How do I drain sauerkraut?

Question

One of my favorite sandwiches is the Reuben. One problem I tend to have when making this at home is the sandwich is damp from the sauerkraut.

I buy sauerkraut from the store. Before putting it on the sandwich, I put a little bit of sauerkraut in a small strainer and push on it with a fork. I mix it up and keep pushing until I hit diminishing returns on time spent v. liquid removed.

However, my sandwiches still are damp from sauerkraut juice, and have liquid running down the sides and making the bread soggy. It appears I am not removing enough liquid. I would rather not spend an hour squeezing the liquid out.

Is there a better way of draining the liquid from sauerkraut than the method I describe above?

Marti · Accepted Answer

If you have one, a potato ricer is very effective at removing moisture from things that don't drain effectively with gravity alone, e.g. sauerkraut, cooked spinach, salted cabbage, salted squash/marrow, etc. In my experience, it's more effective, and easier to clean, than a salad spinner.

(For best results, look for the kind that's pictured above, with holes only on the bottom, not the sides. Otherwise, you're liable to end up shooting sauerkraut juice halfway across your kitchen.)

djmadscribbler · Answer

At every restaurant I've ever worked at we warmed the sauerkraut on the griddle while the bread and meat were grilling. This evaporated much of the moisture in addition to making sure the sauerkraut was warm enough to not make the sandwich cold.

So we'd have the sandwich warming up open faced, cheese on each face. Then meat and sauerkraut would be warming individually. Once the bread was crisp and the meat/sauerkraut were warmed up you'd place the meat one piece of grilled bread, then the sauerkraut, then you'd squeeze on either mustard, thousand or Russian dressing and then top with the other piece of bread.

rumtscho · Answer

Use a salad spinner. It is the right tool for the job. It might be a bit more work when you factor in cleaning, but it will get the sauerkraut drier than the fork-in-strainer method.

MonkeyZeus · Answer

When making pierogies I personally place the sauerkraut in the palm of my hand and apply pressure with the other hand. I keep turning the sauerkraut over to make sure I get it from all sides. I would imagine this method would work for making Reubens as well.

This might work well for me since I am a bigger guy and don't have wrist pains so your mileage could vary :-)

David Brown · Answer

Put in small wire strainer, push down with doubled paper towel

How do I drain sauerkraut?

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