the onions very finely and grate the garlic. Mix both with the ground meat.
• Squeeze the soaked bread and add it to the mixture.
• Add parsley, sweet paprika powder, lightly beaten egg, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
• Wet your hands and make small balls, about the size of a walnut. Set aside.

Stew:

• Place the sauerkraut in a larger pot. Add tomato paste, bay leaves, and sugar.
• Add enough water to almost cover the kraut. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and add the meatballs.
• Cover the pot tightly and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through, stirring from time to time and taking care not to break them.
• Add a little more water if you feel that too much of it has evaporated. I added about ½ cup more during the cooking time but not all at once. At the end of the cooking time, at least half of the water should have evaporated.
• Add the crème Fraiche/smetana/sour cream. Stir carefully. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.

How to serve?

The German meatballs and sauerkraut can be served immediately or they can be made in advance and then be reheated. This is the kind of dish that tastes even better when reheated the next day, the rest will allow the flavors to develop even more.

You can serve the stew with white bread (like most Romanian people do) or salt potatoes (like most Saxons do). You can also serve some more crème fraiche, smetana or sour cream on the side.

More hearty stews:

• Chicken Meatballs in Sauce
• Romanian Sausage Stew
• French Beef Stew
• Butternut Squash and Sausage Stew
• Romanian Pea and Chicken Stew