Ham, Sauerkraut and Potato Dumplings (Czech Strapačky)

Our mothers and grandmothers always cooked the best meals. When I asked my mom if she had a favorite recipe from her childhood, she fondly recalled potato dumplings with smoked ham and sauerkraut!

This is a delicious and filling dish consisting of three parts: fried ham cubes, boiled and seasoned sauerkraut, and small potato dumplings. These are finally mixed together and served in a pan. Everyone takes as much as they can eat. I guarantee they'll all polish their plates!

And the name of this beautiful Czech dish? It is called "strapačky."

I don't have all of the detailed photos from the recipe preparation this time. Because it was all about the special time spent cooking with my mom, I only shot everything with my phone. If anything in the recipe process is unclear, please let me know in the comments section below the recipe!

MY TIP: Try this Czech sauerkraut soup, known as zelňačka!

➜ Ingredients 

To make Czech-style dumplings and sauerkraut, you will need:

Potato dumplings:

• Wondra flour; a semi-coarse flour that is available in the USA. To make fluffy dumplings, Wondra is preferable to all-purpose flour, which is finely ground. If you cannot find Wondra flour where you live, use all-purpose (plain) flour as an alternative. The Czech equivalent to Wondra flour is "polohruba mouka."
• Raw potatoes; any all-purpose potatoes are fine, such as Yukon Gold or Russets
• Cooked potatoes; my mom always adds some of the previously boiled potatoes to the potato dumpling dough. So the dough is made from two kinds of shredded potatoes: raw and cooked. Cooked potatoes belong in the dough because they promote better bonding of the dumplings, which prevents them from falling apart when cooked.
• Egg
• Salt

Sauerkraut:

• Fresh sauerkraut; fermented cabbage in Czech, Polish or German style
• Granulated sugar; to sweeten the sauerkraut
• All-purpose flour; to thicken the kraut
• Onion
• Fat; either pork lard or Canola

Ham:

• Smoked ham or bacon; fully cooked. My mom used Czech "anglicka slanina", which is a kind of wet-cured bacon.
• Onion
• Fat; either pork lard or Canola

✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

➜ Instructions with Photos

Make ahead: Boil the potatoes with their skins on and let them cool completely. It takes about two hours for the potatoes to cook and cool.

STEP 1: First, prepare the ham. Cut it into cubes with an edge of about 1/3 inch (0.8 cm). Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat the fat in a frying pan over medium-high heat, and fry the onions in it until golden. Add the diced ham and fry for another minute or two. Set aside.

STEP 2: Drain the sauerkraut, but do not rinse. Put it in a pot and cover it with just enough water to keep the kraut submerged. Cover with a lid and let the sauerkraut cook for about half an hour.

During this time, start preparing the potato dumplings.

STEP 3: Let’s make the dumplings. First, place a pot of water on the stove to boil, and salt it lightly.

Skin both cooked and raw potatoes and grate them on a hand grater on the side with small holes.

Add the eggs, flour, and salt to the grated potatoes. Stir until a dense potato batter forms.

Using a spoon, scoop out small dough balls and place them in slightly boiling water.

To give you a better idea, I've recorded a short video showing how my mom shapes the dumplings. The video takes you to YouTube, where I uploaded the clip (it’s only 10 seconds long).

After about one minute, when you have put the dumplings in the water, use a wooden spoon to release them from the bottom. The dumplings will float to the surface in a few moments.

Cook the dumplings for another 8–10 minutes. Remove the cooked dumplings with a slotted spoon and add them to the pan with the previously fried ham.

STEP 4: Finish the sauerkraut. Peel the onion and chop it finely. Heat the fat in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the onions in it until translucent. Add the sugar and stir; the sugar should start dissolving. Reduce the heat, add the flour, and stir for about a minute.

Add the cooked sauerkraut to the pan with the fried onion, including one ladleful of the liquid in which it was cooked. Stir and let simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Taste and sweeten if necessary, or season with a little more salt.

STEP 5: Put together the final dish. Add the seasoned sauerkraut to the pan with the ham and dumplings. Stir thoroughly, and you're ready to serve!

➜ Serving 

Serve the finished potato dumplings with sauerkraut and ham in the pan. Each of the diners will take the amount they eat. Wash down with well-chilled beer!

➜ Useful tips

• If you have any leftovers, let them cool completely and then store them covered in the fridge. Here they will keep for about 4-5 days.
• Ham and sauerkraut dumplings freeze well. Store them completely cooled in an airtight container and put them in the freezer, where they will last at least three months.
• When cooking dumplings, I recommend making a sample first. Form one dumpling and place it in simmering water. If the potato dumpling tends to fall apart, add a little more flour to the dough.

More sauerkraut recipes:

• Szegedin goulash – segedinsky gulas
• Meat stuffed potato dumplings
• Zelnicky – Czech sauerkraut crackers
• Sauerkraut strudel – with smoked bacon
• Wallachian Kyselica soup