So did you ring in 2011 with pork and sauerkraut?
(Photo of kraut dogs by flickr user Jeffrey Bary was chosen especially for Jo, who I know loves to eat dogs this way!)
So I have to ask: Did York County’s favorite vinegar-plus-cabbage-plus-meat concoction help you welcome the new year?
Of course, I’m talking about pork and sauerkraut, which I’d asked your opinion of last week.
Our poll results were overwhelmingly in favor of “absolutely – have to have it!”
New commenter Jamie Kolasinski writes, “I grew up in Indiana, am of German, Polish, Swiss, Italian & Irish descent… my mom made pork and sauerkraut every New Year’s to bring luck in the new year. It’s best with a touch of brown sugar to take the edge off the sauerkraut! We live in SC now but still prefer the pork n kraut any day!!”
Jo also loves it. She writes, “YUM! I cook lots of extra kraut to eat on hot dogs later.”
Friend Linda H. mentioned some of the other traditions from my earlier post. She writes, “The hubby is from Ky so for him it’s ham hocks and black eyed peas. I’ll cook smoked shanks in green beans and we’ll have the black eyed peas. I like sauerkraut but he’s not a fan. My mother would always have pickled herring. Not me so I guess I’m the German black sheep. Personally I’d prefer prime rib.”
Mark sent us his New Year greetings from Austria and writes, “I just talked with my wife about what the tradition is here for New Year’s meals. She has told me that it can vary from region to region but involves pork and mainly sauerkraut. So this seems to be the tradition carrying over to there. I can remember when growing up York, we alternated years, one year pork and sauerkraut and the next hogmaw. Still involved pork. Here on New Year’s (Silvester) we give out small lucky charms to friends and such and most of them are little pigs. So there ya go, my 2 cents from Austria. Wuensch euch eine Guten Rutsch im Neues Jahr!!!”
And Ben had perhaps my favorite idea. He says, “I hate sauerkraut. But I eat one strand for good luck. LOL!!!”
Maybe that’s what I should have done. We did make some great boneless pork chops, but they were decidedly absent of any cabbage products!
