Braised Pork with Kielbasa, Kraut and German Potato Salad

This is one of my dad's all time favorite family dinners.  We are lucky enough to have a german butcher in our town that makes their own sauerkraut, bacon and fresh kielbasa.  Obviously fresh is best but the pork loin is the star of the dish so make sure you are purchasing a quality piece of meat.

Ingredients for pork:

1 pork loin, (1 inch of meat per person)

2 small yellow onions, sliced lengthwise and then cut into half rounds

1 cup of white wine

2 cups of vegetable broth

Kosher salt and pepper

Paprika

Olive oil

1/2 lb of sauerkraut or weinkraut (fresh if possible)

Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Season pork with salt, pepper and paprika. Brown the meat, fat side down first rotating to brown all sides about 3-5 minutes per side.  Stand the roast up on one end when all sides are browned and add the onions and stir to sauté. Season onions with salt and cook for 5 minutes.  Place the pork down over the onions.  Pour in wine and increase heat to a hard boil, reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes.  Add in broth, bring to boil and reduce to a simmer.  Simmer meat for 20-30 minutes per pound.  For the last 30 minutes of braising, add in sauerkraut and bring heat back up to temperature.  Remove meat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with braising liquid and kraut.

Ingredients for potato salad:

1 medium red potato diced per serving, 8 for these measurements

1 small onion, diced

6 pieces of bacon, browned and crumbled

1/4 cup of flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp of butter

4 tbsp of flour

2 tbsp of red wine vinegar (less or more to taste)

Water to thin

Salt, pepper and creole seasoning

Place diced potatoes in large pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a gentle boil, cooking for 12 minutes until fork tender.  Drain and set aside.  Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan.  Add onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add in flour and stir for 2 minutes.  Add in vinegar and then thin the mixture with water to the consistency of mayonnaise.  Season with salt and pepper and add in parsley, stirring.  Toss potatoes in the mixture  and heat until fully warmed through. Sprinkle lightly with Creole seasoning, crumble bacon over the top and stir to combine.  Serve warm.

Ingrediens for kielbasa:

6 links of fresh (not smoked) kielbasa

1 red onion

1/2 lb sauerkraut or weinkraut

Olive oil

In a large saucepan, bring 1/2 inch of water to a boil.  Add in kielbasa and cover, simmering for 15 minutes. Drain off water when sausages are cooked through.  Place back over heat and drizzle olive oil over to promote browning.  Brown each side of the sausage and then toss in onions.  Cook onions about 8 minutes until just beginning to brown, turning the mixture regularly to prevent burning.  Add in kraut and liquid if needed.  Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. If you can only find smoked sausage, you can skip the boiling step.