The Easy Good Luck Dinner My Family Makes Every Single New Year’s Day

Every New Year's Day, my parents' house fills with the smells (or fumes, some would say) of braising pork and sauerkraut. As a kid I loathed this meal, in part because it signaled the impending return to school after the enchantment of Christmas break.

I also hated football, and New Year’s Day promised endless college football games dominating the television to accompany the hours of stinky pork and sauerkraut dominating the kitchen.

Midwesterners eat pork and kraut for good luck on New Year’s Day. At least the ones who know what’s good for them. As an adult, I’ve grown to love sauerkraut and now understand the appeal of this tradition.

The way my mom makes this dish is special, though—it’s not just a hunk of pork cooked with a bunch of sauerkraut. She adds grated carrot, tomato juice, and a little brown sugar to the kraut. It imbues a homely meal with some color and smooths out the sharpness.

The pork, meanwhile, becomes meltingly tender and infuses with the kraut for a dish that’s far more than the sum of its parts. Mom’s been making her braised pork and kraut for at least 57 years, and I seriously think it tastes better every time.

This recipe is an easy way to get your new year off to a fortuitous start. Plus it’s make-ahead friendly, with plenty of leftovers. These days, I’d be heartbroken if we didn’t kick the year off without it.

The Right Cuts of Pork to Use

A bone-in cut of pork shoulder is the best cut of pork to use in this recipe. The bone adds flavor to the kraut as everything braises. At the store, it might be labeled “pork shoulder butt” or “pork shoulder roast.” If you can’t get bone-in, though, boneless is fine.

What really matters is that there’s some decent marbling of fat. Pork loin is too lean of a cut to use here–I know, because I’ve tried, and the result isn’t succulent enough to be worth the trouble.

The original recipe my mom used (from what we think is the 1962 Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book) called for “3 pounds of spare ribs, cut into pieces.” She can’t remember using spare ribs, but clearly there’s a precedent. Personally I think country-style pork ribs would work better were you to go that route.  

Shopping for Sauerkraut

Every Midwesterner knows that pork isn’t lucky on New Year’s Day without sauerkraut! The story goes that the long shreds of cabbage represent longevity, and the green shade of the cabbage (pre-fermentation, at least) bodes well for financial abundance in the coming year.

This all seems a stretch to me, but the richness of pork finds its perfect foil in the pungency of sauerkraut. It’s a classic pairing all over Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, and the Midwest teems with descendants of German, Hungarian, and Polish immigrants.

You can buy sauerkraut in multiple forms. Here’s what I recommend (and what I don’t).

Recommended:

• Bagged sauerkraut: This is my preference. I’ve seen it in the Midwest, but not the West Coast. You can find one or two-pound refrigerated bags of sauerkraut, often displayed in the meat section right next to the pork or sometimes in the produce section. 
• Jarred sauerkraut: You can get pretty decent shelf-stable sauerkraut in jars at many grocery stores. 
• Home-canned sauerkraut: If you or someone you know cans sauerkraut, this recipe is an excellent one to use it in.

Not recommended:

• Small batch artisan sauerkraut: Fresh sauerkraut made by smaller producers is too exquisite to use in this recipe, since it’s going to be cooked for hours. 
• Canned sauerkraut: Back when my mom started making this recipe, the only way to buy sauerkraut was in cans. While canned sauerkraut will work, it tastes like the can and is my last choice. 

What to Serve With Pork and Sauerkraut

Hands-down, mashed potatoes are the thing you must serve with pork and sauerkraut. Says who? My family. We love how they absorb the savory juice from the roasting pan. Egg noodles would be a decent alternative, as would boiled red potatoes. As for a vegetable side, come on! That wonderful kraut is all the side you need.

Lots and lots of prepared horseradish is another required accompaniment, at least for those so inclined. I can’t imagine eating pork and kraut without it.

One fluke of my family’s New Year’s Eve pork and kraut meal is the presence of black-eyed peas. My dad grew up at a few Air Force bases in the South and at some point introduced this decidedly non-Midwestern tradition to our annual ritual. A pot of simply prepared black-eyed peas complements the whole works quite well. Try it out! A little extra good luck never hurt anyone.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Once the pork is tender, you can hold the braise in the oven at the lowest temperature for up to two hours.

You can absolutely make this a day or two ahead. Let it cool completely and refrigerate it, covered, in the very pan you made it in. To reheat, pull the pan from the fridge for about an hour to let the chill come off. Then bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat on a stove and cook, covered, for about twenty minutes, or until the pork is heated through. Or reheat in a 325°F oven for 1 hour.

This is the sort of meal that freezes well—I’d freeze the pork and kraut together, not separately—but we never have enough leftovers to freeze.