Community Corner

Queens Eats: New Year's Pork and Sauerkraut

This pork-based recipe symbolizes luck in the New Year.

This article was written by Erin Walsh.

Happy New Year.

A German tradition that my family follows - my mother being partially German - is to make pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day.

As my mom says, a pig walks forward (like many animals, I know), whereas a chicken scratches back. So, repeat after me: no chicken on New Year’s.

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To augur in an auspicious 2014, I decided to make this succulent swine dish for my husband and me. I adapted the recipe slightly and used apple vinegar and green apples, omitting the onion and caraway seeds. The dish turned out delicious, as I hope that this year will as well for all of you in Patchland.

Ingredients

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8 center cut pork chops
2 pounds sauerkraut, drained
1 large red apple, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon caraway seeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the pork chops on both sides, about five minutes per side. Place the chops into a 9x13-inch baking dish.

3. Mix the sauerkraut, apple, onion, brown sugar and caraway seeds in a bowl until well combined and spread the sauerkraut mixture over the pork chops. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until the pork is no longer pink inside, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a chop should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).


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