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Related Cooking Notes

Sauerbraten

Ingredients

  • 1 3-4 lb chuck roast (or rump roast)

  • 2 cups red wine

  • 1 1⁄2 cups red wine vinegar

  • 3 large onions, thinly sliced

  • 1 large carrot, thinly sliced

  • 1 bouquet garni, wrapped in cheesecloth, tied with kitchen twine:

    • 1 tbsp pickling spices

    • 14 whole cloves

    • 8 whole black peppercorns

    • 3 bay leaves

    • 3 sprigs thyme

    • 2 sprigs parsley

  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter

  • 4 slices bacon, finely chopped

  • 3 tbsp flour

  • 2 tbsp sugar

  • 1⁄2 cup golden raisins

  • 6 gingersnaps, crumbled

  • Juice of 1/2 lemon

  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley

  • Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Season beef liberally with salt in large bowl. Bring wine, vinegar, 1 onion, carrot, bouquet garni, and 4 cups water to a boil in a 4-qt. saucepan; pour over beef. Cover and refrigerate, turning once or twice a day, for 5 days. Remove beef from marinade; pour marinade through a fine strainer into a bowl, and dry beef thoroughly. (Reserve 5 cups of the marinade and the bouquet garni.) Heat 2 tbsp. butter and bacon in an 8-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat; cook until bacon renders its fat, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate; set aside. Add beef; cook, turning, until browned all over, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a plate; set aside.

  2. Heat oven to 325°. Add remaining onions to pot; cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 18 minutes. Return beef to pot with reserved marinade and sachet; boil. Cover; bake until beef is very tender, about 2 1⁄2 hours. Transfer beef to a platter; pour sauce through a fine strainer into a bowl.

  3. Return pot to medium-high heat; add remaining butter. Add flour and sugar; cook, whisking constantly, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add sauce, raisins, gingersnaps, and juice; return beef to sauce. Bring to a simmer, cover pot, and cook until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Thinly slice beef; arrange on a platter. Spoon sauce over top; sprinkle with bacon and parsley

Notes

  • Yield: Serves 8-10

  • Next time, try chuck roast instead of rump roast and reduce cooking time to 2 hours total. (4.5 pound rump roast at 2.5 hours resulted in dry meat.) Reserve more marinade for gravy than the five cups recommended.

References

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