Day 66: Germany and Sauerbraten mit Klößen und Rotkohl

Guten Abend, my friends!

Today we are going to one of my home countries: Germany.
We are making a very traditional dish: Sauerbraten. My grandma used to make it almost every Sunday.
This is a typical pot roast. Ideally you marinate the meat a week before preparing the dish. However, I followed Granny's recipe and marinated it "only" three days before.

For 4 people you'll need:
1.2 kg beef (ideally from the shoulder or the leg)
1 celery root
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
4 clovers
2 bay leaves
1 handful pepper corns (whole)
5 juniper berries
salt
sugar
0.5 l red wine
200 ml red wine vinegar
oil to fry
2 tbsp honey
200 ml meat stock
some old bread (optional)
1 handful raisins

When marinating the meat, join the chopped vegetables with the wine, the vinegar, the pepper corns, the juniper berries, the bay leaves, salt, sugar and clovers in a bowl with the meat. Cover and refrigerate.
Start by frying the meat on all sides in a casserole or a roasting pan, if you have one. Remove the meat and now glaze the onions (if you want to add more onions to the dish). Join the meat and the marinade in the casserole. Add the honey and the meat stock and simmer for at least two hours. Don't forget to put a lid on the casserole. Approximately every 30 minutes, turn the meat.

Once the cooking time is out, put the meat aside and put the bread into the sauce. Bring it to a boil and wait until the bread has melted. My grandma skipped the bread every now and then and used sauce binder instead. Blend the sauce and adjust with salt and pepper, if needed. Add the raisins and the meat.

Serve with red cabbage (Rotkohl) and Kartoffelklöße.

For the Rotkohl, you'll need:

1 red cabbage thinly sliced
2 apples (grated)
2 onions (chopped)
200ml wine
4 tbsp vinegar
salt
pepper
sugar
5 juniper berries
2 bay leaves
4 clovers

Join the ingredients in a pot and let them simmer for approximately 30-40 minutes. Add water if necessary.

For the Kartoffelklöße (potato dumplings) you'll need:

500g mealy potatoes
100g starch
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp butter
nutmeg
salt

Start by peeling and roughly chopping the potatoes. Boil them in water until soft. Remove the water and let them dry out and cool down a bit. Mash the potatoes, by adding the butter, salt and nutmeg. Then add the egg yolk and the starch. In a pot, bring some very salty water to the boil. Cover your hands in flour and form a ball with the dough. When the water is boiling, cook a test dumpling to see if it falls apart. If so, add more starch for the coming ones. If not, boil the balls of dough for 15-20 minutes (they will rise to the surface when ready).

Slice the meat into thin slices, garnish with the sauce and serve with the Kartoffelklöße and the Rotkohl. Enjoy!

Ok, my German side arose from the depths..this post turned out to be a lot longer than the usual ones..


Love,

Raffi