The Best Sauerbraten
Prep
30m
Cook
180m
Total
210m
Bigly says
Sit down for this one. Sauerbraten. The BEST sauerbraten. Almost nobody in this country is making it correctly, it is a TRAVESTY — the Germans gave us pretzels, hot dogs, half the engineering in every decent car on the road, and we are repaying the favor by butchering one of their crown jewels in 90-minute Tuesday-night blog posts. A disgrace. A meal-shaped apology.
Real sauerbraten — many people don't know this, they THINK they know it but they don't — is a pot roast that marinates for DAYS in vinegar and wine and spices, then braises low and slow, then gets a sauce thickened with GINGERSNAPS. Gingersnaps. In the SAUCE. The first time someone told me, I said, 'That's a dessert cookie, what are we doing here.' I was wrong. It happens. Doesn't happen often, but on the rare occasion I'll admit it — and I had a food chemist with a PhD walk me through it once, very smart guy, took him 90 minutes at a kitchen table, by the end I was nodding like a student. The cookie crumbs hit the hot liquid, the spice blooms, the starch thickens, the sugar caramelizes against the acid in the marinade, and you get a sauce that is rich, glossy, faintly sweet, deeply spiced. Magic in the pot. Whoever invented this earned a statue. A bigly statue.
Now the 'quick sauerbraten' people, the 90-minutes-and-done crowd, they are not making sauerbraten. They are making gray beef in vinegar. The sad cousin nobody invited to the wedding. Real sauerbraten takes THREE TO FIVE DAYS in the marinade. That is the rule. The Germans wrote the rule. The Germans were correct. If you can't wait three days for greatness, that is a YOU problem — go heat up a microwave burrito, no judgment, but don't call it sauerbraten. Believe me.
Ingredients
- 4 lbbeef rump roast or bottom round(tied with butcher's twine if not already)
- 2 cupsred wine vinegar
- 2 cupsdry red wine
- 1 cupwater
- 2 largeyellow onions, sliced
- 2carrots, sliced
- 2celery stalks, sliced
- 8whole cloves
- 10juniper berries(find them, do not skip them, they make the dish)
- 1 tbspwhole black peppercorns
- 3bay leaves
- 6whole allspice berries
- 1 tbsp, plus more for searingkosher salt
- 3 tbspvegetable oil
- 2 tbspall-purpose flour
- 1 cupgingersnap cookies, crumbled(real spicy gingersnaps, not soft cookies)
- 2 tbspdark brown sugar
- 1/3 cupraisins (optional)
Steps
- 1
Three days before cooking: combine red wine vinegar, red wine, water, onions, carrots, celery, cloves, juniper berries, peppercorns, bay leaves, allspice, and 1 tbsp kosher salt in a large non-reactive pot or container. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, then cool completely.
- 2
Place the beef in a large non-reactive container or sealable bag. Pour the cooled marinade over, ensuring the meat is fully submerged (add more wine or water if needed). Cover and refrigerate 3 to 5 days, turning the meat once a day.
- 3
On cooking day, remove the beef from the marinade and pat very dry with paper towels. Strain the marinade through a fine mesh sieve, reserving both the liquid and the vegetables separately.
- 4
Season the beef generously with salt. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- 5
Sear the beef on all sides until deeply browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
- 6
Add the reserved strained vegetables to the pot and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, about 6 minutes.
- 7
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 1 minute. Pour in 3 cups of the strained marinade and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom.
- 8
Return the beef to the pot. The liquid should come about halfway up the meat — top up with more marinade or water if needed. Bring to a simmer.
- 9
Cover and transfer to a 325°F oven. Braise 2.5 to 3 hours, turning the beef once halfway through, until fork-tender.
- 10
Transfer the beef to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Strain the cooking liquid into a saucepan, pressing on the solids; discard the solids.
- 11
Bring the strained liquid to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk in the crumbled gingersnaps and brown sugar. Simmer 5-10 minutes, whisking, until thickened and smooth. Stir in raisins if using. Taste and adjust salt.
- 12
Slice the beef against the grain into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange on a platter and ladle the gingersnap gravy generously over the top.
One more thing
Serve this over potato dumplings or buttered spaetzle with a pile of braised red cabbage on the side and you have built a meal that even the Germans — a tough crowd, very serious about their food, they do not applaud easily — would stand up for. Three days in the marinade is not a hardship, three days is the bare minimum entry fee for a dish perfected over eight hundred years, and patience is the secret ingredient nobody puts on the label. You waited. The pot rewarded you. We did it.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about The Best Sauerbraten.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
★ MORE LIKE THIS ★
KEEP COOKING.
Tremendous Bangers and Mash
Pan-seared pork sausages over rich buttery mashed potatoes, smothered in a sweet caramelized onion and beef stout gravy.
Huge Beef and Noodles
Tender chuck roast slow-simmered until shreddable, served over buttery egg noodles cooked in the gravy. Midwestern comfort food at its purest.
The Best Beef Burgundy
Slow-braised beef in red wine with bacon, pearl onions, and mushrooms. Deep, silky, restaurant-quality comfort food in one Dutch oven.
The Best Beef Pot Pie
The best beef pot pie: tender braised beef in a rich red-wine gravy with carrots and mushrooms, sealed under a flaky golden puff pastry crust.