Kwaśnica Góralska

Ingredients

• 700 g smoked pork ribs
• 300 g fresh pork ribs or pork neck
• 100 g smoked streaky bacon
• 800 g well-fermented sauerkraut
• 250 ml sauerkraut brine
• 2 litres cold water
• 1 large onion
• 600 g floury potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp lard
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 allspice berries
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• salt and black pepper to taste

Before you cook

• Cut the smoked pork ribs between the bones into single ribs.
• Cut the fresh pork into 4 cm chunks.
• Dice the smoked bacon into small cubes.
• Peel and finely chop the onion.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2 cm cubes.
• Squeeze the sauerkraut over a bowl and keep the brine that runs out.
• Chop the sauerkraut roughly if the strands are long.
• Peel and crush the garlic cloves.

Steps

1. Put the smoked ribs and the fresh pork into a large heavy pot.
2. Pour two litres of cold water over the meat.
3. Add the bay leaves, allspice berries, peppercorns and caraway seeds.
4. Set the pot over medium heat and bring it slowly to a gentle boil.
5. Skim the grey foam off the surface with a spoon and discard it.
6. Turn the heat to low and simmer the meat, half covered, for one hour.
7. Lift the meat out onto a plate with tongs.
8. Tip the squeezed sauerkraut into the broth and stir it in.
9. Simmer the sauerkraut, covered, for forty minutes until it is soft.
10. Melt the lard in a frying pan over medium heat.
11. Fry the diced bacon for four minutes until the fat runs and the edges crisp.
12. Add the chopped onion to the pan and fry for six minutes until golden.
13. Scrape the bacon, onion and all the fat into the soup pot.
14. Pull the cooked meat off the bones and tear it into bite-sized pieces.
15. Return the meat to the pot and stir it through.
16. Add the cubed potatoes and simmer for twenty minutes until tender.
17. Pour in the reserved sauerkraut brine a little at a time, tasting as you go.
18. Crumble in the marjoram and stir in the crushed garlic.
19. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
20. Take the pot off the heat and let the soup stand for ten minutes.
21. Ladle into deep bowls and serve with dark rye bread.