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german sauerbraten

(1 rating)
skgriffin51 avatar
Recipe by
Sandy Griffin
@skgriffin51
San Antonio, TX

Today we are going to relive some of our favorite foods from living in Germany. This is my version of one of the standard recipes in German. I hope you all enjoy it.

(1 rating)
yield 4 - 6
prep time 30 Min
cook time 4 Hr

Ingredients For german sauerbraten

  • 2 c
    water
  • 1/2 c
    cider vinegar
  • 1/2 c
    red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 c
    merlot
  • 1/2 c
    gin
  • 1 md
    onion
  • 1 lg
    carrot
  • 2 tsp
    kosher salt plus some for rubbing the meat
  • 1/2 tsp
    black pepper
  • 2
    bay leaves
  • 6
    whole cloves
  • 1 tsp
    chinese hot mustard or whole seeds
  • 4 lb
    beef top round steak, boneless
  • 1 Tbsp
    vegetable oil
  • 2 Tbsp
    paprika, sweet mild
  • 2 Tbsp
    tomato paste (optional)
  • 3 Tbsp
    sugar
  • 16
    ginger snaps old fashion crunchy ones crushed (about 3 ounces)

How To Make german sauerbraten

  • 1
    Put the first 12 ingredients into a large cooking pot and bring to boil, then simmer for 10 minutes
  • 2
    Let it cool to touch.
  • 3
    While you are waiting for that take your meat and rub it with the oil and then salt and pepper (add'l from the recipe).
  • 4
    Braise the meat to good golden brown. Remove the meat and rinse about 2 tablespoons of water in the pan to get the drippings and then pour into the mixture that is simmering.
  • 5
    Once the liquid is cool to touch and the meat is cool. Mix the two into a zip-lock gallon baggie. Try to get most of the air out. Put in refrigerator. Toss it twice a day in the bag not opening for 3 days (72 hours). Now I use a food saver bag. Vacuum all the air out. Works great.
  • 6
    Finally the day of cooking Yea!!! I use a Romertopf (clay pot) I soak it first for at least 30 minutes in room temperature water. If you don't have one you are missing out. I cook all my roast in this pot. You can use a Dutch Oven.
  • 7
    Once your pot is ready pour the bag with all the ingredients in it into the pan. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar. Some people use more like a 1/3 cup. The cookies add a lot of sweet for me. Cover and cook at 325 degrees for about 3 to four hours depending on what type of pot you use. The Romertopf is faster.
  • 8
    Remove the meat from the pot. Strain the remaining liquid with fine sieve. Put in a pot on the stove top and heat on medium until. Stir in the gingersnaps, paprika, tomato paste and sugar. I put them in slowly checking after each one. You are looking for it to start thickening up for your gravy, if it gets too thick just add water or merlot. Taste it to see what it needs at this point. I change this part each time to get it to taste just the way I like it. I had to add a whole cup of water this time. Of course I did let it cook down before realizing maybe I went too far.
  • 9
    Slice your cold meat. Pour the sauce over the meat heat it briefly and serve. Enjoy!!! I know it sounds like it takes a lot of time but it really does not most of the time is just waiting.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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