Smoked Sauerkraut

I don't know about you, but I LOVE sauerkraut! Not only do I love sauerkraut, I love that smokey, salty, tangy thing you get when you eat barbeque. So, this is my smoked sauerkraut recipe. Just in time for spring and summer BBQ's! Pair it with sausage or hot dogs, or in my case I like to eat it with a nice bit of brisket! Mmmmm...

You can purchase smoked salt from various sources. (I buy mine direct from a woman in Brooklyn who grows the salt and smokes it herself. )

Ingredients:

- 2 heads of cabbage (I love Dutchman Cabbage!)

- 1 yellow onion

- Sea salt & smoked salt

First you are going to chop or shred (if you have a food processor) all of your cabbage. I like to cut my cabbages in half, and then make a big V where the core is so that I can cut it out. Then I usually cut each half of cabbage in half again and then slice it into thin strips. Try to keep your strips around the same size, then I like to pick through it and get out any really fibrous bits, and then make sure the layers of cabbage are pulling apart. This is important so that when we go to add our salt, we are sure to get salt on all parts of the shredded cabbage.

I then chop my onion so the slices are a similar size to my cabbage. I add it all together into a large bowl.

Next, I add about 1/2 tsp of the smoked salt (it's very strong!) and 1 tbs of regular sea salt.

Mix it all into the cabbage and onion mixture. I like to really dig into the bottom of the bowl and get it mixed well. I also crunch and massage the cabbage as I mix things. You will start to see the vegetables sweat and this is a good sign because you are allowing the naturally occurring brine to develop. Give it a taste test and see if you like the taste. If it tastes like a salty potato chip then you are good on the salt factor.

Take a quart jar or larger jar if you have it and put a couple handfuls of the cabbage into the jar. Take your hand and make a fist and press the cabbage down into the jar. Add some more cabbage and press it down. You are going to repeat this process until you are about two inches from the top of the jar. You should see the brine start to rise up. We want enough brine to cover the entirety of the cabbage. No cabbage should be exposed to air. I like to find a jar that fits inside the quart jar and fill that with water and a lid and use it as a weight to keep the cabbage submerged below the brine. Then I cover the jar with a thin towel, old t-shirt, or anything to keep critters / bugs out. With some tape I put the date on the jar and then we wait. Alternative options to the towel method would be to ferment with a lid on the jar or to use a airlock. All these methods are fine and I don't believe one is better than the other.

You're going to want to wait 2-6 weeks for your sauerkraut to be ready to eat. Check on it every few days, give it a taste, when you like it then you can eat it. I like my krauts around 4-6 weeks and then I generally put them in the fridge. You can ferment them longer if you like. Fermentation is not an exact science. And that's why we love it!

Scoby Jerky

I'm always looking for ways to reinvent the wheel or for ways to utilize as many of components of something...like buying a whole chicken and using ALL of the chicken from the meat, to the bones...you get the idea.

As I have been preparing for a kombucha workshop this week I've been thinking about what new things I might present to the students. Normally, I give out a recipe for making Kombucha Soap, I talk about using pieces of scoby as a live bandage, but I wanted something new. I have a million scoby mamas hanging around my Brooklyn apartment. Some get saved as backups, or sold, most end up in the compost bin. Waste. I don't care for waste. Which led me to doing some research and coming up with this Scoby Jerky recipe. (Note: for those of you coming to the workshop at Pels Pie Co. this Thursday you are in for a treat!)

Here's my recipe:

- Take your scoby(s) and cut it up in to jerky sized strips. (Remember they will shrink when you go to dehydrate them)

- Marinade (adjust according to how many scobys you use) :  I used a combination of Gluten Free Tamari (appx 1/4 cup), 1/2 cup of kombucha, 1/2 tsp red chili flakes, 1/2 tsp grated ginger root, 2 garlic cloves (minced), 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 

- Put the cut up scobys in a plastic bag with the marinade. Zip shut and leave out on the counter for 24 hours.

- Take your dehydrator trays and line with parchment paper, or alternatively if you have removable liners you can use those. Give plenty to space between the jerky pieces so the air can circulate when dehydrating. 

- Dehydrate on 90 degrees for 8-12 hours (pending on your brand of dehydrator some are more efficient than others)

- Once it's the consistency of real jerky you can pull it from the dehydrator and enjoy!

Amazake

Amazake is an amazing asian sort of a fermented shake made using the mold infused rice called Koji. Drink it for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert. Here's how I make amazake!

- Boil 1 cup of white or brown rice in a pot with 2 cups of water. Turn down the heat and simmer for 50 minutes until cooked through.

- You'll want cool the rice down  so you don't kill the mold spores. It's very important to follow this step. I use any kind of meat thermometer or kitchen thermometer and wait for the rice to cool down to 140º F.

- At this point you'll mix in 2 cups of koji (I keep my koji in the fridge) and then you'll mix all the cooked rice and koji together and put into a glass jar. I like quart sized ball jars but, any kind of jar with a lid will work.

- Now we get to INCUBATE the amazke mixture for 10 to 14 hours. You want to keep your temperature around 131º and there are a couple ways to do this. The first is that you can place the jar in a small cooler filled with water heated to 140º and every few hours we check the temp and add more hot water as necessary. The second way you can do this is similar to how I make yogurt. You can take the freshly mixed jars, wrap them in a hand towel and rubberband the town in place. Turn on your oven light and put the jars in the oven for 10-20 hours and also it to stay warm this way. I also have a touch lamp I like to put inside the oven to help keep the temps up. I just wire a thermometer inside the oven and keep the digital box outside the oven so I can control the temp as necessary. My preferred method is to use a piece of bent cardboard to crack the oven open.

- At the 10 hour mark you'll want to check for sweetness. (this is a great ferment to incubate overnight when you're not using your stove) At this point crack open your jar and give it a smell and a taste. (Be smart. If it smells funky and looks funky...it might be funky. Put a small amount in your mouth and be prepared to spit it out if it tastes bad.) You want the amazake to taste sorta sweet. If it seems not very sweet, let it incubate for a few more hours. Taste it a couple more hours later. Make it to your desired taste!

- You're final step is to stop the fermentation process. Typically we do this by refrigeration, but in this case we will boil the mixture. If we chose not to boil it and let it hang out for a few weeks to months we would basically end up making the Japanese alcoholic drink sake. If that makes you swoon then you should do it!

- I read online that a tip from the guru of fermentation Sandor Ellix Katz, that if you first boil 2 cups of water and add it to the amazake it prevents burning. Mix well and as soon as the amazake begins to boil remove from the heat and refrigerate.

- I like to make shakes with my amazke...adding water or coconut milk and fresh berries. But, you can also eat it as a porridge, add other fun things to it and make it whatever you like!

Jalapeno's with Lemon

Sometimes I think the simplest ferments are the best ferments! I've been working on goodies for our Fermentation CSA pickup this coming week and this recipe made it in this time around! There was no shortage of amazing looking organic jalapenos at the Food Coop last week and with the weather warming up I am thinking what better than fermented jalapeno and lemon brine for cocktails?! Eat it straight or mix it with some gin or vodka for a fantastic cocktail! Here's my recipe...

Cheryl's Jalapeno's with Lemon

1 quart jar

1 lemon

6-7 jalapenos (pending on size)

Take the jalapeno's and slice them up at about 1/8" to 1/4" in size. Peel the skin/rhine of a lemon and put that with the jalapeno's in a jar. Make a salt water brine of 2 tbs of salt to 1 quart of water. Pour over the jalapeno's. Add a lid or airlock and let ferment from 7 days to 3 weeks.

Too simple? Consider adding turmeric root, garlic cloves, black peppercorns, or red chilis. Additionally this is a great way to make fermented hot sauce! Check back for that recipe soon!

Dosas

I personally love dosas, the fermented South Indian pancake crepe made from rice and lentils. What a great vessel for eating any and all things! These are not just for Indian food folks...I like to use mine as a fermented breakfast taco filling it will eggs, cilantro, sauerkraut or kimchi, amongst other yummy things. I recently taught a couple workshops on dosa making and here is my recipe below. Enjoy!

Dosa Recipe

Fermenting:

1/4 cup mung beans  +   1/4 cup brown rice

Soak for 18-24 hours

Drain, rinse, and let set in a strainer covered with a wet towel for a day, or until the mung beans have grown a 1/4 inch sprout.

Make sure to keep the towel damp and rinse the beans once or twice over the 24 hours.

When the mung beans have sprouted place the rice and beans in a blender with 1/2 cup filtered water (non-chlorinated) and blend until smooth.

Pour into a glass jar twice the volume of the batter to give it room to rise, and let sit in a slightly warm spot covered with a damp towel for 8 hours, or until bubbly. Refrigerate, or use right away - will keep in the fridge for a few days.

To use the batter add:

1/4 - 1/2 tsp herb salt, or sea salt

Optional: 1 tsp maple or agave syrup, or coconut crystals - this will give them a more golden brown color when they are cooked.

Tips:

Heat a small cast iron skillet, or a crepe pan, brush or spray the pan with grapeseed or coconut oil.

Place one or two tablespoons of batter in the pan and spread out with the back of the spoon.

It will have lots of little holes in it and when it is done the edges will be slightly brown and curled up.

Flip and cook briefly on the other sideremove the dosa from the pan, place it on a paper towel, and repeat the process.

The batter may seem thick at first but try one or two before thinning make sure to heat the pan up well before adding the batter so it doesn’t stick.

You can add chopped cilantro, toasted cumin, coriander, mustard seed, or pickled veggies to the batter to spice it up.

Fuhmentaboudit!

Our Chief Fermenter and brain child Cheryl Paswater was recently on the awesome radio show Fuhmentaboudit! on the Heritage Food Radio Network. If you don't know the show you check it out because Mary Izett and Chris Cuzme are amazing and they always have great guests on! You can check out Cheryl's interview talking on idli, dosas, and more at the link below.

http://www.heritageradionetwork.org/episodes/7914-Fuhmentaboudit-Episode-115-Dosa-do-Don-t-Mind-If-I-Do-with-Contraband-Ferments

Fermented Elderberry Soda

I've been playing around with fermented sodas more recently as it's starting to get warmer and after being super inspired after a friend was bringing me her fermented sodas while I had a nasty week long case of strep throat. Here's my recipe for my Elderberry Syrup & Soda.

1 cup dried elderberries

4 cups water

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1 Tablespoon cinnamon bark

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon star anise

1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 Tablespoon ginger root

1/4 cup wild cherry bark (also, burdock root can make a interesting spin on this drink.)

1 Tablespoon dried orange peel

Put all these ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to a boil on medium high heat. Once the mixture boils, turn the heat down and let the mixture simmer for 30-40 minutes. Using a strainer, pour the mixture into a large glass or Pyrex bowl (compost the herbs and berries). I like to press down with a wooden spoon to make sure I get all the juice and flavor I can! Let the mixture cool a bit and add 2 cups raw, organic honey to the mixture while it is warm, but not hot. This helps the honey to incorporate into the juice without the need to heat.

This makes about 5 cups of a rather thick syrup (thick enough to use on pancakes or waffles).

For the Soda

In a half-gallon pitcher or jar, add 2 cups of Elderberry Syrup and fill almost to the top with cold, filtered water. To this, add 1/2 cup of the Ginger Bug. Stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Cover with cheesecloth and a rubber band and allow to sit at room temperature for 3-5 days while it ferments. Depending on the weather, season, ambient temperature, and other variables, it may ferment quickly or take a little longer. Taste it after 2 days and see how it tastes to you and then decide if you’d like to let it go a little longer.

You can bottle your soda at this point, if you’d like. Use bottles with a screw top or bottle as you would homemade beer. I prefer to make small batches and drink it rather quickly as they do continue to ferment, even if stored in sealed bottles in the fridge.

Ferment! Ferment!

We are launching our site just in time for the annual Ferment! Ferment! event hosted by the amazing Zack Schulman. This event is one of the things we look forward to most each year and it's a party you're guaranteed to remember! Come! Join us! For the novice and for the beginner, and not for the faint at heart.

There will be several amazing workshops and we be teaching a workshop on How to Make: Idlis and Dosas. (Workshop schedule below)  Bring your experiments. And if you don't have any experiments? Bring vessels for everyone else to eat with (crackers, bread, etc)

Brooklyn Free School, 372 Clinton Ave, Brooklyn NY 11238

4-8pm

4:15-4:35 pm   Amazake: Traditional Japanese drink rich in enzymes with Natsuko Yamawaki

4:55-5:25 pm   Nukazuke: Japanese rice bran pickles with Michaela Hayes of Crock & Jar

5:40-6:40 pm  Wild Vegetable Fermentation with Tara Whitsitt, Founder of Fermentation on Wheels

6:50-7:10 pm   Sassy Short Meads with Mary Izett, author of Speed Brewing & co-host of Fuhmentaboudit!

7:30-7:50 pm   International Breads: How to make idlis and dosas with Cheryl Paswater of Contraband Ferments

Also, Zack got a nice shout out in Edible Brooklyn this week! Check it out!

http://www.ediblebrooklyn.com/2015/03/16/for-both-novices-and-experts-brooklyns-free-fermentation-party-returns-this-sunday/