Spring Issue

REAL GERMAN SAUERBRATEN
(Like Gertrude used to make)
The meat will need to marinate for at least five days.
Marinade ingredients:
1 four- to five-pound well-marbled chuck steak—the original recipe
calls for rump roast, but chuck is more flavorful and tender. (Good
ole’ Chuck!)
2 teaspoons black pepper
5 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons sugar
1 large onion, sliced
Red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar (for measurements, see
marinating instructions below)
Marinating the meat:
(Use twice as much water as vinegar—the meat must be submerged in
the marinade.)
Approximately:
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup balsamic vinegar
4 cups water
If you are not sure exactly how much marinade to make, you can see how
much liquid the meat displaces by putting it into the marinating vessel—a
large glass bowl or a big plastic container. I use a gallon-size plastic bucket
with a lid.
Pour water over the meat until it is just covered. Remove the meat, set it
aside and then measure the water.
Figure out how much water you will need for a 2:1 ratio of water to
vinegar. Save that amount of water, discard the rest, then add in the red
wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar.
Place the roast back into its marinating vessel, mix together marinade
ingredients and pour over the meat. Cover with plastic wrap or seal and
refrigerate for five days, turning the meat once each day.
“Five Days Later”
Cooking the sauerbraten:
4-5 tablespoons peanut oil or Crisco
4 really large onions, cut into crescents (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4-5 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
Remove the meat from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels.
Put the marinade and all of its spices into a Dutch oven and heat slightly.
Set aside.
I remember Gertrude’s warning:
“Don’t schreck [shock] the meat with cold marinade!”
Use two tablespoons of the oil and add to a large frying pan. Heat until
it sizzles, then brown the meat well on all sides. Put the browned meat into
the Dutch oven with the warmed marinade.
In the same frying pan, cook the onions in two tablespoons oil, adding
in the salt and sugar. Let them brown slightly. Take a ladle full of marinade,
add it to the onions and scrape up any browned bits. Put the cooked
onion mixture over the meat in the Dutch oven. Bring the heat up until
everything comes up to a low simmer.
Another warning: “Never, never let it come to a boil or it will come out
tough!”
On the stovetop, cover and simmer over very low heat for at least
three hours. I prefer to cook the sauerbraten covered, in a slow (200°)
oven for five hours, simulating a slow cooker.
Remove the sauerbraten from the pot. Strain the cooked marinade,
reserving the cooked onions. Pick out the bay leaves. Spoon off any
fat from the cooked marinade. Put the meat and cooked marinade
into a large bowl and let it rest until the gravy is made.
Making the gravy:
In a blender, purée the onions and put them back into the Dutch
oven. Take four cups of the cooked marinade and add it to the
puréed onions. “Abschmecken”: Taste and correct the seasonings as
needed, adding sugar, salt or more vinegar. Put the flour and water
into a jar, cover and shake well to combine.
Thicken the gravy with the flour-water mixture, whisking over
medium heat. Add in the red wine. Turn the heat off just after it
comes to a boil and thickens. Do not let the gravy boil for any length
of time, as it will “cook out” and the flour will become thin again.
Gertrude said her mother taught her never to make too much gravy.
“It should barely be enough,” she used to say.
Slice the sauerbraten and put the slices back into the Dutch oven
with the gravy over very low heat. Turn off the heat, cover and let the
meat soak up the gravy.
Now finish cooking the rest of the dinner:
These are some classic accompaniments to sauerbraten: boiled or
mashed potatoes, noodles (spätzle) or dumplings (kartoffel klöße*),
carrots or green beans and red cabbage.
*One thing Gertrude never made from scratch was potato
dumplings. She always used the Panni brand Authentic Bavarian
potato dumpling mix. She did have a couple of tricks for making
them, though.
GERTRUDE’S ENHANCED KARTOFFEL KLÖßE
2 boxes (7.9 ounces each) of Panni brand Authentic Bavarian
potato dumpling mix (because 1 box only makes 7 dumplings,
and that just isn’t enough)
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups cold water
2 slices rye bread cut into cubes
3 tablespoons butter
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and water together, add in the
dumpling mix slowly, whisking constantly so that no lumps form.
Set aside.
Fry the rye bread cubes in the butter until well browned.
With wet hands, take a handful of dumpling mix and flatten it
in your hand. Insert two rye “croutons” in the center, then roll into
two-inch ball. The croutons allow the dumplings to cook all the way
through.
Bring four quarts salted water to a boil, carefully drop the
dumplings in and simmer 10-15 minutes after they “swim.” Remove
to a platter and serve hot.
If there are any dumplings left over, they are incredible the next
day, sliced and fried in butter with some chopped onions.
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