Akron's official food is the sauerkraut ball. Here's a recipe how to make them

Akron Beacon Journal
·2 min read
Bob's original recipe sauerkraut balls at Bob's Hamburg in Akron.
Bob's original recipe sauerkraut balls at Bob's Hamburg in Akron.

With apologies to jo-jo potatoes, there is no food more synonymous with Akron than the sauerkraut ball. After all, Beacon Journal readers voted the sauerkraut ball as Akron's official food in 1996.

They're so popular, local author Judy Orr James dedicated a whole chapter to them in her 2022 book, "Akron Family Recipes."

Sauerkraut balls are gobbled up especially around the holidays and they dot the menus of restaurants throughout the area. Grocery stores like Acme also have them in stock this time of year. But if you want to try your hand at making the popular finger food, check out the recipe below.

Printed in the Beacon Journal in 2003 thanks to former food writer Jane Snow, this particular recipe comes courtesy of the old Bavarian Haus and chef Dick Mansfield.

SAUERKRAUT BALLS RECIPE

  • 1 1/4 lbs. ground ham

  • 6 eggs

  • 2 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic or 1 tsp. garlic powder

  • 1 tsp. black pepper

  • 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

  • 1 medium onion, minced fine

  • 5 lbs. sauerkraut, drained and chopped

  • 4 to 6 cups flour

  • 1 egg beaten with 1 cup milk

  • Flour for coating

  • Dry, unseasoned bread crumbs

  • Oil for deep-frying

In a very large bowl, combine ham, eggs, garlic, peppers and onion. Add sauerkraut and mix well with your hands. Add flour a little at a time, kneading until the mixture is smooth and can be shaped into soft balls. Use only enough flour to achieve the proper consistency. The mixture will be sticky.

Pull off chunks of the mixture and roll between your palms to make balls the size of a golf ball. Place on cookie sheets and freeze until firm, about two hours. While frozen, roll in the flour, then in the egg-milk mixture, then in the bread crumbs. Freeze again and transfer to plastic freezer bags until ready for use, or fry immediately.

To fry, heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry a few at a time (straight from freezer) until the coating is golden brown and a fork easily pierces to the center. If the oil is too hot, the outsides will burn before the insides thaw and cook.

Makes about 96 sauerkraut balls.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: A sauerkraut ball recipe to make the Akron holiday staple