Feb 21st, 2012 by Lisa
German Sauerbraten Recipe
Sauerbraten is considered one of the national dishes of Germany. It essentially means pickled roast meat. The most highly rated recipe I found was from Alton Brown. I did not have the juniper berries that were called for in his recipe so through a quick internet search I learned you can substitute one teaspoon gin (definitely have that) for every 2 berries. Other adaptations I made were decreasing the water a tad and adding a celery stalk to the marinade. You can serve it with red cabbage and a stein of beer.
Inspired by Those Who Save Us
Prep: 30 minutes (plus 72 hours marinating time) Cook Time: 4 hours 20 minutes Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 6 teaspoons gin
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, additional for seasoning meat
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) bottom round
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 18 dark old-fashioned gingersnaps (about 5 ounces), crushed
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over high heat combine the water, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, gin, celery, onion, carrot, salt, pepper, bay leaves, cloves, and mustard seeds. Cover and bring 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.
- Place the meat in a non-reactive (ie not metal) dish and pour the cooled marinade over the meat. 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°F.
- Add the sugar to the marinade and spoon over the meat. Cover and place on the middle rack of the oven and cook until tender, approximately 4 hours.
- Remove the meat from the pan 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. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce.
If you would like to use the juniper berries instead of the gin, use 12 juniper berries and increase the water to 2 cups. I am a big fan of Alton Brown,who has been at the Texas Book Festival the past 2 years. Below are 2 of my favorite books of his.
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