Sauerbraten

Exactly one month ago today, on our wedding anniversary coinciding with Christmas Day, Harry and I were having what was probably the most delicious roast I have ever tasted. 😋

Sauerbraten (literally translated: sour beef) is a traditional German dish for which the beef needs to rest in a sour marinade for about a week before being slowly braised.

This dish requires careful preparation and cooking to ensure that the meat achieves the desired tenderness and typical sweet-and-sour flavour.

Harry once told me that an ex-in-law of his used to cook an excellent Sauerbraten. He has long cut all ties to his former life. Still, being an accomplished chef himself, he felt challenged to finally go for this.

And man, did he nail it… ❤️

What we need:

1200g (42oz) rump roast
700ml (1½pt) red wine
100ml (¼pt) red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 bay leaves
10 juniper berries
10 allspice berries
½ leek
2 carrots
2 medium-sized onions
A good pinch of chives
450g (16oz) soup vegetables
1 heaped tbsp tomato purée
Salt and pepper
Clarified butter

How to do it:

The preparation

Please be aware that you’ll need to do the preparation 7 days before the cooking!

Chop the leek, carrots and onions into medium-sized chunks.
Pour approx. 100ml (¼pt) of the red wine into a cup, add the honey and mix well.
Pour the remaining red wine and the vinegar into a suitable container.
Add the bay leaves, juniper berries and allspice berries.
Season both sides of the meat well with salt and pepper.
Place the meat into the container.
Pour the wine-honey mixture over the meat.
Add the chunks of leek, carrots and onions as well as the soup vegetables and chives.
Place the container with a lid in the fridge for one week. Turn the meat once a day.

The cooking

Remove and dry the meat and separate the liquid from the vegetables.
Season both sides of the meat well with salt and pepper again.
Melt some clarified butter in a roasting pan and fry both sides of the meat well for approx. 5 minutes each.
Remove the meat, add the vegetables to the roasting pan and fry well.
Stir in the tomato purée.
Add a small dipper full of the marinade liquid and allow to reduce. Repeat this step twice more.
Put the meat back into the roasting pan and add the remaining marinade liquid.
Put the roasting pan into the oven for 90 minutes at 190°C (375°F).
Take the roasting pan out the oven, turn the meat once.
Add 1 litre (2pt) of water and put the roasting pan back into the oven for another 60 minutes.
Remove and carve the meat, keep it warm.
Separate the liquid from the remainders of the vegetables and thicken with sauce thickener to form a thick sauce.