The Amish Cook: Celebrating the new year with sauerkraut for good luck

These New Year’s Amish Sauerkraut Balls are the ultimate way to enjoy sauerkraut as a party food because they are so portable. Try eating sauerkraut in its juicy shredded form as you talk to party guests and you’ll have a potential mouth mess. But you can pop these into your mouth easily as you visit with people. Add a dipping sauce, like Ranch, to make them even more awesome.

Use a heavy skillet or pot to brown the meat. Cast iron is best. But you can use stainless steel or nonstick skillet. Sausage works best in this recipe, I think, but you can use any kind of ground meat, really. You could use hamburger, venison, ground turkey or ground ham or,a blend of ground meats.

Many Amish use a blend of venison and sausage. So, totally up to you, but if all things are equal just stick with the ground sausage.

As far as spices go, this recipe doesn’t have much beyond Italian seasoning and that works well in this recipe. You’re fine with just that, but if you must add more, consider some rosemary, black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper or even a hint of cinnamon. You can experiment to your taste.

The Amish south of Akron, Ohio, in the Holmes County area, seem to especially love this recipe!

You have a cream cheese and parsley mix that goes into the sauerkraut. You could use a mixture of cottage cheese and half and half if you need to make your own cream cheese substitute.

You can bake these in a metal roaster, a glass baking dish or even a pie tin in a pinch. Just get them into a hot oven and you’ll be in good shape.

As to how you serve these (wish I had gotten a better photo then just these sitting on a paper towel), use your imagination. I like sauerkraut balls best with Ranch, but you could dip them in blue cheese and, geez, honey-mustard or even barbecue sauce. Really, if it is a good dipping sauce, that is all that matters. But these are moist and flavorful enough that you wouldn’t have to dip them in anything.

New Year’s Amish Sauerkraut Balls

2 pounds ground sausage

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 (14-ounce) can sauerkraut, well drained and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

6 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, fry pork sausage and onion until sausage is evenly brown and onion is soft, about 10 minutes.

Drain and allow to cool slightly.

Crumble sausage mixture into a large bowl and add drained sauerkraut, mustard, garlic salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons bread crumbs.

Combine cream cheese and parsley, and mix into sauerkraut mixture.

Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees. Shape sauerkraut mixture into 3/4-inch balls. Coat balls with flour.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Dip floured balls in egg mixture and then roll in remaining bread crumbs.Deep fry in batches for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

Gloria Yoder is a young Amish mother, writer and homemaker in rural Illinois. Readers with culinary or culture questions or stories to share may write Gloria directly at: Gloria Yoder, 10510 E. 350th Ave., Flat Rock, IL 62427.