Grandma Scheinas Sauerbraten Recipes

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.

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.

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.

GRANDMA FRITZ'S SAUERBRATEN (FOR THE CROCK POT)

Steps:

• Combine onions, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, vinegar, and water.
• Arrange meat in a covered earthenware or Tupperware container and pour pickling solution over the top of the meat.
• Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days (the longer it marinades, the more flavor soaks into the meat).
• Turn the meat once or twice a day.
• Remove the meat from the solution and pat dry.
• Remove and discard the bay leaves and peppercorns.
• Strain and reserve the onions.
• Put a little oil (I like to go light, if I can, and use extra virgin olive oil or Canola, but you can use a couple of tablespoons of butter) in a skillet and heat and cook reserved onions until they are transparent, but not brown.
• Remove onions and brown meat on all sides in the same oil.
• Place onions and meat in a slow cooker/crock pot and fill the crock pot with a cup of the pickling solution.
• Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until the meat is cooked through and tender.
• When meat is done, remove to a warm platter and cover to keep warm.
• Add any remaining marinade to a skillet.
• Add brown sugar, raisins, crumbled ginger snaps (I pound these out in a Ziploc bag to crush them).
• Stir and cook until the sauce is smooth and has thickened--about 15-20 minutes.
• Serve the sauce over the slices of meat and put the remainder of the sauce in a gravy boat.