Pork and Sauerkraut

Eating sauerkraut on New Year's is an old Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, said to bring good luck. The traditional meal consists of pork and sauerkraut served together, with sauerkraut representing luck and the pig representing rooting into the New Year . It's a feel-good and flavorsome ritual and it may be just what you need to start the New Year. Serve with mashed potatoes or dumplings.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 3 hr
• Total Time: 3 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 244 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 3 cups water, or more as needed
• 1 (3 pound) pork roast
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans sauerkraut, or to taste
• 1 apple - peeled, cored, and finely chopped

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Step 2

Place pork roast in a large roasting pan. Season with salt and black pepper. Mix sauerkraut, water, onion, and apple together in a large bowl. Pour sauerkraut mixture over roast.

Step 3

Bake roast in the preheated oven until heated through, about 1 hour. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Continue to cook roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), adding water if sauerkraut mixture looks dry, about 2 hours more.

Step 4

Remove roast from oven and allow to rest in a warm area before slicing, about 10 minutes.