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Sauerkraut Balls

I get asked every year about sauerkraut balls when we make them for Christmas. I grew up in Germany and love sauerkraut and never heard of these until I moved to NE Ohio and was introduced to them by my former mother-in-law. One bite and I knew they needed to be part of the annual Christmas repertoire. The kicker is, I don’t want to cook on Christmas, so prep these in advance to only have to bread and fry them on Christmas Day. I tweaked her recipe a bit and everyone agreed (even her) that it was improved.

Warning: it’s a 1-2 day process so don’t wait to start! These also freeze well (unbreaded), so we can make a batch and freeze half for Christmas in July.

1 lb ground beef

1 lb roll of breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean is good)

4 tablespoons chopped onion

2 tablespoons dry parsley 

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 cups of sauerkraut juice drained from:

2 lbs of bagged sauerkraut (canned isn’t as good)

Note: if there isn’t 2 cups of juice, top off with milk to equal 2 cups of liquid


Breading: 

1 cup flour

4 eggs

2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Oil for frying


Brown meats and onion. Stir in drained sauerkraut. Run this mixture through a meat grinder or food processor until it is ground finely. (I used to use the grinder on my kitchen aid, but it was soooo messy, so I switched to the food processor with great success). Return mixture to pan and stir in flour, seasonings, and juice/milk. Stir until combined, heat through, then transfer to bowl to chill in refrigerator overnight.

Once chilled, form into balls (I use a small cookie scoop) and layer with parchment paper in a container in the refrigerator to firm up for the next day.

On cooking day, heat oil to 350 degrees in a deep pan. Coat the balls in flour, then egg, then panko and set on a rack until oil is ready. Deep fry 4-6 min until golden brown and delicious. Drain on a rack over paper towels.

For the day after, These also reheat beautifully in an air fryer (400/10min)

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