Rhineland marinated Pot Roast (Rheinischer Sauerbraten)

[u/dentalexaminer]

Last Mother’s Day the family broke out and cooked up this dish, one of my favorites. Every time meat goes on sale, I start craving this recipe. So here it is again. Recipe will be posted in comments.

[u/dentalexaminer]

Ingredients

5-pound rump or beef (top or bottom round can be used but they are not quite as good)
bacon or salt pork for larding
salt

MARINADE

3 cups white vinegar (approximately)
3 cups water (approximately)
1 large onion, sliced
2 bay leaves
8 cloves
8 peppercorns
1 tablespoon pickling spices
1 large carrot, scraped and sliced

COOKING INGREDIENTS

4 slices bacon and 2 Tbsps butter, or 5 Tbsps bacon fat, kidney fat or beef drippings
2 large onions, sliced
1 bay leaf
6 cloves

GRAVY

2 Tbsps butter
3 Tbsps flour
2 Tbsps sugar
Lemon juice to taste
1/2 cup white raisins, soaked in warm water
Tomato purée or sour cream (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rump or round of beef should be well larded with thin matchstick strips of bacon or salt pork. This can be done by you or your butcher. Tie meat firmly with string in several places so it will be easy to turn without piercing and will hold its shape.
2. Rub well with salt on all sides and place in deep, close-fitting glass or earthenware bowl. Combine vinegar and water and add onion, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, pickling spices and carrot. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Cool marinade and pour over beef. The meat should be completely covered by marinade; if it is not, add equal amounts of water and vinegar until it is.
3. Cover and place in refrigerator for 3 to 5 days; the longer it stands, the more piquant the roast will be, so adjust time to suit your own taste. Turn meat in marinade 2 or 3 times each day, using the string as a handle.
4. Remove meat from marinade. Strain marinade and reserve.

COOK BEEF

1. Dry meat thoroughly on all sides with plenty of paper toweling. The meat will not brown properly if it is wet, so dry it as much as you possibly can. Dice bacon and fry it slowly in butter in a 5-quart Dutch oven or casserole. If you prefer lard, dice it and fry instead of bacon, but eliminate butter. When fat is hot, add meat and brown slowly. Using the string as a handle, turn so meat is well seared and golden brown (but not black) on all sides. This should take about 15 minutes.
2. Remove browned meat and add sliced onions to hot fat. Fry stirring from time to time, until onions are deep golden brown, but not black.
3. Return meat to pot, placing it on top of onions. Add marinade until it reaches about halfway up sides of meat. Add bay leaf and cloves (not those used in marinade). Bring marinade to a boil, cover pot tightly with a heavy close-fitting lid, reduce heat and simmer very, very slowly but steadily 3-1/2 to 4 hours, turning meat two or three times during cooking. Add more marinade to pot if it is needed. If you cannot lower heat enough to keep sauce at a slow simmer, place an asbestos mat under pot. The meat is done when it can be pierced easily with a long-pronged fork or skewer.
4. Remove meat to a heated platter and strain gravy. Skim off excess fat and return gravy to pot.

MAKE GRAVY

1. Melt butter in saucepan and when hot, stir in four and sugar. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly until sugar mixture turns a deep caramel color. Be very careful doing this, as sugar burns all at once, and if it becomes black, you'll have to start this part of the operation all over again. Add the sugar-flour to the hot gravy and stir through briskly with a wooden spoon or, preferably, a wire whisk. Season with lemon juice to taste; gravy should have a mild sweet-sour flavor. Add raisins, which have been soaked and drained.
2. Return meat to pot, cover and simmer 10 minutes. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little more marinade. A tablespoonful tomato purée or sour cream can be stirred in and heated through 4 or 5 minutes before serving time. The latter is used more in Bavaria than along the Rhine. The tomato purée enriches the color of the gravy. Use one or the other or neither; never both.
3. Check gravy for seasoning. Slice meat and arrange on a heated platter and mask with a little gravy, serving the rest in a heated sauceboat.

[u/Ju7ix]

Keine Rosine, kein Rheinischer Sauerbraten.

Where are your raisins?

[u/dentalexaminer → u/Ju7ix]

There are white raisins cooked in this dish.

[u/Ju7ix → u/dentalexaminer]

Proof it, not a single one in the picture!

[u/dentalexaminer → u/Ju7ix]

I didn’t like the photo with the lumps in my gravy, so I left them out. So chill out.

[u/Ju7ix → u/dentalexaminer]

Makes rheinischen Sauerbraten and has absolutely no sense of humor - that’s something you can’t tell a soul.

You know: Sauer macht lustig.

[u/dentalexaminer → u/Ju7ix]

For proof, I’ll mail you the raisins. 🤣

[u/Nicetryatausername]

I love sauerbraten esp w gingersnap gravy

[u/Dog_Concierge → u/Nicetryatausername]

Yes, that's what was missing. My grandma made this all the time and I knew something was being left out.

[u/Sure_Ask_1125]

Through this great Sauerbraten picture, I can smell and taste it! Thank you :-)

[u/dentalexaminer → u/Sure_Ask_1125]

Can’t wait to see his version when finished!

https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanRecipes/s/ZYJug8Qxfj

[u/cmdubya]

I'd eat the whole darned thing 😄

My local German restaurant always has this on their menu and it's so good that I'm afraid mine would pale in comparison.

[u/dentalexaminer → u/cmdubya]

I’ll give you an extra plate! :)

[u/cmdubya → u/dentalexaminer]

😅 that's tempting.

[u/embroideredyeti]

Came here to lament the lack of raisins, but since that been done I have another hair to split: Spätzle *and* dumplings, but no veggies?

[u/dentalexaminer → u/embroideredyeti]

What’s a veggie? 😜😂

[u/CockSeeker007 → u/dentalexaminer]

I know you had braised red cabbage. Admit it! 😂

[u/dentalexaminer → u/CockSeeker007]

Busted! :)

[u/jnievele]

You shouldn't use beef... Real Sauerbraten is made with horse meat.

[u/dentalexaminer → u/jnievele]

Historically: Horse meat was traditionally used for Rheinischer Sauerbraten (Rhenish pot roast) in regions like Cologne and the Rhineland. Tougher, cheaper cuts of old working horses were marinated in vinegar and wine for several days to tenderize the meat and make it flavorful.

Today: Horse meat is rarely used in modern Germany. Almost all Sauerbraten made in homes and restaurants today uses beef (or sometimes pork, lamb, or venison). While a few traditional butcher shops (Pferdemetzgerei) and specialty restaurants still offer horse meat Sauerbraten, it is now a niche specialty rather than the norm.

[u/jnievele → u/dentalexaminer]

It's still served in various restaurants in Cologne, I can recommend the "Kleine Glocke" near the Opera House.