Heading To Germany

As I was browsing through my October Food Network Magazine I spotted an article on some favorite German dishes to serve for Octoberfest. Mike spent 5 years in Germany on a now closed Air Force Base and grew up with classic German recipes. He misses the flavors and smells so I immediately tore out the recipe for Sauerbraten. It seems like a good starting recipe to try. Not a lot of fuss and no new techniques.

With some early prep while the kids are in school, there isn't a lot of fuss with this recipe. You cook the marinade, let it cool down, and then add it over the meat in a ziplock bag. I suggest you have some assistance with this!

And after it has marinated for 3 days, you just have to prep the veggies before you brown the meat and place it in the oven.

You will see the ingredient list and probably go WOW, but really it's a simple meal to make. I really like that it bakes. You don't have to constantly stand over the stove to check on dinner.

Ok so here is the recipe that I have tweaked just a bit.

SAUERBRATEN

Ingredients:

3 cups low sodium beef broth (2 for marinade, 1 for day of cooking)
1 cup dry red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon by Gallo or Yellow Tail)
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 medium onions cut into chunks (only cut 1 for marinade, cut the other day of cooking)
5 garlic cloves (3 crushed for marinade, 2 chopped for day of cooking)
2 tablespoons thyme
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1 3 to 4 pound boneless beef chuck roast (mine was 2.9lbs)
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 medium carrots, cut into nice bite size chunks
2 stalks of celery, cut into nice chunks
2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons crushed gingersnap cookies
Salt
Pepper

Marinade:

Combine 2 cups of broth, the wine, vinegar, 1 onion, crushed garlic, thyme, bay leaves, pepper, and cloves in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Place beef in a large ziplock bag and pout marinade over.

Marinate meat for 2-3 days. Message meat and rotate every day. -You should double bag. Mine leaked a little on the 2nd day-

Cooking:

Preheat oven to 350*

Remove meat from marinade. Pat dry and season with salt.

Strain the marinade and set aside

Heat the dutch oven over medium heat.

Add the olive oil

Brown the meat 10-12 minutes on each side and then transfer to a plate

Add the carrots, celery, and onion  to the pot and cook 7-10 minutes (until slightly softened)

Stir in the chopped garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour and cook 2 minutes

Stir in strained marinade and 1 cup beef broth. Bring to a simmer.

Add the meat back to the dutch oven, cover, and cook in oven for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Remove the meat and transfer to a plate.

Whisk in gingersnap cookies and simmer until thickened.

Abby really enjoyed this meal and even had seconds of everything. Her favorite was of course the carrots. The original recipe called for 2, but that was certainly not enough.

If there are leftovers (we didn't have any as my piece of beef was rather fatty - ew!)  this would certainly make a great beef sandwich! Or even beef tacos. I really like dinners where I can get two for the price of one.

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we did! I am going to be making this again next week. I just hope the gingersnap cookies last until then.

Happy cooking!