New Year Slow-Cooked Pork and Sauerkraut

In Western Pennsylvania, there are traditions you just have to keep.  One is pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day. I may not live there currently, but I’ll be damned if I’m giving up this tradition, it’s too good.

It’s said to be good luck to eat pork on New Year’s Day because pigs root forward, so, your year will start in a positive direction, unless you’re a pig. Honestly, I’ve never noticed an upswing in my luck because I make this dish every year, but who knows how bad things might have been if I hadn’t? Why take chances?

I’m a little late with this recipe because I’ve been sick and couldn’t cook on the first. (Kissing a million relatives on each cheek for days will do that to you but it was well worth it!) I’ll let you know if my pork tardiness affects my luck in the coming months. (So far, it’s not looking great because I fell asleep as the pork was cooking and it got a little overdone.) It could have been worse, my pork could have ended up charcoal briquets — sounds like good luck to me.

A delicious bite of fork-tender pork and sauerkraut.

I’ve read it’s a Pennsylvania Dutch custom, but Germans,the Polish and clearly, some Italians follow it too. It doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s good — and this dish is awesome. Every guest who’s eaten it gets crazy with happiness. Served with mashed potatoes, it’s perfect all winter long, so why only have it once?

And I have to throw this in because it’s just ridiculous. My mom’s custom on New Year’s Eve was to take the actual raw pork roast and put it outside, as she stood there holding her open purse up to face the moon, saying, “Fill it uppa, fill it uppa, fill it uppa.” Apparently she believed the moon had banking powers. Not sure the reason for the pork roast, it may have just been moral support.

I’d hear my dad on the recliner chair chuckling, “What the hell are you doing out there?” She’d fire back, “Shad uppa! Dis issa good a lock!” Then she’d yell, “Happy New Ear!”  He knew what she was doing, but he couldn’t stop her, and the entertainment value was well worth it.  He’d slowly get up, creep over to look out the front door at her, shake his head, then have a drink with us to toast the New Year.

My mom was one of the luckiest people I know, so maybe next year, the pork roast goes outside with me and my purse. (Not sure what to do if there’s no moon…I’ll get back you on that.)

The magic number of hours this dish should cook, once assembled, is three, so give yourself plenty of time.  When it’s done, you don’t need a knife for the pork, it just falls apart. And make regular mashed potatoes, not garlic mashed – recipe is below. It tastes better and won’t overpower the pork. This recipe is from Donna and brother, Bernie with no alterations, that’s how good it is.

I thank you and love you for reading/following my blog. I wish you excellent health, great luck, and the persistence to pursue your dreams in 2015 and onward, no matter how silly they may seem to others. Be brave enough to state them and go after them. Everything starts as someone’s dream and only those of us stubborn/crazy enough to persist get to see their dream come true in glorious fashion like my mom did with Bob Barker. And hey, Happy New Ear!

Good Luck Pork and Sauerkraut

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Creamy Mashed Red Potatoes 

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