Classics · German

Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten
Time
1h
+ 72h chilling
Diff.
medium
Kcal
520
/ serving
Servings
6
Gather 20 ingredients before cooking
Scale
Units
01 You'll need check when you have it
02 To finish last minute: ~60 min window
Step 01 of 09

Boil the marinade

500 ml
250 ml
250 ml
2 szt
2 szt
200 g
3 szt
6 szt
4 szt
10 szt
6 szt
1 łyżka
1 łyżka

Roughly chop 1 onion, 1 carrot and half of celeriac (200 g). Put in a pot with dry red wine (500 ml), red wine vinegar (250 ml), water (250 ml), bay leaf (3 szt), allspice berries (6 szt), cloves (4 szt), black peppercorns (10 szt), juniper berries (6 szt), mustard seeds (1 łyżka) and sugar (1 łyżka). Bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes. Cool completely.

Tip
The marinade must be cold before it touches the meat — hot liquid would start cooking the surface.
Step 02 of 09

Submerge the meat

1500 g

Place beef (chuck or round) (1500 g) in a large glass or plastic container (not metal — vinegar reacts with it). Pour the cold marinade over so the meat is fully submerged. Weigh it down with a small plate if needed.

Step 03 of 09

Marinate 3 days

Refrigerate for 3 days. Turn the meat once a day so it marinates evenly. The meat will turn dark grey — that's correct.

Tip
Less than 3 days and the flavor is flat, more than 5 and the texture turns mushy.
Step 04 of 09

Sear the meat

1500 g
2 łyżeczka
3 łyżka

Take beef (chuck or round) (1500 g) out of the marinade, dry it thoroughly with paper towels. Keep the marinade — it's the base for the sauce. Rub the meat with salt (2 łyżeczka). Heat oil (3 łyżka) in a heavy pot over high heat. Sear the meat on all sides until deeply browned, about 8-10 minutes total.

Tip
Wet meat won't brown — it'll steam in its own water. Drying is not optional.
Step 05 of 09

Sauté the vegetables

2 szt
2 szt
200 g
2 łyżka

Remove the meat. Dice the remaining onion (2 szt), carrot (2 szt) and rest of celeriac (200 g). Add to the same pot, fry on medium heat for 8 minutes until browned. Add tomato paste (2 łyżka), fry another 2 minutes stirring — the paste needs to caramelize, otherwise the sauce tastes of raw tomato.

Step 06 of 09

Braise the meat

1500 g
50 g

Return beef (chuck or round) (1500 g) to the pot. Strain the reserved marinade and pour in enough to reach halfway up the meat. Add raisins (50 g). Cover and simmer on low for 2.5 hours. Every 30 minutes turn the meat and check the liquid — top up with water if it's evaporating.

Step 07 of 09

Thicken the sauce with gingerbread

100 g

Remove the meat, cover with foil. Crumble gingerbread cookies (100 g) into the sauce, stir on low heat until it dissolves — 5-10 minutes. The gingerbread thickens the sauce and gives the signature spiced flavor — it's not a flour substitute, it's the whole point of sauerbraten.

Step 08 of 09

Strain the sauce

Pass the sauce through a sieve into another pot, pressing the vegetables with a spoon to extract everything. Discard the solids. Taste — add a pinch of sugar if too sharp, salt if flat.

Step 09 of 09

Slice and serve

1500 g
2 łyżka

Cut beef (chuck or round) (1500 g) into 1 cm slices across the grain — only this way it stays tender. Arrange on a plate, spoon sauce over, sprinkle with parsley (chopped) (2 łyżka). Serve with potato dumplings or red cabbage.

Tip
Slicing with the grain turns the most tender meat into rubbery strips.
Sauerbraten
Bon appétit

How did it turn out?

Enjoy — now it's a matter of patience and a good table.

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