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German Sauerbraten – Marinated Pot Roast

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is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
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Today I present you my German Sauerbraten Recipe.

The braised beef is a popular stew dish in Germany.

This article deals with the traditional variant of the preparation.

The Sauerbraten is prepared regionally also with horse meat, game meat or like with Rheinischer Pepse with pork meat.

In Bavaria, sour roast beef is called Boeuf á la mode.

In this article I will answer the most important questions about traditional preparation and wish you every success!

1. Recipe German Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten

Cooked, photographed and written down by chef Thomas Sixt.

Servings 4
Calories 1052
Preparation Time 30 Min.
Cook Time 180 Min.
Total Time 210 Min.

Simple instructions for preparing beef roast marinated in vinegar and herbs German style.

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Sauerbraten Recipe Image
Sauerbraten Recipe Image © Thomas Sixt

Ingredients

1 kg beef shoulder (meat to braise/meat to stew)
1 bunch Soup vegetables
1 pc garlic
2 pc onions
1 L red wine
0,5 L Water
150 ml red wine vinegar (I like to use Balsamico)
8 pc peppercorns
5 pc Bay leaf
3 pc cloves
5 pc juniper berries
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp clarified butter
300 ml veal stock
1 tsp Salt

Instruction

Preparation step 1
Meat for roast beef and sauerbraten
Roast beef meat

Prepare ingredients

Clean the meat from the butcher and let it clean. Wash the meat and pat dry.

Wash the soup vegetables consisting of carrots, celery, parsley roots and leek.

Peel the root vegetables and cut them into pieces, cut the leek into leaves.

Peel the garlic and the onions and make available.

Preparation step 2
Marinate the beef with vegetables and aromatics.
Roast beef marinate the meat.

Prepare pickle

Boil all the vegetables, herbs, aromatics and garlic in a large pot with red wine, water and red wine vinegar.

Preparation step 3
Pickle the beef
Place the beef in the marinade.

Pickle meat

Season the sauerbraten marinade with sugar and leave to cool.

Place the prepared meat in the pot and marinate for 4-7 days in the refrigerator.

Turn the meat several times a day in the marinade.

Preparation step 4
Meat for roast beef after 2-4 days of ripening.
Pickled meat for roast beef.

Prepare meat

Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry.

Strain the pickling liquid, provide vegetables and pickling liquid separately.

Preheat the oven to 180°C at top and bottom heat.

 

Preparation step 5
Fry the beef.
Pickled roast beef when roasting.

Brown meat

Sear the meat in a large roasting pan or in a pot with the clarified butter.

Add the strained vegetables from the marinade.

Preparation step 6
Roast vegetables, add tomato paste.
Roasted vegetables with tomato paste.

Sauce base

Roast the vegetables until brown, then add tomato paste and continue roasting as described in the article above.

By roasting the vegetables brown, the sauce later becomes more powerful in taste.

Preparation step 7
Roasted vegetables when frying with tomato paste.
Brown roasted vegetables for roast beef with tomato paste.

Deglaze

Deglaze the vegetable roasting mixture with the pickling liquid.

Preparation step 8
Roast beef fully cooked photographed in a pot.
Braised roast beef photographed in a saucepan over the sauce.

Braise meat

Add seared meat to the sauce, supplement with veal stock to taste.

Braise the roast with a lid in the oven for 1.5-2 hours until tender.

Check the degree of cooking of the meat by piercing it with a meat fork.

Remove the meat from the roast juices, reduce the sauce on the stove to the desired thickness and thicken if necessary.

Strain the sauce, i.e. pour it through a fine sieve.

Preparation step 9
sauerbraten with mashed potatoes, vegetables and sauce. a classic german dish!
The popular sauerbraten is another beef roast, I'll show you the recipe elsewhere.

Serve

Either serve the roast directly or let it cool first as described in the article.

Then cut it open and warm it up in the sauce.

I wish you a good appetite!

Video

Another variation:

You can add creme fraiche and raisins to the sauerbraten sauce. In a video I show you how to prepare roast in a pot.

2. Nutritional Values

3. What Kind of Meat for Sauerbraten?

For sauerbraten, pieces of meat that are suitable for braising are generally suitable.

For the sauerbraten I usually use the flat beef shoulder, which is also called shovel bow.

I learned this 25 years ago from a bavarian Star Chef and I think there is no better meat for the Sauerbraten.

Likewise you can use beef hip, tail piece, tail role or also leg disks for the sauerbraten.

Beef for braising is the right meat for roast beef and sauerbraten.

4. How to Put in a Sauerbraten correctly?

For a good sauerbraten you get the beef please at least 5 days before the preparation.

The big secret of sauerbraten preparation is to pickle the meat in a marinade of red wine, vinegar, bay leaf, cloves, peppercorns, onion, garlic and root vegetables.

The pickle of the sauerbraten I describe in the next paragraph:

The meat is in the refrigerator, then you can prepare the meat stain now: Please use a high-quality, dry red wine, I personally like to use a Pinot Noir or a matured Rioja (not German :-)).

As vinegar you can bring red wine vinegar or a matured, old balsamic vinegar into play. Prepare the “Beize” or “Marinade” with the listed ingredients and place the meat in the cooled marinade.

The meat must be completely covered with marinade and should be “marinated” in a cool place for 4-7 days.

Meat in the marinade, also known as a stain. The aromas can develop.

5. Tips for Preparing Sauerbraten Sauce

I start with the sauerbraten preparation one week and one day before the sauerbraten meal.

The meat is bought, the marinade (stain) is prepared, the meat may be made 7 days a free float in the marinade and assume the taste of the marinade.

The day before the sauerbraten meal I remove the meat from the marinade, as well as the vegetables.

First preheat the oven to 180°C hot air. Brown the meat in a high roaster from all sides, then take it out of the roaster.

Then fry the vegetables and tomato them with a little tomato paste. The tomato paste should take on a dark brown colour.

Please have a look at the photos while preparing the veal stock.

Now put the meat back to the vegetables and deglaze with the marinade.

The meat should be completely covered and may now with lid in the preheated oven. Here is another insider tip:

In addition to the marinate of the pot roast, star chefs add at least 30% veal stock for braising.

Tip from Chef Thomas Sixt

Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and cook the sauerbraten for a good 1.5-2 hours until soft.

Check the cooking degree of the meat by piercing it with a meat fork. If the meat yields slightly when pierced, the sauerbraten is ready.

Allow the meat to cool, pass the sauce through a sieve and reduce as desired or bind with grated potato or starch mixed in cold water.

Cut the cooled meat into slices and prepare the side dishes for frying. Heat the meat in the sauce and serve with side dishes!

The beef browned with vegetables

6. Side Dishes for Sauerbraten

As side dishes and additions go well with sauerbraten:

Potato dumplings, bread dumplings, napkin dumplings, spaetzle, ribbon noodles, mashed potatoes, celery puree, finger noodles,
red cabbage or german blue cabbage, glazed carrots, savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts, peas,
glazed root vegetables, cranberries, raisins, glazed apple pieces.

7. Similar Recipes with Beef

You can find more suitable recipes on my website…

Comments, Cooking Questions and Answers

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