Kapusta and Kelbassi

Join me as I make Kapusta and Kelbassi (Sauerkraut and Sausage) – From Tika’s Cookbook for the first time! This is a recipe from Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home sourcebook, originally released in 1987. The recipes are compiled by Tika Waylan Majere. You can buy Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/309152/Leaves-from-the-Inn-of-the-Last-Home?term=leaves+from+the+inn+of+the+last?affiliate_id=50797

From Tika’s Cookbook

Kapusta and Kelbassi (Sauerkraut and Sausage)

Unbeknownst to some, the inns between Solace and Gateway do serve nourishment other than dwarf spirits, even in such out-of-the-way places as the Cracked Mug. Kapusta and Kelbassi can be kept hot all day and dished out to weary travelers attracted by its aroma.

Kapusta:

1 pound meaty pork bones (equal to 1 pound spare ribs or other meaty bones)
4 pounds canned or frozen commercial sauerkraut
1 head (2 pounds) cabbage, shredded
¼ cup sugar
2 pints beer
2 pounds onions, chopped
1 pound fatty bacon, diced

In frying pan, fry bacon until almost black; add onions and continue frying until everything is black. Set aside.

Mix bones, sauerkraut, cabbage, sugar, and 1 point beer in large pot. Hear until juices begin to boil, then lower the heat until mixture is simmering. Stir bacon and onions into cabbage mixture. Simmer at least 2 hours, adding more beer as needed to keep cabbage from drying out and sticking to bottom of the pot (though a little blackened cabbage stirred up from the bottom adds more flavor). Add chunks of Kelbassi (below), and keep it warm until served.

Kielbasa (fresh)

For every pound of lean ground pork::

1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 clove garlic
1 cup water

Crush garlic; mix in water with salt and pepper. Add to ground pork and mix thoroughly by hand. Place in refrigerator or cellar overnight, mixing occasionally (at least 3 more times)

Stuff chilled meat mixture into hog casings, pricking out air bubbles with a clean, sharp sewing needle, forcing meat into spaces. Casings with holes large enough for sausage to leak out should not be used. Knot ends of casings close to sausage. Cook sausage in boiling water for 45 minutes, or freeze raw in tightly wrapped packages. Thaw in refrigerator before boiling.

Tika Waylan Majere wished to gratefully acknowledge the help of Kate Novak, Cook of the Inn of the Last Home, in compiling and writing these recipes. Kate Novak wants to add her own acknowledgements to the following: noted gnomish historian, Jeff Grub; the original Fizban, Frank Dickos; noted kender authority and bard, Janet Pack; noted mother of Kate Novak, Leonard Obarski; noted mother-in-law of Kate Novak, Patt Grubb; and Que-shu princess Laura Hickman.

Transcript

Cold Open

This recipe was a chore with not a lot of payoff.

Intro

Today I am making Kapusta and Kelbassi (Sauerkraut and Sausage) from Tika’s Cookbook in Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home. If you have made this recipe, share your thoughts in the comments below!

Discussion

This is the last recipe in Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home, and I have been putting it off as I was intimidated by making my own sausage, even though we have the equipment to do so. So today I finally decided to put my concerns aside and do it. Since this is a two day recipe, I began with the sausage. I collected the ingredients: two pounds of ground pork, and for each pound I added one teaspoon salt, one-fourth teaspoon black pepper, one clove of garlic and one cup of water. I began by combining them all in a bowl and mixing the ingredients by hand until completely mixed. Then I put it in the refrigerator overnight, mixing it a few more times before the next step.

The next morning, I cleaned and assembled our meat grinder, loaded the nozzle with the casing which was much more challenging as you have to keep it wet and it was all twisted up. Once it was loaded with enough casing, I totally guessed, My wife fed the pork as I managed the sausage, twisting alternate directions for each. When an air bubble appeared, we pricked the casing with a tiny sewing needle to allow air to escape but no meat as I squeezed it in place. With the sausage complete, we put it in the refrigerator to set for a couple hours before beginning the next step.

Knowing I had to use a big pot, I opted to do everything in my cast iron pot, so I boiled the fresh sausage for forty-five minutes. This was directed, I would never cook it that long normally. While it was boiling I collected the ingredients for the next step. One pound meaty bones, we used beef ribs because we had some in the freezer. Four pounds of sauerkraut, one head cabbage, one-fourth cup of sugar, two pints of german pilsner, two pounds of onions, and one pound of bacon. I began by prepping the cabbage and onions as the sausage was still boiling. Next I chopped up the onions, And finally I cut up the bacon.

When the sausage was finished cooking, I removed it and covered it as I began the bacon. I cooked it until it was nearly black, then added the onions. This took a while to cook until black, I constantly raised the heat a little at a time until they were all near black, and removed them from the pot. Then I added the remaining ingredients: cabbage, meaty bones, one beer, sauerkraut and sugar and cooked till boiling. Then I lowered the temperature down to simmer and added the onions and bacon to the mix. Next I allowed it to simmer for two hours. I checked on it, stirring it every thirty minutes. When it was finished, I cut up the sausage and added it to the mix, stirring it in and allowing it to soak up some of the flavor and warm up.

Now that it was finished, we all sat down to a massive meal. This ended up being much sweeter than I expected, the onions and cabbage tasted like a jam. The sausage alone was good, but it missed some spice heat. If I ever made it again, I would cook the sausage in the Kapusta rather than boil it beforehand.

Outro

Thank you for tuning into this DragonLance Saga Recipe episode. This has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time Slàinte mhath (slan-ge-var).