Rookworst
A Dutch smoked sausage warmed in hot water for 20 minutes and served with sauerkraut mash and gravy.
Photograph credit: Zuurkool met Rookworst by FotoosVanRobin from Netherlands · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Keep the heat low. That is most of the recipe for rookworst, and the part people skip: the sausage is already cooked, and boiling it makes the skin split and the fat run out. It only needs warming through in hot water, while the potatoes and sauerkraut cook alongside.
Boil the potatoes until soft, 20 minutes. Meanwhile warm the sauerkraut with a few juniper berries and a splash of stock. Slide the sausage into water that is steaming but not bubbling, put the lid on and leave it for 15 minutes. Do not prick it. Lift it out and slice on the diagonal.
Mash the potatoes with butter and milk, stir in the drained sauerkraut and make a well in the middle of each portion. Fill it with a spoonful of onion gravy, and lay the rookworst slices on top. The dish is a stamppot, a Dutch mash with a vegetable folded in, and it is one of the country's favourite winter suppers. Serve with plenty of mustard.
Rookworst: Step by Step
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Boil the potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes until soft. Drain.
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Warm the sauerkraut with the juniper in a pan for 10 minutes.
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While the potatoes boil, bring water to the boil in a wide pan, take it off the heat, slide in the sausages, cover and let them poach off the heat for 15 minutes.
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Soften the onion in 20 g butter for 5 minutes, stir in the flour, then whisk in the stock and simmer for 5 minutes for gravy.
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Mash the potatoes with the remaining butter and milk, stir in the sauerkraut, and serve with the sliced sausage, gravy and mustard.
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Tips That Matter
- Never boil the sausage.
- Drain the sauerkraut before mixing.
- Make a well in the mash for the gravy.
Pairs Well With
Mustard · Gravy · Pickles · Beer
Keeping and Reheating
Keeps for 2 days in the fridge.
Rookworst Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .