"Krauted Green Beans" or "Stinky Beans"

[ctraue]

We just got back from Minden, Germany. While there visiting relatives, they served a dish they affectionately called "stinky beans". These were a form of "krauted" green beans that are left in a sauerkraut pot for 4-6 months. They take equal amounts of green beans and salt (pound for pound). I have never used a sauerkraut crock or made it. I need help with this. Any ideas??! Did I mention I bought a crock and beans today?

[-Sylvie-]

I just googeld those, because I'd never heard of them. The only thing I could find, wasn't that detailed, but it said to clean and trim the beans, making sure to take the stringy bits of and the chop them coarsly. Blanch them in boiling salt water for 3 minutes, drain and allow to cool completely. Once cool it said to start layering them in the crock with the salt. Once finished, press down well so they are completely covered by the liquid that you get. Cover with a clean linen cloth and a wooden board weighed down with a stone. The cloth needs to be changed and washed regularly.

Sorry that's all I could find, hope it helps and good luck with your stinky beans!

[Queen Dragon Mom]

This is from the "Old Fashioned Recipe Book" by Carla Emery, circa 1980:
"Green Bean Kraut
Don't try this with yellow beans, they're too soft. Slice your beans lengthwise two or three times. Layer them in a crock with salt, about a 2 inch layer of beans then a handful of salt. As many layers as you want to go but don't tamp them down like you do for sauerkraut. Lay on a clean cloth like a piece of sheet. Then a plate, Then a jar of water for weight. If within 24 hours the beans don't make enough juice to cover themselves you'll have to make one for them. Make a brine strong enough to float and egg and pour enough of it into the beans to get them covered. You can add beans to your crock as they come on in the garden until it is full. Clean them off once a week same as you would for kraut.* Give them a month to six weeks to get done fermenting. The cook them first rinse off in cold water. Cover with more water and boil 30 minutes to get the salt out. Change the water again and finish cooking. Good with meat. Wm. J Zeit taught me how to make these."
* Remove weight, plate and cloth. Wash thoroughly. Replace them. Wipe down the sides and rim of your crock.
Don't be too particular because you can kill the beasties that are making fermentation possible. If the top layer of your product turns brown, feed it to farm animals or throw it away. Use pickling salt, no iodized table salt. It's gonna take a lot, especially if you must make a strong brine. Better err on the side of excess rather than too little, IMO.
I don't know how much experience you have had in pickle or kraut making, but this is a really stinky process. If you have a nice dark place, away from traffic and pests, that you can place your crock in, it makes living with fermentation a whole lot easier. Your family and visitors are much less likely to do you bodily harm after being driven to distraction by the smell permeating the whole area.
I've never done beans but have made lots of crocked pickles and family members routinely have made kraut. Usually the crocks were covered and kept in the fruit cellar until ready to jar up. Give this a try and let us know how it goes. You might also inquire over in the preservation forum, likely there is someone there who has done this.
Good luck! QDM

[Inge 1505]

Here in the Lower Rhine region those beans are called "saure Schneidebohnen" or " saure Schnippelbohnen" ( sour sliced beans). They are available at supermarkets packaged in 1 lb foil bags, having a recipe suggestion printed on it, because it starts to be an old-fashioned vegetable that many younger people don't know.
In pre-freezer times preserving the large summer crop of beans happened by sterilising them in jars or with the even older method of brining. The beans turn out rather sour and salty, so most poeple find it nessessary to wash them or even boil off some of the salt before use in a recipe. (This is not the case with the store-bought sour beans, they are fermented in a highly controlled environment with special very mild germs, a short rinse under the tap is usually enough. Same applies to sauerkraut, BTW).

I don't have any experience with brining, but will give you a recipe from my German Great-grandmother's cookbook with some comments that might be helpful. It uses wine leaves (I imagine it helps start the fermentation??).

Sliced Beanes in Salt

(No amounts of beans or salt are given, but old-fashioned crocks used to hold a gallon or two at least. )

Choose a rather soft sort of beans, pull of the string (if they have any) and slice them rather finely (on the diagonal, 1/8 x 2 inch strips).
Cover the bottom of a crock with salt, put in a layer of beans, about 3 fingers thick, put enough salt on top to just cover the beans. Add anew layer of beans and salt and so forth, until all beans are used up.
On top of the last salt lyaer put a layer of wine leaves, on top of those a wooden board (usually fitting into the crock exactly) and weigh it down with stones.
Leave the crock in the cellar ( cool dark place away from people ).
After 10-14 days remove wine leaves and and the skin that will have developped on the beans.
Put a clean linen cloth (you can boil linen) on the beans and weigh down again with the board and stones.
From time to time the cloth and the board need to be cleaned, and care has to be taken that the beans are always completely covered with brine.
Before use beans must be well watered. When boiling, replace boiling water with fresh water several times. (There will not be left much nutrition in the beans then I suppose.)

[Inge 1505]

Here is a picture of a bean slicer from an online shop (German) http://www.livingshop.de/shop/product_info.php?products_id=29669
Arrows and text are by me.

[Candace J]

My grandmother grew up on a farm outside of Westlake, Ohio and her German-speaking family came from Bielefeld, in northern Germany. She used to make these every summer - and they are indeed 'stinky' while fermenting but delicious the way she cooked them which was to simmer together what she called a 'cottage ham' (smoked rolled pork shoulder or daisy roll), halved potatoes and navy beans. She would cook that till the ham fell apart and then rinse the beans and add for about 20 minutes before serving. It was (and is) one of my all time favorites). Interestingly, I lived in southern Germany (Nurnberg) for a year and a half and never came across this dish once, to my disappointment...however, I did come to love Nurnberg bratwurst, which I have successfully made on my own many times since, although it can be hard to find the small casings that are needed for it to be 'right'.

Her recipe for the beans was to remove the strings from the long beans, cut them lengthwise and then layer in a crock in proportions of "nine double handfuls of beans to one double handful of canning salt" Contrary to what some of the other postings indicate, she pounded each layer down with the end of a baseball bat until liquid appeared b/c she said air bubble increased the risk of mildew growth; then she would add more layers until the crock was full. She covered with a clean cloth, plate, and rock and kept it in the cellar. She would check every few days and discard any scum that was floating on top of the liquid and/or any blackened or mildewed beans, washing the cloth, plate, and rock.

We called them 'schnitzelbohnen' but I see from other emails that we were probably just not hearing correctly 'saure schnipplebohnen' (thanks for that clarification!)

[Chef #1353294]

Can the diagonal bean slicer be purchased from a USA vendor? I have looked everywhere but can't seem to locate one. My great grandmother brought one over with her from Belgium, but someone has lost it. Steve

[Molly53]

Chef 1353294 wrote:
Can the diagonal bean slicer be purchased from a USA vendor? I have looked everywhere but can't seem to locate one. My great grandmother brought one over with her from Belgium, but someone has lost it. Steve

Hi and welcome to the forums, Chef. It's very nice to meet a new friend.

Through no fault on your part, the # sign in your chef name negatively affects the quote function in the forums. It would be helpful if you'd edit your name to remove it. Click on MY ACCOUNT at the top of the page, make the changes you wish, scroll down and SAVE CHANGES.

I'd like to invite you to click on FAQ's and Additional Information for Recipezaar Navigation, a thread FULL of great information that will make your 'zaar experience much easier.

Westmark products are sold in the US. Look at Bed, Bath and Beyond, kitchen specialty store or at your local restaurant supply stores. FYI, the supply stores have catalog after catalog of items that they can get, but don't carry in the store. Ask about a special order.

[Beth Davis]

I remember my mother making sauer kraut this way. She took a crock and placed chopped cabbage in it with salt, she left it in a dark room for some period of time. She placed a towel and a rock on top and then put the top on the crock and would periodically check it but I can't remember how long she left it in the room for.

[Beth Davis]

I think you're onto the same process I'm talking about, my mother made sauer kraut this way but she never mentioned it being German but she probably never thought about it