Rheinischer Sauerbraten

Submitted by kymgerberich

"This is from "Germany's Regional Recipes" by Helga Hughes. I had never seen a recipe for Sauerbraten that called for apple butter. It adds a really nice flavor!!"

 

• Ready In: 96hrs 45mins
• Ingredients: 19
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 lbs beef shoulder
• salt and pepper
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1 parsnip, cleaned and chopped
• 2 cloves, whole
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 4 peppercorns
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 1⁄2 cups red wine
• 1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 6 gingersnap cookies, ground
• 4 tablespoons apple butter
• 1⁄2 cup raisins, soaked in apple juice
• 2 -3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

directions

1. Select a glass bowl just large enough to take the meat with a little space to spare, and combine in it (without the meat) the carrots, parsnip, cloves, sugar, peppercorns, garlic, thyme and wine. Then add the meat.
2. In a medium-sized pan, bring the vinegar, water, and bay leaf to a boil; then simmer for 10 minutes before removing and cooling slightly.
3. Pour the water-vinegar mixture over the meat, (meat should be totally immersed), and store refrigerated for 3 to 4 days, turning meat occasionally.
4. Remove the beef and pat dry with paper towels; then salt and pepper all sides.
5. Melt butter in a large cooking pot and brown beef in it on all sides. Pour in the marinade, including solids. Stir in tomato paste, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender.
6. Remove meat and pour the broth through a fine sieve. Return broth to pot, add gingersnaps, apple butter, and raisins. Bring to a boil and thicken with prepared thickener (mix flour with a little water). Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary (the gravy should have a savory sweet-sour taste).
7. Slice meat, pour a little gravy over it, and serve the remaining gravy in a sauce-boat.

Reviews

[bookholm]

Excellent recipe with delicious gravy, so make sure to make plenty of mashed potatoes! The potatoes will 1.) soak up that fantastic gravy and 2.) make sure that you have leftover beef for sandwiches the next day! The meat and marinade really maintained that "sauer" flavor that I was looking for which other recipes, with shorter marinade times and less vinegar, did not have. It was also, thanks to the raisins and gingersnap cookies, just sweet enough to compliment the sour flavor without being too much. Make sure you do turn the meat every few hours, that you marinade it for as close to four days as possible, and you cook it on low heat for at LEAST the allotted time (don't get impatient! I cooked my 2.7 lb shoulder for about 3 hours) and this will be as delicious and tender as if you made it in a crock pot. I served it with mashed potatoes, steamed carrots (highly recommend any light, steamed veggie you have rattling around in your fridge as a side dish) and white wine--red wine probably would've been better, of course, but white wine was delicious. <br/>In short: om nom nom nom nom.