# What's your best sauerbraten recipe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989 "2005-01-21T22:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989/1 "2005-01-21T22:19:36Z")
This [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=297873) introduced the German dish of Sauerbraten to me. In order not to clutter up that thread too much, I am starting this new thread to ask fellow dopers in the know, what their best Sauerbraten ricipe is? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989/2 "2005-01-22T00:38:08Z")
Lived in Germany a long time and most of the people I knew wimped out and bought the pre-prepared Sauerbraten in butcher shops. I tried to make it once (although certainly not that two week adventure mentioned in the other thread) using a 5 day marinade and although it tasted OK, it didn’t really cut it for me…plus it was a pain to constantly take care of the damn thing in the fridge and remember to turn it over and pour more vinegar, etc. etc. If you ever get to Las Vegas, they have Hofbrauhaus (real, not imitation, from the original owners in Munchen) and they have a very good Sauerbraten. Don’t think there are any shortcuts to this dish, so my suggestion is to Google Sauerbraten recipes and find the one that looks most difficult - that will probably be the best. Guten Apetit! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989/3 "2005-01-22T00:51:59Z")
OK, this is my Very German Grandma’s[sup]TM[/sup] recipe for sauerbraten. It involves letting the meat marinate for two weeks. I have no idea whether or not this is a good idea from a food safety standpoint, but it tastes durn good. She always claimed that the vinegar in effect pickled the meat, making food poisoning unlikely. However, she also ate pork fat that had been sitting on the counter for days, so I dunno. Try at your own risk. She claims the hardest part of making it is making sure your husband doesn’t throw out the “rotten roast” before it’s ready! It is also a more “sour” sauerbraten than I’ve ever had a restaurants. If you’re a first timer, perhaps you should go with a shorter 4 day marinade. Also, 'cause it’s Grandma’s, all quantities are approximate. If you try to pin her down on how much of anything goes in, she’ll wave at you in annoyance and say, “Enough! That’s how much! Enough!” 😛 4-5 pound boneless beef roast. two onions, sliced 1 cup red wine, plus some more 1 cup red wine vinegar couple o’ allspice couple o’ bay leaves couple o’ cloves fresh ground black pepper, or some peppercorns Place the roast in a non-reactive (corning ware works great) dish that has a lid. Put the spices and onion slices on top. Pour the wine and the vinegar over and around the roast. Add more wine as needed to cover. Cover, refrigerate and marinade for 4 days to 2 weeks. Turn once a day, adding more wine or more vinegar as needed to keep it covered. When it’s cooking day, preheat the oven to 275. Remove the meat from the marinade. If you’ve left it for a while, the meat will be purple (yes, purple) and sort of “fuzzy” looking. This is normal. (See disclaimer above re: food safety.) Heat some oil in a large skillet or dutch oven. Pat the meat dry and sear on all sides. (No, it doesn’t “seal in the juices” like Grandma said, but it gives it a richer flavor.) Place the meat in a roasting pan. Pour marinade around it, not completely to cover, but at least half way up. Some people like to add carrots and celery to the roasting pan at this point, but Grandma didn’t hold with vegetables other than cabbage, red cabbage and potatoes. Bake for 1-2 hours, until the internal temp is 140. When it’s done, remove the roast and let it sit while you make the gravy. First, strain the pan drippings to remove any chunky bits. We always set the strainer over a saucepan, because the next step is to heat the drippings on the stovetop. When it starts to boil, add a “couple of handfuls” of crushed ginger snaps. This will thicken the gravy. Add salt and pepper to taste and you’re done. We always served sauerbraten with grated potato pancakes and pickled red cabbage, although I hear dumpling or spaetzle are more traditional side dishes for sauerbraten. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989/4 "2005-01-22T08:34:46Z")
**WhyNot** ’s recipe is on the mark. There’s really nothing to add or subtract from it. Some people like using apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, but the ingredients are the same. (I’m still amazed by the 2 weeks of marinading. That’s a little different than what I’m used to.) Spaetzle are the best side dish for sauerbraten, as the pairing of the noodles/dumplings and gravy is natural. Basic spaetzle recipe: 2 eggs 3-ish cups flour 3 1/2 Tablespoons oil 3/4 cup water pinch o’ salt Beat the eggs, salt, and water together. Add the flour to make a viscous, yet pourable dough. It should be the consistency of honey, possibly slightly thicker, but not much. Bring a pot of salter water to a boil. Ideally. you want to use [a contraption like this](http://www.kitchenconservatory.com/spaetzle.jpg) to make your spaetle. You pour your dough in, slide the thingamajig across, and little noodles get cut off for you. [They should look somewhat like this](http://www.kevinmatz.com/photos/vancouver_island_may_2003/nanaimo/HomeInNanaimo_Spaetzle_1.jpg), (though obviously not browned.) Chances are you don’t have a spaetzle-making device at home. In that case, you can pour the dough into a colander that has fairly large holes (about 1/2 inch in diameter), or through a food mill, or even a slotted spoon. Boil until they rise to the top of the water, skim them off, straing and serve! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989/5 "2005-01-22T17:35:48Z")
4 lb Rump Roast; Beef, Boneless 1/2 c Cider Vinegar 1 c White Vinegar; Mild 2 ea Onions; Thinly Sliced 1/4 c Vegetable Oil 8 ea Peppercorns 4 ea Cloves; Whole 1/2 ts Salt 2 c Water; boiling 1 ea Bay Leaf 1 c Marinade 10 ea Gingersnaps \ 1/2 c Sour Cream 1 tb Unbleached Flour Place the beef roast in a deep ceramic or glass bowl. Add onions, peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaf. Pour white vinegar and cider vinegar over the meat; chill, covered, for 4 days. Turn meat twice each day. Remove the meat from the marinade, dry it well with paper towels, and strain the marinade into a bowl. Reserve onions and 1 cup marinade. In a Dutch oven brown the meat on all sides in hot vegetable oil. Sprinkle meat with salt. Pour boiling water around the meat. sprinkle in crushed gingersnaps, and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours. Turn often. Add 1 cup of reserved marinade and cook meat 2 hours or more, until tender. Remove the meat and keep it warm. Strain the cooking juices into a large saucepan. In a small bowl mix sour cream with flour. Stir it into the cooking juices and cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened and smooth. Slice meat in 1/4 inch slices; add to hot gravy. Arrange meat on a heated plater and pour extra sauce over it. Uberbackener spinat mit kase 1 lb Spinach – Fresh 1/4 lb Butter 1 Onion – Large, Diced 2 Garlic – Cloves, Minced 1/2 t Salt 1/2 lb Emmenthaler Cheese – Grated 1 t Paprika 1/8 t Nutmeg 1/4 t Pepper Wash and clean spinach of sand. Dry. Cut spinach into strips. In a large Dutch oven, heat butter until bubbly. Add onion and garlic, saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach. Sprinkle with salt. Cover and steam for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Grease an ovenproof casserole. Sprinkle half the cheese over the bottom of the casserole. Add the spinach. Sprinkle with paprika, nutmeg, and pepper. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 360 degrees F about 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989/6 "2005-01-24T17:08:48Z")
Thanks for the Spaetzle and Uberbackener spinat mit kase recipes. Would bought Spaetzle from a German grocery be good to use? And what does Uberbackener mean (I recognise spinat mit kase as spinnich with cheese) ? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989/7 "2005-01-24T23:53:11Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > …what does Uberbackener mean (I recognise spinat mit kase as spinnich with cheese) ? Directly translated, “over baked” but not what you think…they mean to put it in a broiler or toaster oven so the heat comes from above. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989/8 "2005-01-25T01:14:29Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Thanks for the Spaetzle and Uberbackener spinat mit kase recipes. Would bought Spaetzle from a German grocery be good to use? And what does Uberbackener mean (I recognise spinat mit kase as spinnich with cheese) ? I don’t know what pre-packaged spaetzle are like, but I’m sure if you’re feeling a little bit lazy, they’ll do the trick. (Still, spaetzle are pretty quick & easy to make.) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-best-sauerbraten-recipe/285989/9 "2005-01-25T01:48:54Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Thanks for the Spaetzle and Uberbackener spinat mit kase recipes. Would bought Spaetzle from a German grocery be good to use? And what does Uberbackener mean (I recognise spinat mit kase as spinnich with cheese) ? Unterbackener means ‘from Unterback’ I use the store bought spaetzle, and _sob_ occasionally even the potato dumplings [they are WAY cool…little tea bags of powdery _stuff_ that you soak in water to fluff up, then boil WHEE=)] when I get lazy=) though I usually ‘cut’ them into boiling water [um, make the dough, schmeer it on a silicon cutting board and sort of swoosh off little wormy noodles into boiling water] but mrAru likes his [spaetzle hex](http://www.aaltonet.com/spaetzle/index.shtml) [funky potato dumplings](http://store.yahoo.com/gdcom/drknoll2.html) damn, now i am getting hungry, think I will go start a sauerbraten marinating.