Crispy Sauerkraut Fritters with Bacon, Sausage & Cheese
These Crispy Sauerkraut Fritters with Bacon, Sausage, and Cheese are the perfect appetizer for all your fall celebrations! They can be prepared days ahead of time, stay crisp for hours, and are a snap to make in the air-fryer.
Thoroughly drain the sauerkraut. A one-pound bag after draining will weigh 7-8 ounces. Set aside in a large bowl.
Cut the bacon and sausage up into very small pieces. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is sizzling hot, add the chopped bacon and sausage and cook until the bacon is crispy and the sausage is lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. DO NOT DRAIN!
Add the cooled, cooked bacon and sausage (including the rendered fat) to the drained sauerkraut. Add the mustard, Panko crumbs, and grated Jarlsberg and mix.
Stir in the 3 beaten eggs and mix everything thoroughly to combine.
Cover mixture and set in refrigerator for at least three hours, and as long as overnight.
When mixture is thoroughly chilled, use your hands or a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to form into one-ounce balls. You can measure them out with the scoop if you want, but you really need to use your hands to form them, because you want them to be nice and tight. (Loose fritter balls will make the breading step unnecessarily frustrating.) Set the formed balls on a plate or dish and cover lightly to keep in moisture. Refrigerate at least one hour, and up to four days.
Fritter Breading
When you are ready to bread the fritters, you will need three bowls, each big enough to hold at least a few of the prepared sauerkraut balls. Put the following into each bowl:• Bowl 1: Flour, kosher salt, and pepper. (Stir to combine.)• Bowl 2: Beaten eggs.• Bowl 3: Panko crumbs
Remove fritter balls from refrigerator. They should feel cold and firm.
For each fritter: Roll in flour mixture [Bowl 1] and shake off excess, then dip in the beaten egg [Bowl 2], and finally roll in the Panko crumbs [Bowl 3]. Place breaded fritters on a plate until you have enough done for a batch.
Air Frying
Set the breaded fritter balls in the bottom of your air fryer basket. Be sure to leave space around each ball for air to circulate.
Set air-fryer to 360°F [180°C] for 11 minutes. If you want your fritters to be perfectly round and consistently golden, carefully turn balls over halfway through the air-frying process. When done, remove air-fried sauerkraut fritters to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
Serve with Honey Mustard, Whole Grain Mustard, and/or Honey-Mustard Sauce.
Notes
Each style of air-fryer (i.e., bucket, oven, toaster-oven) seems to cooks just a little differently. If you use something besides a bucket-style air-fryer, you might consider cooking a single fritter at the suggested time and temp, and adjust as needed to cook the rest.If you are in a hurry, or just don't want to deal with flipping them halfway thru the cooking time, you can just air-fry them for 11 minutes at 360°F (180°C).Don't worry too much about your fritters getting cold. You can make them all well ahead of time and easily warm them up in a low oven or in the microwave, or just serve them at room temperature.