Grandma Scheinas Sauerbraten Food

TRADITIONAL SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Place beef rump roast, onions, vinegar, water, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, sugar, cloves, and bay leaves in a large pot. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, turning meat daily. Remove meat from marinade and pat dry with paper towels, reserving marinade.
• Season flour to taste with salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Sprinkle flour mixture over beef.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat; cook beef until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Pour reserved marinade over beef, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until beef is tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Remove beef to a platter and slice.
• Strain solids from remaining liquid and continue cooking over medium heat. Add gingersnap cookies and simmer until gravy is thickened about 10 minutes. Serve gravy over sliced beef.

AUTHENTIC GERMAN SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Prepare the Marinade: Place all of the veggies and herbs in a heavy non-reactive stock pot or enameled Dutch oven along with the garlic, juniper berries, whole cloves, bay leaves, salt, sugar and peppercorns. Add the red wine, red wine vinegar and water.Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down completely.
• Marinate the Meat: Nestle the roast in the vegetable marinade and place the lid on the pot.Let it marinate in the fridge for at least 4 days, preferably 7. (Traditionally, the marinating time is as long as 2 weeks!) Unless the meat is completely submerged under the liquid, turn the roast over once every day.Remove the roast, pat it dry with paper towels, and strain the liquid from the vegetables. Reserve the liquid and the vegetables.
• Cook the Roast: Rinse the pot out and heat a tablespoon or two of oil in it over high heat. Generously brown the roast on all sides. Remove the roast and set aside. If using bacon, cook the bacon until done. Leave about 2 tablespoons of oil/fat in the pot. Place the strained vegetables in the pot (with the bacon if using) and cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in the flour, cooking the mixture for a minute or two to eliminate the flour flavor. Add the liquid that you strained from the vegetable marinade, bring it to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.Add the raisins, honey and crushed ginger snaps. Return the roast to the pot.Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 2 hours (may need less or longer depending on roast and marinating time) or until the meat is very tender.(Important Note: The longer you let the roast marinate the faster it will cook because the meat will be more tender from the start. So check on your roast periodically for doneness.)When the roast is done, remove and transfer it to a plate, tent it to keep warm, and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
• Prepare the Gravy: While the roast is resting, strain the gravy and return the gravy to the pot. Taste and more sugar, salt and pepper as desired. If you want your gravy thicker, make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the gravy. (Note: The balance of sour to sweet is a matter of personal taste - adjust the flavor according to your preference. If the flavor is too strong for you, you can dilute it with a little water or broth.)Spoon the gravy over the sliced Sauerbraten and serve immediately.
• Serve with Homemade German Rotkohl and boiled potatoes, Homemade German Spätzle, Semmelknödel or Kartoffelklöße . A few parts of Germany even serve it with Homemade Kartoffelpuffer.

NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Make a bundle with the cheesecloth and the pickling spices, placing pickling spices in a square of cheesecloth and tying it off with cotton string. Mix water, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, and onion powder in a large crock pot (the one I use is a 6-quart model). Add the bundle of pickling spices.
• Put meat in fat side up in crock. Cook until meat is tender (low for 12 hours or high for 7-8 hours).
• Remove spice bundle and throw away. Do not discard the juices nor turn off the crockpot. Take meat out and allow to cool.
• Add 12 crumbled ginger snaps to juices that remain in the crockpot and allow to thicken.
• Slice the meat and return to sauce in the crockpot.

SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over high heat combine the water, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, onion, carrot, salt, pepper, bay leaves, cloves, juniper, and mustard seeds. Cover and bring this to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Pat the bottom round dry and rub with vegetable oil and salt on all sides. Heat a large saute pan over high heat; add the meat and brown on all sides, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• When the marinade has cooled to a point where you can stick your finger in it and not be burned, place the meat in a non-reactive vessel and pour over the marinade. Place into the refrigerator for 3 days. If the meat is not completely submerged in the liquid, turn it over once a day.
• After 3 days of marinating, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Add the sugar to the meat and marinade, cover and place on the middle rack of the oven and cook until tender, approximately 4 hours.
• Remove the meat from the vessel and keep warm. Strain the liquid to remove the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and place over medium-high heat. Whisk in the gingersnaps and cook until thickened, stirring occasionally. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. Add the raisins if desired. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce.

GERMAN SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine salt and ginger; rub over roast. Place in a deep glass bowl. In a large bowl, combine the water, vinegar and sugar. Pour half of marinade into a large saucepan; add half of the onions, pickling spices, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Pour over roast; turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 days, turning twice a day., To the remaining marinade, add the remaining onions, pickling spices, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves. Cover and refrigerate., Drain and discard marinade from roast; pat roast dry. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown roast in oil on all sides. Pour 1 cup of reserved marinade with all of the onions and seasonings over roast (cover and refrigerate remaining marinade). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3 hours or until meat is tender., Strain cooking juices, discarding onions and seasonings. Add enough reserved marinade to the cooking juices to measure 3 cups. Pour into a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add gingersnaps; reduce heat and simmer until gravy is thickened. Slice roast and serve with gravy.

GRANDMA FRITZ'S SAUERBRATEN (FOR THE CROCK POT)

Steps:

• Combine onions, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, vinegar, and water.
• Arrange meat in a covered earthenware or Tupperware container and pour pickling solution over the top of the meat.
• Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days (the longer it marinades, the more flavor soaks into the meat).
• Turn the meat once or twice a day.
• Remove the meat from the solution and pat dry.
• Remove and discard the bay leaves and peppercorns.
• Strain and reserve the onions.
• Put a little oil (I like to go light, if I can, and use extra virgin olive oil or Canola, but you can use a couple of tablespoons of butter) in a skillet and heat and cook reserved onions until they are transparent, but not brown.
• Remove onions and brown meat on all sides in the same oil.
• Place onions and meat in a slow cooker/crock pot and fill the crock pot with a cup of the pickling solution.
• Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until the meat is cooked through and tender.
• When meat is done, remove to a warm platter and cover to keep warm.
• Add any remaining marinade to a skillet.
• Add brown sugar, raisins, crumbled ginger snaps (I pound these out in a Ziploc bag to crush them).
• Stir and cook until the sauce is smooth and has thickened--about 15-20 minutes.
• Serve the sauce over the slices of meat and put the remainder of the sauce in a gravy boat.