Sauerbraten A La Nathan Recipes

TRADITIONAL SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• Place beef rump roast, onions, vinegar, water, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, sugar, cloves, and bay leaves in a large pot. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, turning meat daily. Remove meat from marinade and pat dry with paper towels, reserving marinade.
• Season flour to taste with salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Sprinkle flour mixture over beef.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat; cook beef until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Pour reserved marinade over beef, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until beef is tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Remove beef to a platter and slice.
• Strain solids from remaining liquid and continue cooking over medium heat. Add gingersnap cookies and simmer until gravy is thickened about 10 minutes. Serve gravy over sliced beef.

SAUERBRATEN

Steps:

• The marinade - 48 to 72 hours in advance: Place the peppercorns, juniper and allspice into a mortar or small plastic bag, or fold up a piece of waxed paper. Crush with the pestle if using the mortar or a rolling pin or hammer if using the bag or paper. Transfer the crushed spices to a small saucepan. Add the bay leaves, cloves, salt, vinegar, wine, and onion slices and bring to a boil. Transfer the marinade to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. (I prefer a glass or stainless steel bowl. Whatever you use, don't use plastic: the acidic marinade will absorb flavors from plastic.)
• Tying and marinating the meat: Using kitchen string, tie the beef into a neat, compact shape. As soon as the marinade is cool, add the beef to the bowl and roll in the marinade to coat all sides. Cover, refrigerate and marinate for 2 to 3 days, turning the meat once or twice a day. (There is no special timing here for turning the beef in the marinade. You just want to make sure that over the course of the 48 or 72 hours, the meat is turned 3 or 4 times so it marinates evenly.) Heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Browning the meat: With tongs, lift the meat out of the marinade, scraping any onion slices or spices that stick to the meat back into the marinade, and transfer it to a plate. Reserve the marinade. Pat the meat thoroughly dry all over with paper towels. Heat the butter and oil in a large Dutch oven or other braising pot over medium heat. Add the meat to the pot and brown well on all sides, 20 to 25 minutes total. (You may need 2 implements to turn the meat: try tongs and a large metal spatula. Lift the meat from the pan with the spatula, grab with the tongs, and turn.) Transfer the meat back to the plate. Pour off all the fat from the pan, and deglaze the pan with the reserved marinade, scraping any browned bits to loosen. Bring the marinade to a simmer and add the meat. Cover with parchment paper, pressing down so it nearly touches the meat and the edges of the paper hang over the sides of the pot by about 1-inch. Set the lid firmly in place, and transfer to the lower third of the oven.
• The braise: Braise the meat at a gentle simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Check after about the first 10 minutes to see that the liquid is not simmering too energetically; if it is, lower the oven by 10 to 15 degrees. After 1 1/2 hours, turn the meat over, using the tongs, and metal spatula, and continue braising gently for another 1 1/2 hours, or until fork-tender.
• The finish: With the tongs and metal spatula, transfer the meat to a cutting board with a moat and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Strain the cooking juices into a saucepan and let sit for a minute. Gently tilt the pan and skim off the fat with a large spoon. Whisk in the gingersnap crumbs and sugar, place the pan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Gently boil the sauce for 5 minutes, whisking often, to reduce and thicken it slightly. Lower the heat to low and whisk in the sour cream until smooth. Heat through, but do not let the sauce boil, or the sour cream will curdle. Taste the sauce for salt.
• Serving: Remove the strings from the meat, and pour any accumulated juices into the sauce. Carve the beef into thick slices. If the slices crumble, which they sometimes will, just cut into irregular pieces and arrange on a platter. Spoon the sauce over the beef and serve.

NANNY FLAY'S SAUERBRATEN WITH BRAISED CABBAGE AND NOODLES

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven. Season the beef with salt and pepper, and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 15 minutes. Add onions, celery, carrot, garlic, white wine vinegar, white wine water, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, parsley, thyme and salt and pepper, to taste. Cover, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, turn meat, re-cover, and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer until tender. Transfer to a large platter and keep warm. Strain cooking liquid into a bowl, remove 1/2 cup to be used for the braised cabbage and set aside. Heat butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk in flour and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk in cooking liquid, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring, until thickened and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in gingersnaps and honey, to taste. Carve meat at the table (not too thin or slices will crumble) and serve with plenty of gravy. Or carve in the kitchen, arrange slices slightly overlapping on a platter, and pour some of the gravy down the center; pass the rest. Serve with braised cabbage and buttered noodles.
• Heat butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Add the cabbage, cooking liquid and wine and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and cook until the cabbage is wilted, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well, return to the pan, toss with the butter and parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.