Homemade Kassler

by Susan S.

I remember as a kid Kassler rippchen was a favorite meal and mom always made it w purple cabbage. Her purple cabbage was infused with cinnamon cloves, prunes, apples and onions and a little vinegar. I use a commercial canned red cabbage from the jar add apples and raisins with clove and cinnamon. I substitute that for Oma’s sauerkraut.

I know my ancestors are shaking their heads (and probably fingers) because I don’t like sauerkraut! Ich entschuldige mich! I do love red cabbage tho.
So I’m jumping off “Oma’s” quick German Kassler slow cooker recipe here

So the short story:
20 min Put together brine
Brine pork overnight in fridge
Sear in grill or under broiler
Drain and put in slow cooker w cabbage


Kassler pork is nearly impossible to find in US. To get the Kassler flavor I marinate pork overnight then sear w smoke flavor. If I’m rich on time I smoke the pork all day. But usually I don’t have that luxury so I use my German roots and go for efficiency instead. lol.

I take a pork loin cut it in half or thirds. Cut it to fit in a large ziploc bag
Brine overnight in ziploc bags.

Night before make the brine—
When we are done This water is going to fill the ziploc bag to what seems like the popping point. 😂So use a ziploc bag big enough to hold about twice the volume of pork you have. (Split into 2 bags if needed). I use the x-large turkey brine 1.5 gal size ziploc available here.

fill a pot w water. I use about 1/2 gal water

5 tblspn sea salt or coarse kosher salt
15 pieces of cloves (or 1 1/2 tspn ground cloves)
1/4 cup brown sugar (light is easier but Dk works too)
1 tspn ground cinnamon. Or 4 lg piece whole cinnamon bark
4 Green onions roughly cut about 3” long pieces. This is for brine not eating doesn’t have to be pretty! Grin
1 sm onion very roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic smashed and roughly chopped

Peel of one orange or lemon

For tomorrow
smoke flavor extract

Add all the ingredients above EXCEPT the smoke flavor extract. That’s for tomorrow! Do not add the pork! We are not cooking the pork. That happens tomorrow in your slow cooker.

Turn on the heat
We are not boiling this. Heat until spices give off aroma and salt and sugar are fully dissolved then turn off heat.

I find this gets water about v hot bath temperature. If you get distracted and it boils no worries!. Just be sure to give extra time after to let it cool down! We don’t want to cook the meat with it. Just a brine.

Stir to combine everything.

Usually about 10 m total
Turn off heat. Let liquid cool down

Rinse the pork. trim as desired. Make shallow cuts into the outside to allow flavor to penetrate deeper.

If using a pork shoulder-type cut: trim the fatty outer layer as closely as you can. Make deeper incisions for this cut. I like to tuck garlic or orange peel directly into those cuts. This cut will work but needs a bit of extra help to take flavor in.

Spoon out wet warm solids (peel onions garlic cloves etc ) into the large ziploc bag
Add pork
Pour in the liquid until you can barely close the bag. Carefully close the bag.
Put in the fridge. Bye bye pork —see you in the morning!
If you have space for a pot in fridge you can skip the ziploc bag and could put the pork in a different cold pot. pour all the brine in. Cover with plastic wrap and a tight lid then put this in fridge to marinate overnight.

Next day— Prep your slow cooker for Oma’s Kassler slow cooker recipe up to putting pork in. For me that’s dumping one jar of picked red cabbage in add raisins cinnamon the cloves and chopped apple

Get out the smoke extract we didn’t use last night.
Grab your brined pork a container of cooking oil and put your shoes on.
Go out and crank up your grill. Wood or gas doesn’t matter. If you don’t have a grill this is tough but do-able w a broiler and the oven. But the smoke flavor works better w the shocking sudden heat on the grill.

While grill is coming up to temp drain the pork. paper towel off any green onion or other spice pieces. Put 1/4 tspn cooking oil on a clean paper towel. Then add the smoke extract to the paper towel. Rub this into into the pork. Usually about 1 tblspn. But varies w size of pork.
When at temp—
Sear the pork on your grill. Just a quick visit. Not cooking it. The pork is making ein spaziergang on the hot grill only. Just sealing that flavor in. 2 min on each side should do for a piece of pork the size that fits in a slow cooker.
Pull the meat off the heat.
Go back inside and add to the onions cabbage and apples already in slow cooker. Place pork on top of first round of red cabbage/kraut. Add 1 tspn smoke extract over top of the meat in slow cooker. Add the second jar of red cabbage or kraut on top and finish the recipe. Set slow cooker for 8 hours and go enjoy your day knowing a warming cozy delicious supper will be ready tonight