Baked Sauerkraut-Stuffed Potatoes with Sausage and Pork Belly
- Savory
- No rush
- French
- Comforting
- Stovetop
- Oven
Whole potatoes hollowed out and packed with a savory mix of sausage, pork belly and sauerkraut, then baked until the tops turn golden and crisp. A hearty, high-protein take on a French choucroute.
- Total
- 85 min
- Prep 25 · Cook 55 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Rendering fat · Simmering
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 200°C. Peel the potatoes and boil them in a large pot of salted water for 15 minutes, until a knife slides in with slight resistance. Drain and let them cool slightly.
~15 min
Parboiling to slight resistance sets the flesh so it holds its shape when hollowed, while the oven finishes cooking it through.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the potatoes boil, cut the pork belly into 1 cm cubes and the sausages into 1 cm rounds. Brown the pork belly in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, then add the sausages and cook 4 minutes more until golden.
~5 min
A dry pan lets the pork belly render its fat and brown properly, and that rendered fat then flavors the sausages as they sear.
Rendering fat Start the pork belly in a dry pan over medium-high heat and let the fat melt out slowly; if it smokes or sticks, the heat is too high.
-
Add the sauerkraut, juniper berries, 100 ml white wine, 0.5 tsp salt and 0.5 tsp black pepper to the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes until the wine has mostly evaporated and the sauerkraut is tender.
~10 min
Simmering evaporates the alcohol and concentrates the wine's flavor, while the juniper's resinous notes cut the sauerkraut's sharpness.
If the sauerkraut tastes very sharp, simmer it a few minutes longer with the wine so the acidity mellows before it goes into the potatoes.
Simmering Keep the liquid at a gentle bubble, not a rolling boil, so the sauerkraut softens evenly and the wine reduces without scorching.
-
Cut the potatoes in half lengthways and scoop out the centers with a spoon, leaving a 1 cm shell. Mash the scooped flesh and stir it into the sauerkraut mixture.
~5 min
Leaving a 1 cm shell keeps the halves sturdy enough to hold the filling, and the mashed flesh binds the mixture so it doesn't crumble.
Scoop the potato flesh while the potatoes are still warm; it comes out cleanly and mashes into the filling without lumps.
-
Brush a baking dish with the olive oil. Fill the potato halves with the sauerkraut mixture, mounding it slightly, and set them in the dish.
~5 min
-
Bake for 25 minutes, until the filling is hot through and the tops are golden and crisp. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
~30 min
The dry oven heat browns and crisps the exposed filling, and resting lets the potatoes firm up so they hold together when served.
