Pork and Sauerkraut: A New Year’s Tradition for My Family

You probably don’t think of sauerkraut when you think of Italian food but, it is very prevalent in the cuisine of the northernmost parts of Italy.

Friuli Venezia Giulia is in the far northeast of Italy, and in many ways, it's distinct from the rest of Italy.

For many years, the region was a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and as a result, the local cuisine reveals a great many Central European influences. You will see the use of sauerkraut (crauti in Italian), potatoes, and turnips, as well as the preparation of savory and sweet strudels. There is also the custom of lightly smoking cold cuts, especially prosciutto (the smoked version is called speck), that one doesn't often encounter in other parts of Italy.

Another significant characteristic of this region's food is a relative lack of tomatoes. Although you may encounter them, they are certainly not as important as they are further south.

Pork is a celebratory dish in any pig-loving culture. Pigs relentlessly root ahead as they eat, as opposed to the backward scratching of chickens and turkeys, and so are considered a symbol of progress. "And sauerkraut with pork was eaten for good luck on New Year's Day, because, the pig roots forward. All over people pounce upon superstition and put a glorious hunk of pork at the center of a holiday table. A meal of pork and sauerkraut as an indispensable New Year's ritual.

They are a rib-sticking, savory fare for a wintery day, but there a reason for this tradition besides the direction a pig dines? "Everybody rejoices when November kills its pig," reads a Latin inscription under a painting. Pork has always been a cultural touchstone in Germany and Eastern European countries. Many of these customs are found in the heavily Germanic influenced cuisine of Northern Italy. Peasants who raised pigs slaughtered them in the fall, in part because it's a good food safety practice to embark upon the time-consuming task of butchering a large animal when it's cold outside. The weeks following the slaughter afforded more fresh cuts of pork than the preserved hams and sausages relied upon otherwise and a family could plan and reserve a choice cut of pork for New Year's Day.

As for the sauerkraut, the fall likewise was the height of cabbage harvesting, and thus the shredding and pickling of pounds and pounds of it to preserve as sauerkraut. I remember my mother doing this as a child. She had large ceramic crocks that she would use to ferment the cabbage we collected from the garden. If you've ever brined your own sauerkraut, you know it can take six to eight weeks to ferment. The timing is too perfect, as is the culinary pairing: rich, fatty, and salty pork is the soulmate of tart and lean kraut. Besides that, the long shreds of kraut are thought to symbolize a long life.

• I peeled and diced apples to add to my sauerkraut to add some additional sweetness and texture.

• I seasoned it with caraway seed, bay leaf, dried currants, a touch of brown sugar, and a little white wine.

• I seasoned the pork roast with rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, and olive oil then rubbed the entire roast with this mixture.

• In a cast-iron pan, I created a bed with the apple and sauerkraut mix and seated the seasoned pork roast on top of it.

• I then covered it to prevent it from drying out during the cooking process and placed it in a 325-degree oven for four hours.

What a truly flavorful way to start the new year.

Have a happy and prosperous New Year!

Alla prossima!

Buon cibo e boun appetito!

Chef John