Choucroute Garnie

How to make it

1. Rinse the sauerkraut in a colander under cold water and press out all the liquid with your hands. It should taste fresh and tangy without biting on the tongue, since very sharp sauerkraut only gets sharper during the long braise.
   Chef's tip Press until no more drops come out — the water you leave behind dilutes the Riesling and stock, while the sourness stays put in the cabbage. If it bites on the tongue now, it will still bite after an hour and a half.
2. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
3. Melt the goose fat in a large ovenproof pot over medium heat and sauté the onion strips for 6-8 minutes. They should be soft and glossy without taking on color.
   Chef's tip Keep the onions pale — listen for a quiet sizzle, not a crackle, and pull the heat down if edges start browning. Browned onion sugars read as sweet-roasted against the cabbage's sourness, which isn't the profile here.
4. Spread half of the pressed sauerkraut over the onions and scatter the juniper berries, cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, and caraway seeds on top. Nestle the pork shoulder and the smoked slab bacon into the sauerkraut, and cover them completely with the rest of the sauerkraut, so the meat steams in the cabbage instead of drying out.
5. Pour in the Riesling and chicken stock so the liquid comes just up around the cabbage without covering it. Bring the pot up to a simmer over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the liquid bubbles gently along the edge.
   Chef's tip Liquid up around the cabbage, not over it: the top layer should steam rather than boil, which keeps the strands intact instead of collapsing into mush. If it looks submerged, ladle some out before the lid goes on.
6. Cover the pot with the lid and place it in the middle of the oven for 1½ hours. The cabbage is ready when it is tender and golden, and the meat yields to a fork. ⏱ 1 h 30 min · passive
7. Remove the pot and press the Montbéliard sausages down into the hot cabbage so they are covered. Return the pot to the oven, covered, for 30 minutes, until the sausages are heated through and the skin is taut and glossy. ⏱ 30 min · passive
   Chef's tip The sausages only need to be heated through. Had they gone in from the start, the fat and juices would have run out into the cabbage, and the skin would wrinkle and split instead of standing taut and glossy.
8. Peel the potatoes and cut the largest ones in half, so all the pieces are the same size and finish cooking at the same time.
9. Put the potatoes in a pot, cover them with cold water, and salt the water well. Boil them covered for 25-30 minutes from cold water, until a knife slides easily into the center, then drain. ⏱ 25 min–30 min · passive
10. Heat a pot of water until it steams without boiling, then remove it from the heat. Add the Strasbourg sausages and let them sit until heated through and taut in the skin — if the water boils, the thin skins will split. ⏱ 10 min–15 min · passive
    Chef's tip Hold the water around 75-80°C — steam rising, no bubbles breaking the surface. Boiling makes the emulsified filling expand faster than the fine skin can stretch, and the sausages burst and go grainy.
11. Lift the pork shoulder and smoked bacon out of the cabbage and cut them into thick slices against the grain. Lift out the Montbéliard sausages and cut them into diagonal slices. Finally, taste the cabbage for seasoning, since sauerkraut and smoked meat season themselves — add salt only if the cabbage needs it.
12. Lift the steaming sauerkraut out with a slotted spoon, letting the Riesling and chicken stock liquid drain off, and pile the cabbage high in the middle of a large warm platter. Arrange the slices of pork shoulder and bacon, the Montbéliard slices, and the poached Strasbourg sausages around the cabbage. Set the potatoes in a bowl alongside. Place the platter in the middle of the table together with the strong Dijon mustard. Everyone helps themselves to cabbage, meat, and potatoes, and puts a dollop of mustard on the edge of their plate.