Sauerbraten Style Meat Loaf 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.

GERMAN SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine salt and ginger; rub over roast. Place in a deep glass bowl. In a large bowl, combine the water, vinegar and sugar. Pour half of marinade into a large saucepan; add half of the onions, pickling spices, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Pour over roast; turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 days, turning twice a day., To the remaining marinade, add the remaining onions, pickling spices, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves. Cover and refrigerate., Drain and discard marinade from roast; pat roast dry. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown roast in oil on all sides. Pour 1 cup of reserved marinade with all of the onions and seasonings over roast (cover and refrigerate remaining marinade). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3 hours or until meat is tender., Strain cooking juices, discarding onions and seasonings. Add enough reserved marinade to the cooking juices to measure 3 cups. Pour into a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add gingersnaps; reduce heat and simmer until gravy is thickened. Slice roast and serve with gravy.

WEEKNIGHT SAUERBRATEN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a baking rack on top. Spray the rack with cooking spray.
• Combine ground beef, onion, gingersnap crumbs, water, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Shape into 24 meatballs using a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking rack.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball reads 160 degrees F (71 degrees C), 18 to 20 minutes.
• While the meatballs are baking, whisk beef broth, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons gingersnap crumbs, vinegar, and sugar together in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until gravy thickens, 5 to 10 minutes. Add more gingersnap crumbs for a thicker gravy, or some water for a thinner consistency.
• Stir cooked meatballs and raisins into the gravy. Cover and simmer until flavors combine, about 10 minutes.

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.

SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• For the marinade:
• Place the vinegar, water, bay leaves, cloves, celery, carrots, quartered onion, salt and pepper in large plastic container. Add meat and buttermilk and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.
• Take meat out of marinade, and pat the meat dry with a towel. Reserve marinating liquid.
• In large saute pan add 1/2 chopped onion to 1/2 cup oil, and brown meat on all sides. Cook's note: Ketchup may be used to help this process.
• After browning, deglaze pan with red wine and add marinade and beef shoulder. Cook until tender, about 1 hour.
• Remove the meat from the pan, let rest for 10 to 15 minutes then slice.
• Strain marinade and set aside.
• Add the butter to the pan over low heat and when melted add the flour. Whisk until it comes together and bubbles. Slowly add the strained marinade stirring constantly until sauce has thickened. Add 2 tablespoons gravy flavoring for color, and pinch of salt and white pepper.
• Now add brown sugar, to taste, until it is sweet, and sour. Stir in the raisins.
• Pour sauce over sliced sauerbraten, and serve with red cabbage and spaetzle or dumplings, if desired. Guten Appetite!

SAUERBRATEN MEAT LOAF

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 375.
• In a large bowl combine all ingredients for the meatloaf mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon or (my preference) hands Spoon mixture into a 8" square pan or 9"x5" loaf pan. Combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl mixing well to combine. Spoon glaze over top of loaf.

REUBEN MEAT LOAF

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. crumble beef over mixture and mix well. On a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, pat meat mixture into a 14x10-in. rectangle. Spread with salad dressing; top with sauerkraut and 1/2 cup Swiss cheese. Roll up, starting with a long side and peeling foil away while rolling; seal seams and ends., Place in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and a thermometer reads 160°; drain. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

RHINELAND SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Rump or round of beef should be well larded with thin matchstick strips of bacon or salt pork. Tie meat firmly with string in several places so it will be easy to turn without piercing and will hold shape. Rub well with salt on all sides and place in deep, closefitting glass or earthenware bowl.
• Combine vinegar and water and add onion, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, pickling spices and carrot. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes. Cool marinade thoroughly and pour over beef. Meat should be completely covered by marinade; if it is not, add equal amounts of water and vinegar until it is. Cover and place in refrigerator for 3 to 5 days; the longer it stands the more piquant the roast will be, so adjust time to suit taste. Turn meat in marinade 2 or 3 times a day, using string as handle.
• Remove meat from marinade. Strain marinade and reserve. Dry meat thoroughly with paper towels. Meat will not brown properly if it is wet, so dry as much as possible.
• Dice bacon and fry slowly in butter in 5-quart Dutch oven or casserole. When fat is hot, add meat and brown slowly. Using string as handle, turn so meat is well seared and golden brown (but not black) on all sides. This should take about 15 minutes.
• Remove browned meat and add sliced onions to hot fat. Fry, stirring from time to time, until onions are deep golden brown but not black.
• Return meat to pot, placing on top of onions. Add marinade until it reaches about halfway up sides of meat. Add fresh bay leaf and cloves (not those used in marinade). Bring marinade to boil, cover pot tightly with heavy, close-fitting lid, reduce heat and simmer very slowly but steadily 3 1/2 to 4 hours, turning meat 2 or 3 times during cooking. Add more marinade to pot if needed. If you cannot lower heat enough to keep sauce at slow simmer, place an asbestos mat or flame trivet under pot. Meat is done when it can be pierced easily with long-pronged fork or skewer.
• Remove meat to heated platter and strain gravy. Skim off excess fat and return gravy to pot. Melt butter in saucepan and when hot, stir in flour and sugar. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly until sugar mixture turns a deep caramel color. Be very careful doing this, as sugar burns all at once (if it become black, this part of the operation would have to be started again). Add sugar-flour to hot gravy and stir through briskly with wire whisk.
• Season with lemon juice to taste; gravy should have a mild sweet-sour flavor. Add raisins, which have been soaked and drained. Return meat to pot, cover and simmer 10 minutes. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little more marinade. Tablespoonful of tomato puree can be stirred in and heated 4 or 5 minutes before serving time, to enrich the color of the gravy. Check gravy for seasoning. Slice meat and arrange on heated platter and mask with a little gravy, serving rest in heated sauceboat. Serve with dumplings, noodles, boiled potatoes or potato pancakes.

SAUERBRATEN-STYLE MEAT LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, gingersnap crumbs, chopped onion, shredded carrots, parsley flakes, balsamic vinegar, salt and caraway seeds.
• Add ground beef and pork sausage, mix well.
• Pat mixture into a 9X5X3 loaf pan. Top with sliced tomato.
• Bake, uncovered, for 60 to 70 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 170 degrees F.
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Lift from pan with large spatula and cut into squares to serve.

SOUTHERN-STYLE MEAT LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook and stir until crisp-tender, 4-5 minutes. Add carrots and garlic; cook and stir until tender, 1-2 minutes longer. Transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl. Add eggs, crackers and seasonings. Add beef; mix lightly but thoroughly, Shape into an 8x4-in. loaf in a greased 11x7-in. baking dish. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until a thermometer reads 160°, 15-20 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut into slices; spread with pimento cheese. Serve with potatoes and if desired, shredded cheese and jalapeno.