Sauerbraten question
Darren
For my next cooking endeavour, I want to make the classic German beef
dish, Sauerbraten. I have several recipes to choose from, all slightly
different in terms of ingredients, marinating time,etc.
However, my questions concern exactly what cut of beef to use?
Some recipes call for beef roast such as rump, while others call for
top round,etc. All recipes call for the standard 2-3 hours roasting
time.
My local supermarket carries rump roast but they are always very
small.
I want to make a good sized dish of this.
What would be the best cut of beef for this?
Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
Darren
Kris
What I use is the recipe from the Berghoff, the classic German
restaurant in Chicago. It specifies using eye of round.
Does that help or confuse things more? :)
Kris
Mr. Bill
wrote:
>What I use is the recipe from the Berghoff, the classic German
>restaurant in Chicago. It specifies using eye of round.
That WAS a great restaurant.... I remember having lunch back in the
80's. Heard a familiar voice and lo and behold, directly behind us
was Paul Harvey. Good Day!
Kris
> On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:01:49 -0700 (PDT), Kris <shanno...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >What I use is the recipe from the Berghoff, the classic German
> >restaurant in Chicago. It specifies using eye of round.
>
> That WAS a great restaurant.... I remember having lunch back in the
> 80's. Heard a familiar voice and lo and behold, directly behind us
> was Paul Harvey. Good Day!
Totally iconic. I think many celebrities in Chicago ate there at
least once or twice. Best corned beef sandwiches at lunchtime (sliced
to order) - eaten standing up at the bar with a beer (or root beer).
The regular sit-down part was great too.
Sad it closed, but I revere having the cookbook - my husband even got
a signed copy fot me.
Kris
Jim Davis
They've been there over 100 years.
Lin
> However, my questions concern exactly what cut of beef to use?
> Some recipes call for beef roast such as rump, while others call for
> top round,etc. All recipes call for the standard 2-3 hours roasting
> time.
> My local supermarket carries rump roast but they are always very
> small.
I've had very good results with rump and eye of round would work well
too. Typically though EoR costs a bit more. I do a full eight day
marinade which I think helps with getting it tender.
Couldn't you ask your grocer to cut a larger roast for you, or save one
back when they get their shipments in?
--Lin
Deb
Debbie in Indiana
"Kris" <shan...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:910f8244-b004-4add...@l13g2000vba.googlegroups.com...
Victor Sack
> For my next cooking endeavour, I want to make the classic German beef
> dish, Sauerbraten. I have several recipes to choose from, all slightly
> different in terms of ingredients, marinating time,etc.
> However, my questions concern exactly what cut of beef to use?
Classic Sauerbraten has always been made with horse meat, not beef, and
this is still the case in some regions, particularly Rhineland. The
modern beef version calls for tough cuts, which would be able to
withstand the long marinating. The exact cuts often used in Germany,
Nuß, Rose, Blume, Kugel, or Schaufelstück would be unobtainable in
America. The suitable English cuts would be silverside and perhaps
topside and blade, and the American cuts perhaps top or bottom round or
rump, or chuck.
Victor
sf
<jdav...@centurytel.net> wrote:
>Shroeder's in SF used to have a good Sauerbraten. Assume they still do.
>They've been there over 100 years.
I haven't thought about Shroeder's in years! We go out with friends
on a semi-regular basis, gotta put it on the list because one of the
guys loves german food.
--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.
Janet Wilder
Most of the people of German heritage I know who make sauerbraten use a
rump roast. They marinate for days and days. IIRC, the meat is cooked in
a braise that contains ginger snaps.
I had it in a famous (but I forgot the name) German restaurant in
Milwaukee and it was fabulous. So wonderful, that it was days before I
could forget I ate it <g>
--
Janet Wilder
way-the-heck-south Texas
spelling doesn't count
but cooking does
Kris
> Victor Sack wrote:
>
> - Show quoted text -
Was it Mader's? That's quite famous.
Kris
Victor Sack
> IIRC, the meat is cooked in
> a braise that contains ginger snaps.
Not in Germany, if only because gingersnaps are all but unknown here.
Some American Sauerbraten recipes are approaching a caricature. In
Germany, there are many Sauerbraten recipes, regional and otherwise.
Some of them, perhaps a minority, call for (Aachener) Printen, or some
kind of Lebkuchen, or black bread of the Pumpernickel type, some of
which is perhaps what gingersnaps are supposed to replace. However,
almost invariably, these ingredients are crumbled into the ready or
almost ready sauce, in order to bind it together with, or instead of,
flour or starch - they are not a part of the braising liquid.
Victor
Jean B.
Oh, I was going to ask if not gingersnaps, then what? Yes, we use
the gingersnaps to thicken the gravy, after the beef has been
cooked. Now I will need to find a recipe that incorporates one of
those more-authentic thickeners. Any suggestions?
--
Jean B.
Doug Freyburger
>
> Most of the people of German heritage I know who make sauerbraten use a
> rump roast. They marinate for days and days. IIRC, the meat is cooked in
> a braise that contains ginger snaps.
My grandmother consisantly used a tougher cut like
rump, then let it soak in the marinate long enough to
soften. She also used ginger snaps in the gravy as a
thickener.
> I had it in a famous (but I forgot the name) German restaurant in
> Milwaukee and it was fabulous. So wonderful, that it was days before I
> could forget I ate it <g>
One of the reasons I like restaurants is they often do
dishes I had as a kid, but done differently. Sauerbraten
with pickling spices in a different mix and with a
different thickener in the sauce (note to low carbers
with enough patience - simmer drippings without a
thickener and eventually the natural gelatin thickens).
Roladen with a different lining sauce and a filler other
than pickle or sauerkraut.
Once I tried marinating a pork roast in sauerbraten
pickling mixture for two days then roasting. Wonderful.
George
I make it with bottom round.
Janet Wilder
> On Apr 11, 9:24 pm, Janet Wilder <kelliepoo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I had it in a famous (but I forgot the name) German restaurant in
>> Milwaukee and it was fabulous. So wonderful, that it was days before I
>> could forget I ate it <g>
>
> Was it Mader's? That's quite famous.
>
Yes! That's the one.
Lin
> which is perhaps what gingersnaps are supposed to replace. However,
> almost invariably, these ingredients are crumbled into the ready or
> almost ready sauce, in order to bind it together with, or instead of,
> flour or starch - they are not a part of the braising liquid.
The two recipes that I use (and combine the both of best worlds) do not
use gingersnaps. However, the last two times I've made it for Bob I
added crushed g-snaps to the sauce and simmered till you couldn't tell
they'd been added. It did impart a lovely flavor and richness to the
sauce/gravy. My gravy was extremely good before the addition, but I
think I will continue using gingersnaps. Maybe not authentic by your
books (or mine) but still very, very good.
--Lin
Victor Sack
> Oh, I was going to ask if not gingersnaps, then what? Yes, we use
> the gingersnaps to thicken the gravy, after the beef has been
> cooked. Now I will need to find a recipe that incorporates one of
> those more-authentic thickeners. Any suggestions?
I'd rather use no such thickeners at all, but then I do not like
Sauerbraten all that much, particularly not its sweet components. Here
is a modern Rhineland beef version I posted before. It is translated
from _Kulinarische Streifzüge durch das Rheinland_ by Hannes Schmitz.
Rheinischer Sauerbraten
1/2 litre (2.1 cups) water
1/4 litre (1.1 cups) wine vinegar
2 onions
1/2 parsley root
1 carrot
10 black peppercorns
2 juniper berries
2 cloves
1 bayleaf
1 kg (2.2 pounds) beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 tablespoons raisins
100 g (3.5 oz) fat
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon almond slivers
1 teaspoon starch
Bring to the boil the water with the vinegar, together with the finely
minced onions, finely chopped parsley root and carrot, as well as the
spices. Let the marinade cool, pour over the meat and let stand,
covered, in a cool place for about three days (use a non-reactive
container, VS), turning from time to time. Remove the meat, wipe dry
and rub all over with salt and pepper. Let the raisins swell up in cold
water. Heat up the fat and brown the meat on all sides. Strain the
marinade, add the vegetable mix to the meat and fry briefly. Mix in the
tomato paste and pour in a half of the hot marinade. Cover and let
simmer over medium heat for 2 hours. Take out the meat and keep warm.
Bring the sauce to the boil, together with the rest of the marinade,
strain, bring to the boil again with raisins and almonds and thicken
with the starch.
Victor
Jean B.
Thanks. I would think raisins would be a sweet component. My
sauerbraten doesn't come across as sweet, even with the
gingersnaps. I have had sweet (or not sharp) sauerbraten, and I
don't like it. In fact, I haven't loved restaurant versions
because they are not as sharp as mine is.
--
Jean B.
Kris
Here's a "Mader's sauerbraten" recipe I found, FWIW...
Mader's Sauerbraten
Source: Mader’s German Restaurant — Milwaukee, Wisconsin
3 cups red wine vinegar
2 cups cold water
1 medium onion, diced in large pieces
2 tablespoons pickling spice
1/4 cup salt
1 carrot, sliced
1 (4 pound) beef sirloin roast
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 pound gingersnaps (depending on thickness desired)
Mix vinegar, water, onion, pickling spice, salt and carrot in bowl.
Pickle meat in this brine in refrigerator seven days, turning
occasionally.
When ready to cook, remove meat from brine. Save brine to make gravy
later.
Roast meat in roasting pan, uncovered, in 325 degree F oven for 1 1/2
hours or until brown on both sides and almost done.
Sprinkle brown sugar over meat and roast 5 to 10 minutes more, turning
meat while roasting, until sugar is dissolved and meat is browned.
In medium-size saucepan, combine half of brine the meat was pickled in
and any drippings from roasting meat. To this mixture, add gingersnaps
and cook until thick and dissolved. Serve over sliced meat and
dumplings.
Makes about 8 servings.
Mader's Restaurant Kartoffelklosse (Dumplings)
4 to 5 Idaho potatoes, washed (unpeeled)
1 to 1 1/2 cups flour (divided)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
White pepper to taste
1 tablespoon finely diced onion
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
2 teaspoons chopped chives
Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender to fork tines, then drain
and cool. Refrigerate overnight. Next day, peel and grate potatoes.
Add1 cup of flour, eggs, salt, pepper, onion, marjoram and chives.
Blend with wooden spoon.
Add enough of remaining half-cup flour to form dumpling mixture that
will hold together, making balls about size of an egg.
Place dumplings in boiling water to cover. Return water to full boil,
then reduce heat to simmer. Cook 25 minutes or until dumplings are
cooked through and float to top of pot. Makes about 8 servings.
Enjoy,
Kris
Arri London
In the US my German mother always used bottom round or chuck for
sauerbraten (back when we ate beef). But any tough coarse-grained cut
works well. She's never used horsemeat :)
Jean B.
Yikes! Sugar!
--
Jean B.
Wayne Boatwright
I've eaten Mader's Sauerbraten several times and thought it was better than
many I've had in restaurants. Still, it's not really to my taste.
--
Wayne Boatwright
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from
artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.
~Alfred E. Newman
Darren
The Mader's recipe is almost identical to the one I was planning to
use.
I will probably try to use the eye of round cut, since it is always
available in my local market, and they always have a nice big-sized
portion.
Sauerbraten will be my next beef dish for my Sunday dinner (I try to
alternate between chicken, beef, pork, pasta, etc.). I usually make a
big dinner on Sunday so I'll have a lot of leftovers for the following
week.
Last Sunday I made braised brisket, so the saurbraten won't be tried
for another few weeks. But I think I am ready to try it, and might
even attempt some homemade potato dumplings too.
Thanks again everyone!
Darren