Sauerbraten Mit Ingwer Kuchen Sosse
Traditional German sauerbraten with a four-day vinegar marinade, slow-braised rump roast, and a tangy gingersnap-and-sour-cream gravy. An old-world Sunday dinner worth the wait.
YIELD
10 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
2 hrsREADY
2 hrsTraditional German sauerbraten translates roughly to “sour roast” and earns that name with a four-day vinegar marinade that tenderizes a tough rump cut into something fork-soft. The white and cider vinegars do the slow work, breaking down connective tissue while pulling in onion, clove, peppercorn, and bay flavor that defines authentic German pot roast.
The gingersnap gravy is the genius move. Crushed cookies dissolve into the braising liquid as the meat cooks, thickening the sauce and adding warm spice, sweetness, and just enough body to coat the meat. Finishing with sour cream stirred into a flour slurry rounds out the sharp vinegar with creamy tang, giving you the signature sweet-sour Sauerbraten Sosse.
Pro Tips
- Turn the meat twice a day during the marinade. The exposed top dries out fast and won’t take on the same flavor as the submerged portions.
- Pat the roast bone-dry before browning. Wet meat steams instead of searing and gives you grey sides.
- Crush the gingersnaps to fine crumbs before adding so they dissolve smoothly into the gravy.
- Slice across the grain in thin pieces. Even after this long a braise, with-the-grain cuts can still pull stringy.
Variations
- Serve with potato dumplings (Kartoffelklösse) and braised red cabbage, the classic German trio.
- Add 2 tablespoons of raisins to the marinade for a Rhineland-style sweeter sauerbraten.
- Use venison shoulder in place of beef for a traditional hunter’s variation.
Ingredients
Directions
Place the beef roast in a deep ceramic or glass bowl.
Add onions, peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaf.
Pour white vinegar and cider vinegar over the meat, chill, covered, for 4 days.
Turn meat twice each day. Remove the meat from the marinade, dry it well with paper towels, and strain the marinade into a bowl.
Reserve onions and 1 cup marinade.
In a Dutch oven brown the meat on all sides in hot vegetable oil.
Sprinkle meat with salt.
Pour boiling water around the meat.
sprinkle in crushed gingersnaps, and simmer covered for 1½ hours.
Turn often. Add 1 cup of reserved marinade and cook meat 2 hours or more, until tender.
Remove the meat and keep it warm.
Strain the cooking juices into a large saucepan.
In a small bowl mix sour cream with flour.
Stir it into the cooking juices and cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened and smooth.
Slice meat in ¼ inch slices; add to hot gravy.
Arrange meat on a heated platter and pour extra sauce over it.
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