Sauerbraten (German Beef Roast with Gingersnap Sauce)

By Foodiewife

Based on a German dish called Sauerbraten [SOW-uhr-brahtihn],this roast (with a flavorful sauce that is off the charts delicious) takes on sweet and sour flavors from unique ingredients, like pickling spices, vinegar, gingersnaps, and gin (for the juniper berry taste). Authentic sauerbraten marinates for days, but this interpretation lets you have dinner on the table in just a few hours. True to this recipe's claim, my slow cooker made this recipe in four hours. If you've ever had sauerbraten, this recipe nailed it when it came to the flavor. I did just a couple of very minor tweaks. I served this with homemade spaetzle and red cabbage. Don't forget to the beer! Recipes comes from Cuisine At Home Magazine, Issue 103 February 2014. To see plenty of step-by-step photos, click on the recipe source to my food blog "A Feast for the Eyes".

Ingredients

• NOTE*:
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 boneless beef bottom round roast* (3 to 4-pound), trimmed, cut into 2-inch chunks, and seasoned with salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup gin
• 1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca**, ground
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoon pickling spices, wrapped in cheesecloth and tied with kitchen string
• 2 teaspoons sugar (my addition to the sauce, which seemed just a tad too tart, when I tasted it)
• 6 medium carrots, halved crosswise, then halved lengthwise
• 4 ribs celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, quarted
• 10 gingersnap cookies, crushed
• Ask your butcher for chuck-eye roast, which is a very tender cut of beef, and has more marble to it You'll be much happier with this cut of beef.
• I used one tablespoon of Clearjel, that I order from King Arthur Flour.com. It's great for thickening stews and pies.

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 60mins
Cooking time 240mins
Adapted from foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Brown beef in oil in 2 to 3 batches, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer beef to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker.

Stir tomato paste and ginger into skillet; cook 1 minute.

Deglaze skillet with wine and reduce by half, scraping up any brown bits.

Whisk in broth, vinegar, gin, tapioca, and salt; simmer 5 minutes.

Taste the sauce. I found it to be a tad much on the sour side, and when I add the sugar, I felt it gave the perfect balance to the sauce.

Pour broth mixture over beef in slow cooker and submerge spice sachet in it.

Cover slow cooker and cook until beef is tender on high setting, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Add carrots, celery, and onion to slow cooker; stir in gingersnaps.

Cover slow cooker and cook until sauce thickens and vegetables are tender, stirring halfway through,about 1 hour more.

Transfer beef and vegetables to a serving dish; discard spice sachet.

Serve beef and vegetables with sauce.

Tasting notes: The carrots aren't mushy at all-- in fact just slightly "al dente" which we liked. The sauce turned out with just the right amount of thickness. The gingersnaps melted right into the sauce, and really gave this sauce an authentic sauerbraten flavor . I have a homemade Spaetzle recipe, but you could serve this over buttered thick noodles or mashed potatoes.

Definitely worth a repeat performance!