Thanksgiving may be a little different this year, what with some odd work schedules in my family. If, on the actual day, we don’t get together, I’ll still have dinner with my mom.
This has only happened once before, and then I prepated German sauerbraten. It was fairly good, but I’d never made it before so I’m not sure how authentic it was.
Can anyone give me tips on preparing it? There are, of course, many recipes online now, but I figure that feedback from Dopers could be a big help. I don’t mind that there may be a lot of prep involved, I want something out of the ordinary.
I’ve never made it myself, shying away from vinegar meats after an experiment making Hasenpfeffer as a teenager, but the Wikipedia page has several suggestions.
This is the recipe I like, although I don’t use eye of round, but rather top or bottom round (I just don’t like eye of round.) And sometimes I skip the raisins. There’s really nothing fancy or difficult about sauerbraten–just takes several days to marinate/pickle. I do a minimum of three, up to a week. That recipe recommends five. They’re all fairly similar recipes: marinade beef for several days in a combination of red wine and red wine vinegar and some aromatics/spices, then braise until tender and thicken sauce, usually with gingersnaps, sometimes with just with a slurry or roux. I like mine served with spaetzle, but you definitely need some starchy side, of course, to pair with the gravy.
Yeah, or if you have a Penzey’s or Spice House, they should have it, too. (That said, I don’t like juniper berries in my sauerbraten, so I personally skip 'em if the recipe includes them, despite having them on hand.)
Remarkably similar. The fruit and spices vary a little, the ratio of wine and vinegar as well. I’ve seen one, maybe two recipes that didn’t use ginger snaps.
The only time I tried making it I used eye of round and it was fucking awful. Followed the recipe to the letter yet the meat was dry and crumbled when cut.
I’ve had traditional braised sauerkraut it in restaurants a few times and it was heaven. I’ve tried to make it at home five times now and it’s nowhere near as good.
Thanks to everyone for their ideas and recommendations. I am looking forward to trying this again near Thanksgiving. I love roast, and don’t often prepare it in any form, as I live alone.
Yeah, that’s my issue with eye of round. I have yet to find any good use for that cut that can’t be done better with another cut. Top and bottom round braise better, while still maintaining the general texture and leanness of the cut required. (That is to say, as opposed to using a standard braising cut like chuck, which is much fattier and develops a very different texture when braised, and would just seem wrong to me in sauerbraten.) I believe rump roast is what is traditionally used, which is part of the bottom round. So if you do it again, try it with either bottom round, rump roast, or top round instead.
I’ve always used a chuck roast, and marinated in the refrigerator 2-3 days, seems sufficient. My grandmother’s recipe (can’t find it right now) called for a bottle of chili sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, water (I use beef broth), an onion stuck with cloves, bay leaf, peppercorns. The fat was skimmed off and the liquid thickened with flour and water slurry, never used gingersnaps. Over wide egg noodles, sometimes pan-fried in a little oil. Delish! I’m the only one who likes it. A grocery store here sells a container of prepared sauce, or gravy, quite expensive, that you simmer your own beef in. It’s OK, not as good as my sauerbraten is.
I’m a bit late to this party, but here’s the recipe they use for one of their sauerbratens at Mader’s a German restaurant in Milwaukee that’s been in business for over a century. I tried it years ago at home, and it was nice. mader's sauerbraten recipe | recipegoldmine.com
Sadly, it’s not their rheinischer Sauerbraten recipe, which is my personal favorite. Golden raisins, sour cream, and toasted almonds are a few of the extras on this one. Wonderful with spaetzle! I’ve not been able to locate their recipe for this version.
One of my favorite childhood outings was accompanying my imperious German grosmutter to visit her butcher, a German jew. Ordinarily meat was ordered over the phone and delivered, but when it came to THE proper rump roast (and yes, rump roast was the only acceptable cut for her sauerbraten), grandmother had to pick it out in person. Mr. Sindlinger always kept a prime roast on tap for grandmother’s periodic visits, but it was their ritual for him to present inferior ones and for her to dismiss them before the final piece de resistance was brought out to everyone’s satistfaction. The whole procedure used to tickle me to no end when I was a kid. It was clear to childhood me that the two individuals liked one another immensely, but I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts neither would have admitted it.
In any case, long story short, use rump roast for sauerbraten.
stillownedbysetters, your story has won me over. I’ll look for a good rump roast at this one special meats store we have.
I haven’t decided which recipe to use though. I may contact my former boss. He was born in Germany but his family moved here when he was thirteen, in 1959. I once visited in his home, not him, but his mother, who coached me in making stollen. She’s gone now, but I bet he could give good advice on sauerbraten.
My German mother’s recipe used beef shoulder or chuck. The marinade was equal parts white vinegar and water; white wine onions peppercorn sugar and salt with 2 bay leaves. Heat and pour over meat until covered at least by half, turn at least twice a day.She always told me “leave it until it is strong enough to walk out on its own” so 3 to 4 days minimum. She used the marinade for gravy, thickening with a simple roux. No gingersnaps or raisins in sight, but when finished she added a cup of sweet or sour cream.
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