Melt butter in a Dutch oven and brown the meat on all sides.When ready to cook, remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry.Leave to marinade for 3 to 5 days, turning once or twice a day. Pour the cooled marinade over the meat, cover and refrigerate.Pat dry the beef and put in a non-reactive ceramic or glass dish big enough to also hold the marinade liquid but have meat largely submerged.Bring the mixture to a boil then turn off heat and let it cool. Pour the wine, vinegar and water in a pan and add the bouquet garni, bay leaf, salt and sliced onion.Put the herbs and spices for the bouquet garni in a piece of cheesecloth and tie it shut.Ginger snap cookies are crumbled into the gravy! It might sound odd, I know, but the sweetness takes the edge off the acidity and adds a smoothness and depth to the sauce as well.

In fact the name sauerbraten comes from the German words 'sauer' meaning 'sour' and 'braten' meaning 'roast meat'.īut maybe even more unusual is the finishing touch to this dish. You could almost argue that you pickle the meat before cooking it, as many recipes use pickling spices to infuse the marinating liquid, which is also very acidic. It is most commonly made with beef but can also be made with venison and other meats as well. It's that bit different from an American-style roast as the meat is first marinated in a spiced wine and vinegar liquid before roasting. Sauerbraten is a kind of German pot roast. And as it got closer to Christmas, the glass generally came with a slice of stollen.īut we also enjoyed some delicious plates of sausages with braised red cabbage and other classics like jaegerschnitzel and sauerbraten. I loved that we sometimes just had to find an excuse to warm up with a glass of gluhwein (mulled wine) on a cold day.

Authentic german sauerbraten recipe