National Dishes of the World

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Sauerbraten
Photo: Dr. Bernd Gross, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

main dish

Sauerbraten

Beef marinated for several days in vinegar, wine and spices, then braised in a sweet-and-sour gravy.

Eaten in: Germany

Prep
20 min
Cooking
2 h 30 min
Resting
72 h
Total
74 h 50 min
Servings
6

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About the dish

Sauerbraten is one of Germany’s oldest roasts and a Sunday and holiday dish. A joint of beef is left for three to five days in a marinade of vinegar, wine, onion, allspice, cloves and juniper, which tenderises the meat and gives it a distinct, gently sour flavour. It is then browned and braised in the same marinade, and the liquid is turned into a thick, dark gravy. In the Rhineland the gravy is thickened with crumbled gingerbread and finished with raisins, giving it a characteristic sweet-and-sour note. It is served with potato dumplings, red cabbage and apple sauce.

Main ingredients

  • beef
  • wine vinegar
  • red wine
  • onion
  • whole spices
  • gingerbread
  • raisins

Germany: Most associated with the Rhineland, where the gravy is thickened with gingerbread and studded with raisins.

More: Wikipedia (en)

Recipe

Sauerbraten

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/sauerbraten

Ingredients

6 servings

6 servings

Method

  1. Bring the vinegar, wine and water to the boil with the onions, vegetables, spices and sugar, then leave to cool completely.

  2. Put the beef in a glass or earthenware dish, pour over enough marinade to cover and refrigerate for 3–5 days, turning it every day.

  3. Lift out the meat, pat it dry and season with salt. Strain the marinade, keeping the vegetables.

  4. Heat the lard in a heavy casserole and brown the beef well on all sides. Add the drained vegetables and fry them for a few minutes.

  5. Pour in about 750 ml of the strained marinade, cover and simmer gently for 2–2½ hours until the meat is tender.

  6. Take out the meat and keep it warm. Push the sauce through a sieve, add the crumbled gingerbread and raisins and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened. Season with salt and sugar.

  7. Slice the beef across the grain, spoon over the gravy and serve with potato dumplings and red cabbage.

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