Pork and Sauerkraut

Happy New Year!  The year has already started off beautifully.  My sister got engaged earlier this afternoon to her boyfriend of a few years.  They are a wonderfully amazing couple and I am so excited to see her so happy and to gain such a great brother.  Congratulations guys!!

I hope everyone else's new year is starting off well.  Ours is going quite well so far, with the exception of our failed attempt to see Harry Potter again.  Who knew it would be sold out nearly one month and a half after opening day!  For as long as I could remember, I have eaten pork and sauerkraut on New Years Day.  Once I met Ron, I introduced him to this tradition too.  He doesn't eat the sauerkraut, but as this is the only pork that I will eat throughout the year, he's happy to eat it when it's made.  If you are curious, a pig is a good animal for the New Year because it brings an important trait to the future.  A pig cannot look backwards without turning around, so it is considered to always be looking positively to the future.  Also, german tradition believes that the pork keeps evil away.  The sauerkraut is technically cabbage, which is also considered to be lucky, hence the positive-good luck meal.  The meal positively represents the future as the pig resembles progress!  Good vibes, good vibes.

We ate this for our New Years Day meal and I was quite pleased with the turn-out.  I also mixed up a quick spinach salad to serve with a homemade dijon vinaigrette. (Greens are symbolic of economic fortune.  Because that makes sense in my life... as a law student who is thousands of dollars in debt with no job.  But whatever, the more greens one eats, the larger one's fortunes for next year!).  I opted to use the crockpot for this recipe because it's simple and I didn't want to be cooking while the Winter Classic was on!  I also threw in some diced yukon gold potatoes in the bottom to cook with the meal but it would pair nicely with a garlic mashed potato.  Alternatively, you could pair it with a Yuengling and that would be just fine too.

Pork and Sauerkraut
Yield:  6 servings
Ingredients

• 1 (4-5 pound) pork loin roast
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups sauerkraut with liquid (preferably with caraway seeds, but if you cannot find, use 1 tsp caraway seeds or omit altogether)
• 12-ounce beer

Instructions

1. Cut pork loin, if necessary, to fit in the crockpot.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour sauerkraut over the roast.  Pour beer into crockpot.
2. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  Internal temperature of the roast should be at least 160 degrees F.