Sauerkraut Soup Serving Size - 6 Prepared By - Yvette & Johnny Recipe Rating * * * * *
			1 medium onion, chopped 2 Tbsp bacon fat 2 - 15oz cans sauerkraut (bavarian style or with wine) 3/4 lb hungarian sausage sliced 1 whole smoked pork spare rib (have the butcher cut in half lengthwise) 2 smoked pork chops with the bone (may substitute with smoked ham) 2-3 tsp caraway seeds 4 cups water 2Tbsp bacon fat 2-4 Tbsp of flour 2 tsp of hungarian paprika
			PREP THE MEAT: Smoked Pork Chop - cut the smoked pork chop from the bone (or you can ask the butcher to do this, but keep the bone) and cut into bite size pieces removing the fat. Both the meat and the bone will be used in the soup. Smoked Pork Rib - Separate each pork rib keeping the bone. Hungarian Sausage - slice about 1/8" - 1/4" wide. SOUP: Drain the liquid from the sauerkraut, reserving the liquid in case needed later. While it's draining, in a ~6L pot, melt olive oil and a little bacon fat if you have it and saute the onions over med-low heat for a few minutes until softened but not browned. Add the sauerkraut to the soup and stir. Add all the meat and bones to the pot and stir. Add caraway seeds and enough water to cover all the ingredients, about 4 cups. Cover pot and bring the soup to a boil then simmer, with lid on, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. ROUX: Heat 2 Tbsp bacon fat in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour until the consistency is a very thick paste. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until browned slightly, about 5 min. Add some of the soup liquid to the roux, and stir until consistency of a thick gravy. Add the roux, a couple teaspoons at a time into the soup and stir, bringing to a boil, until the soup is thickened slightly. You may not end up using all of the roux and you don't want the soup too thick. If there is not enough liquid in the soup, add more water as you can always thicken it by adding more roux. Remove as many of the bones as you can (the two pork chop bones and the meat will have fallen off of many of the rib bones). Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool before putting in the refrigerator. Can freeze the soup to eat later. Best if made 3 - 4 days before eating. May need to add more water the more you heat it up.