Ingredients:
8 to 12 knockwurst, or fat cooked sausage
About 2 ½ tablespoons canola, safflower or light olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
2 apples, such as honey crisp or gala, peeled and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ teaspoons caraway seed
1 ½ teaspoons cumin seed
2 large fresh bay leaves
5 to 6 juniper berries, optional
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bottle beer or hard cider
1 pound sauerkraut, drained
To Serve:
Chopped dill
Parsley
Scallions or chives
Assorted mustard: brown, Dijon, grainy Dijon, and/or yellow
Bun
Directions:
Pierce the skins of sausages with tines of a fork in a few places. Place sausages in a skillet in 1 inch of water, bring water to boil, reduce heat to low simmer, and heat through, 5 to 7 minutes until the casing is crisp, the water evaporated. Remove from pan and cut sausages into thirds and set aside.
Using the same skillet, heat, add ½ tablespoon oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add onions and apples and season with salt, pepper, seeds, bay leaves and juniper. Stir to soften 5 minutes, add sugar and stir half a minute, add vinegar to evaporate, add beer or hard cider and bring to simmer, then add Worcestershire and sauerkraut. Nest the knockwurst or sausages and simmer over low heat 10 minutes. Top with pickles, herbs and mustard, and serve from the pan with bread and butter or toasted hot dog rolls.