Hungarian Stuffed Sauerkraut

Ingredients

• 1 kg ground beef, shoulder is the best
• 2 kg sauerkraut
• 2 large onions, dinced
• 1 egg
• 1 cup rice, cooked
• 1 middle sized piece of smoked but not cooked speck
• oil
• water
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• paprika
• salt
• sour cream, for serving
• pepper
• 1 teaspoon marjoram

Directions

1. 1

   Prepare a large bowl, next to your sink, and squeeze out all excess liquid into sink from sauerkraut and place in the bowl.

2. 2

   Cook the rice.

3. 3

   Put ground meat into another large bowl. - you will need the space!

4. 4

   In a large deep saucepan, in which you will be cooking the meal; braise the onion in plenty of oil, so it wont burn - until glassy. When done pour off the oil, using spatula to keep onion in saucepan. Split the onions, leave one half in saucepan, put the other half on the meat.

5. 5

   Turn off the heat and put in plenty of paprika and the tomato sauce on onion left in pan. Pour in some water, just as much so the mixture gets creamy. Let cool a little, then pour on sauerkraut and mix together.

6. 6

   Take the bowl with the meat and onion.

7. 7

   Make a well in the middle, and add the egg, mix together with your hands.

8. 8

   Mix in rice.

9. 9

   Add paprika for nice red color, salt and pepper to taste and marjoram.

10. 10

    Knead until smooth

11. 11

    Make shure to taste while you are working with it. This meal should be quite spicy! But not TOO spicy!

12. 12

    Place one third of the sauerkraut mixture into your sausepan and place half of the speck on top.

13. 13

    Make meatballs about the size of a kiwi - don't need to make them hard.

14. 14

    Place in the pan, next to eachother to make a "meatball layer".

15. 15

    Put a second layer of sauerkraut mixture on top of it, then another layer of meatballs.

16. 16

    Top it with the remaining sauerkraut. Place other half of speck on top.

17. 17

    You must completely cover the meat layers w/ sk. No holes!

18. 18

    Pour in water. Pour, only until you can see it appear on the side - to about 3/4 of the meal.

19. 19

    Cover, and cook on low heat. Do not stir! Occasionally lift pan up and move back and forth sideways, like you were steering your car.

20. 20

    It is done, when sk. is so soft it melts in your mouth. You don't need to taste the meat, because it cooks sooner than the sk. so it is 100% done if your sk. is cooked.

21. 21

    Serve with sour cream.