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Sauerbraten
Germany's famous pot roast: beef marinated for days in a spiced vinegar bath, then slow-braised until it falls apart in a rich, gingery gravy.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Sauerbraten, in 5 ideas
- The marinade does the work: three days in the spiced vinegar is what makes it sauerbraten, so do not shortcut it.
- Turn the meat once a day so the marinade flavors it evenly on every side.
- Strain and use the marinade liquid as the braising base; that is where all the depth comes from.
- Gingersnap biscuits thicken the gravy and add the classic sweet-spiced finish. It sounds odd and it works.
- Red cabbage and boiled potatoes are the traditional partners; the sharp cabbage cuts the rich gravy beautifully.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1.2kg beef topside or silverside joint
- 500ml red wine vinegar
- 500ml water
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 bay leaves, 8 whole cloves, 10 black peppercorns and 1 tsp juniper berries, lightly crushed
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 250ml beef stock
- 8 gingersnap biscuits, crumbled
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- Salt, to taste
How to make it
Directions
- Three days ahead, bring the vinegar, water, onions, carrots, bay, cloves, peppercorns and juniper to a boil, cool completely, then pour over the beef in a non-reactive container. Refrigerate, turning daily.
- On cooking day, remove the beef and pat dry, reserving the strained marinade. Season the meat with salt.
- Heat the oil in a heavy casserole and brown the beef well on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- Stir the flour and tomato paste into the pot, then pour in 500ml of the strained marinade and the beef stock, scraping up the browned bits.
- Return the beef, cover, and braise at 160C (140C fan) for 2 to 2.5 hours until completely tender.
- Lift out the meat and rest it. Stir the gingersnaps and sugar into the gravy and simmer until thickened. Season, slice the beef, and serve with the gravy.
A cheaper cut like topside works perfectly here because the long marinade and slow braise tenderize anything; save your money and never use an expensive joint for sauerbraten.