Cured pork cutlets warmed slowly on sauerkraut until rosy and sliding off the bone, with bread or mash. Frankfurt tavern winter on one plate, with mustard on the side.

Rippchen are Kasseler-style cured pork rib cutlets, and Frankfurt's taverns have served them on sauerkraut for as long as the Bembel has existed. The dish is engineering as much as cooking: the cured meat warms gently in the steam of the kraut, staying pink and juicy while the cabbage sharpens with pork fat. It is the canonical cold-weather order in the apfelwein houses, where the acidity of the cider cuts the richness, and it appears boiled or grilled depending on the house's persuasion.

Where to eat Rippchen mit Kraut in Frankfurt

3 editor picks for Rippchen mit Kraut in Frankfurt, ranked by editorial score. All Frankfurt signature dishes · Rippchen mit Kraut across every city.

  • Apfelwein Wagner

    Order Grüne Soße with boiled eggs and fried potatoes, €14.50

    Apfelwein Wagner is the Sachsenhausen tavern Frankfurt sends first-timers to, pouring its own Ebbelwoi beside Grüne Soße plates daily since 1931.

    DetailsDirections

  • Zum Gemalten Haus

    Order The prize-recipe Grüne Soße the house is locally known for

    Zum Gemalten Haus keeps the painted-parlour version of Frankfurt tavern culture alive on Schweizer Strasse, with Bembel service running since 1936.

    DetailsDirections

  • Zur Buchscheer

    Order The estate pressing by the Schoppen, with Grüne Soße and eggs

    Zur Buchscheer is the Frankfurt tavern purists name first: apfelwein pressed on the premises since 1876, out in quiet leafy Sachsenhausen-Süd.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves Serves 41 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 4 cured pork rib cutlets (Kasseler Rippchen), about 200g each
  • 800g sauerkraut with its juice
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 tart apple, grated
  • 5 juniper berries and 2 bay leaves
  • 250ml apfelwein or dry cider
  • Mustard and bread or mashed potato to serve

Method

  1. Soften the onion in a wide pot, then add the sauerkraut, apple, juniper, bay and apfelwein.
  2. Lay the Rippchen on top, cover, and let everything steam together at a bare simmer for 40 minutes.
  3. Serve the cutlets over the kraut with mustard and bread, or mashed potatoes for the full tavern plate.

Editor tip. Never boil the Rippchen hard; they only need warming through on the kraut. The apple and cider soften the sauerkraut's attack.