I found this recipe on the back of a bag of Mahatma Rice back in the mid-1980s. It’s a good thing that I wrote it down, because it doesn’t appear anywhere on Mahatma’s online recipe archive! It’s quick, easy and delicious. Although the “German-ness” of this dish is slightly suspect, you do get a great taste of German cuisine with this dish. Plus – like most of my other favorite dishes – it only requires one skillet! You can’t go wrong there!
Ingredients:
1 lb. bratwurst, weißwurst, bäuernwurst (or other German-style sausage)
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup sauerkraut
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked rice
2 teaspoons mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon caraway seed
Pepper (to taste)
Nutmeg (to taste)
Hardware:
1 knife
1 cutting board
1 skillet
1 large spoon
1 meat thermometer
The first thing you need to do is determine if the sausages you’re using are raw pork or are fully-cooked. Look carefully at the wrapper the sausages came in – if the package says “fully cooked” or “heat and eat”, you’ll only need to heat them enough to “crisp” the casings. If you DO NOT see those words, you must assume that they contain raw pork! Raw pork sausages will take at least 15 minutes to cook – make sure that they get to at least 160° before you add the remaining ingredients. Also, fully-cooked sausages can be easily sliced before heating; if you’re using these, go ahead and cut sausage against the bias into one-inch slices before cooking. If you’re using raw sausages, don’t try to slice them until after they’re done cooking – otherwise you’ll have a mess on your hands! Let them cook and cool off a bit before slicing them!
1) Brown sausage in skillet, making sure to follow the advice above.
2) Add the onion and garlic to the sausages, sautéing a couple of minutes until crisp.
3) Stir in all other ingredients, bringing to a boil. Cover, simmering at low heat for around thirty minutes.