AT THE TABLE WITH WARREN G. HARDING

Knockwurst & sauerkraut

Name: Knockwurst & sauerkraut
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 fully cooked knockwurst sausages, about 500 g / 1 lb; 600 g sauerkraut, drained; 1 onion, thinly sliced; 1 tbsp butter; 1 tsp oil; ½ tsp caraway seeds, optional; 150 ml water (⅔ cup); Mustard and rye bread to serve

Rinse the sauerkraut briefly if you prefer a milder, less salty result.

Dinner30 minServes 4

Jump to recipe ↓

Knockwurst & sauerkraut — the black-and-white years — The black-and-white years · Serving illustration

THE STORY ON YOUR PLATE

Knockwurst before the cards

More about Warren G. Harding →

The twenty-ninth president came from Ohio’s newspaper world.

Family or White House tradition

The Presidents’ Cookbook describes knockwurst and sauerkraut at Harding’s informal White House dinners. Fully cooked sausages, gently warmed cabbage and mustard make the combination easy to serve today.

The president & the table

The Presidents’ Cookbook describes knockwurst and sauerkraut at Harding’s White House stag dinners before poker. The source is a later culinary history, but it preserves a specific domestic association: sausages and cabbage in a setting far less formal than a state dinner.

Behind this story

The Presidents’ Cookbook (1968), Harding chapter, pp. 394–402.

APRON ON. HISTORY CAN WAIT.

Make it at home.

Serves 4

Let’s make it

Soften onion in butter in a lidded saucepan for 5–7 minutes.
Add sauerkraut, optional caraway and water. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Warm fully cooked sausages according to the package instructions. Brown briefly in a lightly oiled skillet, turning gently.
Serve sausages on the sauerkraut with mustard and rye bread.

Cooking notes

Metric and US measures are approximate equivalents. For baking, use weights when you can.

Knockwurst & sauerkraut

Knockwurst before the cards

Make it at home.

What you’ll need

Let’s make it