Choucroute garnie

Showing the different kinds of sausages, and potatoes

Choucroute garnie is a dish that can be found in the eastern parts of France, in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. In essence, it consists of Sauerkraut, with different types of sausages, and other cooked meat is added. Very often, potatoes are added too. There are many regional variations, and there's no set recipe. Most often, the sauerkraut is served with three or four different kinds of sausage, potatoes and other cooked meat. The types of sausages which are used are Morteau sausage, Saucisson vaudois, and Frankfurter. Other cooked, usually salty meat is commonly added, as are potatoes.

In other regions of France, there are also recipes with fish, shellfish and mussels.

Riesling, or another kind of white wine is used to prepare it. The version that uses Champagne instead is often called Choucroute royale.

At the base, choucrote garnie is a dish of the common people, that is cheap to prepare. There are higher-priced versions that use foie gras, or deer. Many grands chefs also prepare their version.