Classic Sauerbraten Recipe Epicurious

TRADITIONAL SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Place beef rump roast, onions, vinegar, water, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, sugar, cloves, and bay leaves in a large pot. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, turning meat daily. Remove meat from marinade and pat dry with paper towels, reserving marinade.
• Season flour to taste with salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Sprinkle flour mixture over beef.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat; cook beef until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Pour reserved marinade over beef, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until beef is tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Remove beef to a platter and slice.
• Strain solids from remaining liquid and continue cooking over medium heat. Add gingersnap cookies and simmer until gravy is thickened about 10 minutes. Serve gravy over sliced beef.

SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups broth, the wine, vinegar, 1 chopped onion, the crushed garlic, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, juniper berries, peppercorns and cloves in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Place the beef in a large resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, turning daily.
• Preheat the oven to 350. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry; season with salt. Strain the marinade, discarding the solids. Heat a large ovenproof pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the meat and brown on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer to a plate. Add the carrots, celery and the remaining onion to the pot and cook until slightly softened, 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped garlic and chopped thyme and cook 1 minute. Sprinkle in the flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the strained marinade and the remaining 1 cup broth and bring to a simmer. Return the meat to the pot, cover and cook in the oven until tender, 2 hours 30 minutes.
• Remove the meat and transfer to a plate. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk in the gingersnaps and simmer until thickened; season with salt and pepper. Thinly slice the meat; serve with spaetzle, the vegetables and sauce and sour cream, if desired. Top with parsley.

CLASSIC SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Combine first 8 ingredients in large saucepan and bring to boil. Cool.
• Place beef in bowl slightly larger that beef. Pour marinade over. Cover and chill 2 days, turning beef twice daily.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove beef from marinade and place in roasting pan; reserve marinade. Roast beef until tender, about 2 hours. Transfer beef to carving board; cool. Pour any accumulated juices from roasting pan into marinade. Strain marinade (do not clean roasting pan).
• Mix 1/4 cup oil and flour in heavy large skillet. Stir over medium heat until dark brown, about 10 minutes. Gradually mix in 2 cups marinade (discard any remaining marinade) and broth. Boil until thick, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Mix in sugar and cookie crumbs. Pour into roasting pan and place over medium-high heat. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Slice beef and arrange in large baking dish. Pour sauce over meat. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill).
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake beef until heated through, about 15 minutes.

KATE'S EASY GERMAN SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Heat water, red wine, cider vinegar, lemon, 1/2 onion, garlic, cloves, bay leaves, white sugar, salt, juniper berries, and peppercorns in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Allow marinade to cool and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add beef roast, coat with marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal bag. Marinate in the refrigerator 2 to 3 days, turning the roast twice a day.
• Place onions, carrots, and celery in a slow cooker. Remove roast from marinade and place atop vegetables. Strain marinade and pour 2 1/2 cups over roast; reserve remaining marinade.
• Cover and cook roast on Low for 8 hours. Turn slow cooker off. Transfer roast to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil. Strain cooking liquid into a large bowl and return vegetables to slow cooker to rest.
• Heat about 3 cups cooking liquid and gingersnaps in a saucepan over medium-high heat, adding reserved marinade as needed, until gravy is thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Slice roast and serve with vegetables and gravy.

TRADITIONAL GERMAN SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Wipe beef with a damp cloth and season with salt and pepper. Place seasoned beef in a large glass bowl.
• Combine vinegar, carrots, onion, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, and parsley in a bowl; pour over beef. Cover dish tightly with a lid or plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate beef, turning daily, for 3 to 7 days.
• Drain meat, reserving liquid and vegetables. Rub flour over all sides of beef.
• Heat butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; brown beef on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Add onions, carrots, and 2 cups reserved liquid. Cover Dutch oven, lower heat to medium-low, and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours. Transfer beef to a serving platter.
• Stir gingersnap crumbs and sugar into the liquid in Dutch oven; cook and stir until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over meat.

SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• It is best to have the meat in one solid piece, but if it is boned and rolled, make sure it has no added covering of suet. Combine the vinegar, wine, water and seasonings, pour this mixture over the meat. Add the sliced onions. Keep meat in the refrigerator, covered with marinade, for 1-3 days, turning occasionally. (Purists say it should be 3 days; I find 1 day sufficient.) Remove meat from marinade, wipe dry with paper towels and brown in the shortening over high heat, sprinkling with 1 tablespoon flour. Strain and add marinade, cover, lower heat and cook gently for 4-5 hours, until fork-tender. Remove meat and keep in warm place. Pour off the stock. In the same kettle, melt the butter, add the remaining flour and the sugar, stirring until smooth and browned. Slowly add the stock, cooking until smooth and thickened. Add the crushed gingersnaps, and cook until dissolved. Replace meat in the sauce and cook 1/2 hour longer. Meanwhile, cook noodles to serve with the sauerbraten. This dish tastes better the second day.

SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over high heat combine the water, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, onion, carrot, salt, pepper, bay leaves, cloves, juniper, and mustard seeds. Cover and bring this to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Pat the bottom round dry and rub with vegetable oil and salt on all sides. Heat a large saute pan over high heat; add the meat and brown on all sides, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• When the marinade has cooled to a point where you can stick your finger in it and not be burned, place the meat in a non-reactive vessel and pour over the marinade. Place into the refrigerator for 3 days. If the meat is not completely submerged in the liquid, turn it over once a day.
• After 3 days of marinating, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Add the sugar to the meat and marinade, cover and place on the middle rack of the oven and cook until tender, approximately 4 hours.
• Remove the meat from the vessel and keep warm. Strain the liquid to remove the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and place over medium-high heat. Whisk in the gingersnaps and cook until thickened, stirring occasionally. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. Add the raisins if desired. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce.

OLD-WORLD SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high. Brown beef on all sides. Add all remaining ingredients except gingersnaps; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until beef is tender, about 3 hour., During the last 30 minutes, stir in gingersnaps. Remove meat; discard bay leaves and cloves. While slicing meat, bring gravy to a boil to reduce and thicken.

EASY SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the water, vinegar, cloves, bay leaves, salt and brown sugar. Remove 2 cups to a small bowl; cover and refrigerate. Pour remaining marinade into a 2-gal. resealable plastic bag. Add roast; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 1-2 days, turning twice each day., Discard marinade and spices. Pat roast dry; dredge in flour. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown roast in oil on all sides. Transfer to a small roasting pan. Add the onion, carrots, celery and reserved marinade. , Cover and bake at 325° for 3 to 3-1/2 hours or until meat is tender. With a slotted spoon, remove meat and vegetables to a serving platter. Strain cooking juices; thicken if desired.

SAUERBRATEN I

Steps:

• In large saucepan over medium heat, combine cider vinegar, water, brown sugar, cloves, allspice, salt, pepper, peppercorns, bay leaf, onion, carrot and celery. Heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles appear at edges, but do not boil.
• Poke deep holes in roast and place in non-metal bowl. Pour vinegar mixture over roast. Cover and refrigerate for five days, turning once daily.
• Remove roast from liquid; pat dry with paper towels. Remove bay leaf and peppercorns from liquid and discard. Strain liquid from vegetables, reserving both.
• Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear all sides of roast quickly, 1 to 2 minutes each side. Reduce heat to low, pour reserved vegetables and 1 cup of vinegar liquid into pan. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, adding more vinegar liquid if necessary.
• Remove roast from pan, and let cool slightly. Slice roast and return slices to liquid in pan, cover and simmer 30 minutes more. Remove slices to serving platter. Stir sour cream into heated liquid and heat through, but do not allow to boil. Pour sauce over meat and serve immediately.

CLASSIC SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Combine first 8 ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cool. Place beef in a bowl slightly larger than beef. Pour marinade over. Cover and chill for at least 2 days (up to 4 days is better), turning beef twice daily.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove beef from marinade and place in roasting pan; reserve marinade. Roast beef until tender, about 2 hours. Transfer beef to carving board; cool. Pour any accumulated juices from roasting pan into marinade. Strain marinade (do not clean roasting pan.).
• Mix 1/4 cup oil and flour in heavy large skillet. Stir over medium heat until dark brown, about 10 minutes. Gradually mix in 2 cups of marinade (discard any remaining marinade) and beef broth. Boil until thick, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Mix in brown sugar and cookie crumbs. Pour into roasting pan and place over medium heat. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Slice beef and arrange in large baking dish. Pour sauce over meat. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake beef until heated through, about 15 minutes.

HERBED SPAETZLE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Stir together flour and salt. Whisk together eggs and milk, then whisk into flour until batter is smooth.
• Working over boiling water, force one third of batter through a spaetzle maker or large holes of a food mill. As dumplings float to surface, transfer them to bowl of cold water with a slotted spoon. Make 2 more batches in same manner. Drain dumplings well and toss with oil. Pulse dill, spinach, chives, and 1 tablespoon butter in a food processor until a paste forms. Heat remaining tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté dumplings, stirring, until golden. Add herb butter and sauté, stirring, until dumplings are coated and heated through. Season with salt and pepper.