Sauerbraten Recipe
This Sauerbraten Recipe is my German mother's original. We have this every year at Christmas. The key to this Sauerbraten recipe is to allow the roast to marinate for the full 3 days.
Submitted by: Alexander from Adel, IA
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Preparation Instructions:
- Combine all marinade ingredients, except the roast itself, in 2 to 3 quart saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Place the beef in a deep, non-reactive (glass or ceramic) bowl or pot just large enough to hold it. Pour marinade over beef. The marinade should be at least halfway up the sides of the roast. If necessary add more wine. Cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, turning the meat in the marinade at least twice each day.
- Remove meat from marinade and pat completely dry with paper towels. Strain the marinade through a fine sieve and reserve the liquid. Discard spices and onions.
- In heavy, 5-quart dutch oven, heat the butter until bubbling stops. Add the meat and brown on all sides, turning frequently, so that it browns evenly without burning. Transfer to platter and set aside.
- For roasting, add the onions, carrots, and celery to the same pan you cooked the meat in. Cook over moderate heat until soft and light brown (5 to 8 minutes). Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes longer or until the flour begins to color. Pour in 2 cups of the reserved marinade and ½ cup of water and bring to boil over high heat. Return the meat to the pot, cover tightly, and simmer over low heat for 2 hours, or until the meat shows no resistance when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Alternatively, bake in 350 degree oven for 2 hours.
- Transfer the roast to a heated platter and cover with foil to keep warm while sauce is made.
- Pour the liquid left in the pot into a large measuring cup and skim fat from surface. You will need at least 2 and ½ cups for the sauce. If additional liquid is needed, add some of the reserved marinade.
- Combine the liquid and the gingersnap crumbs in a saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently for approx. 10 minutes, allowing the cookie crumbs to dissolve completely and thicken the sauce to the desired consistency. Depending upon the amount of liquid, you may need to add additional cookie crumbs.
- Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, pressing down hard with wooden spoon to force as much of the vegetables and crumbs through as possible. Return the sauce to the pan, adjust seasoning and allow to simmer over low heat until ready to serve.
- Slice the roast, pour some sauce over slices on platter and pass remaining sauce separately.
thespicehouse.com
More About This Recipe
Traditionally, sauerbraten is served with dumplings, boiled potatoes, spaetzle, and red cabbage. This classic, but easy, recipe requires advance planning and time (3 days!), but it has a flavor and aroma that is incredible. Don't hesitate to adjust the amount of gingersnap cookies to give the sauce your preferred consistency. The flavorful gingersnap cookies are used as the thickener, not flour, so you don't run the risk of having a pasty sauce.
Folks——I don’t want to sound harsh or be anal (although I am Germany), but this is not the ‘real’ German recipe for the Rheinischer Sauerbraten. I should know, because I am a native of the Rheinland (center of Germany; Rhine and Mosel area) and moved ot the US about 11 yrs ago….Please try next time NOT to cook the marinade upfront…. and where is the (red)WINE??? Sauerbraten without the vinegar-wine-marinade is missing the true heart and soul of this classic dish (about 1/3 a bottle of good red wine).
One other thought, just in case you’re interested in the ‘real’ recipe: as mentioned above, the meat is not only placed the uncooked marinade (or mordant) but browned AFTER it rested and marinaded for at least 3 days in the fridge. The third thing that will make this recipe the ‘authentic German’ recipe is, to not use Gingerbread, but a handfull of crumbled pumpernickel bread (sieve the sauce before serving though). You could also skip that ingredient and simply add a splash or two of heavy cream or a tblsp. of butter to thicken. I’d be happy to see America loving the Sauerbraten as much as it is known and loved in Germany :)
Can you use a pork roast?
I made this last night and it was excellent.
When it came to the sauce, I was a little confused as to what to do with all the veggies, so I poured off most of the liquid, added the ginger snaps, and heated it till the sauce was smooth and thick.
I served the veggies on the side and left the extra veggies in the sauce, instead of running it through the sieve.
Thanks.
Oh will this meat get more tender if I left it cook longer?
Bob
I agree that this is probably authentic. My german grandparents died young, but the Norwegians also made lots of German cookies as well as Scandinavian ones In reality we are very close because of Franks and Vikings. These cookies were hoarded in the pantry all winter in big ceramic bowls according to my mother who remembers this. Point being that cookies are a staple in cold weather countries. We never eat it but sauerbraten is also a way to use venison. Note that the common, but often dropped ingredient is Juniper berries which are used in many venison recipes.
I’ve used this for Christmas dinner for three years in a row now, plus a couple additional uses. I serve it with red cabbage, boiled potatoes and homemade spaetzle, and have a good red wine with it. I use “pickling spices” instead of “sauerbraten spice”, which is about the same thing and more readily available. I also have found that I generally need to add quite a bit more liquid to the gingersnap gravy than the recipe suggests, but I adjust by feel.
Overall my favorite sauerbraten recipe.
Great marinade and gravy. I prepared the top round in a Dutch oven and at 2 hours the meat was not tender(done); and at 2 hours, 20 minutes it was dry and overcooked. Any suggestions?
This is very close to the recipie which we have enjoyed over the years. I use equal parts vinegar,wine and water. Add crushed peppercorns, crushed cloves with chopped onion for the marinade.
Great recipe! IMHO this is an authetic German variation. I ate sauerbraten mit ginger snaps several times when I was stationed in Munich. Maybe this is a Bavarian variation?
I did use a half bottle of dry red wine in the marinade. Instead of juniper barries, I used 2 shots of very dry gin, Bombay Sapphire was my choice. I also could not resist adding a half tsp of whole cloves. I warmed to near simmer but did not boil. That gave the marinade a wonderful “nose”.
But let’s not quibble over details. Such a wonderful recipe and great memories. And I may just try using a touch of brown sugar and heavy cream next time instead of snaps.
Tom
I lived in Ingolstadt, Bayern during the summer of 1990. I fell in love with Deutscher essen, especially Sauerbraten, Blaukraut, und Knoedel. I recently made this Sauerbraten recipe for a great friend of mine from Berchtesgaden, Bayern. He helped me finish the gravy, after I followed all of the instructions, while not including gingersnaps. I also cut the time from two hours in the oven, to one and a half hours. He said that his mother never added gingersnaps. After the meat had rested, he added a little heavy cream to the gravy, and sliced the meat, which was then added to the gravy in the Dutch oven, and finished on the stovetop. His wife never eats meat; but she ate this, and loved every bite. We served it with Blaukraut, und Knoedel, (drizzled with the gravy,) and it was fantastic. Thank you Spice House, and all others with helpful culinary comments!
I have a Knorr Sauerbraten pkg written in German. Is this just the spices you use or is it everything?