sauerbraten

One of Germany's national dishes, Sauerbraten is a tender beef roast that has marinated for several days prior to cooking and is served with a wonderfully flavorful, and sweet-sour gravy.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Authentic German Sauerbraten

yellow onions, chopped

carrots,

leek,

garlic,

thyme

rosemary

bay leaves

juniper berries, cracked

cloves

black peppercorns,

salt

sugar

red wine

red wine vinegar

water

beef rump roast

all-purpose flour

raisins

ginger snap cookies, crumbled

honey

Prepare the Marinade:&nbsp; Place all of the veggies and herbs in a heavy stock pot or Dutch oven&nbsp;along with the garlic, juniper berries, whole cloves, bay leaves, salt, sugar and peppercorns.&nbsp; Add the red wine, red wine vinegar and water.Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.&nbsp; Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down completely.&nbsp;

Marinate the Meat:&nbsp; Nestle the roast in the vegetable marinade and place the lid on the pot.Let it marinate in the fridge for at least 4 days, preferably 7.  (Traditionally, the marinating time is as long as 2 weeks!) Unless the meat is completely submerged under the liquid, turn the roast over once every day.Remove the roast, pat it dry with paper towels, and strain the liquid from the vegetables. Reserve the liquid and the vegetables.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Cook the Roast:  Rinse the pot out and heat a tablespoon or two of oil in it over high heat. Generously brown the roast on all sides.  Remove the roast and set aside.  If using bacon, cook the bacon until done.  Leave about 2 tablespoons of oil/fat in the pot.  Place the strained vegetables in the pot (with the bacon if using) and cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in the flour, cooking the mixture for a minute or two to eliminate the flour flavor. Add the liquid that you strained from the vegetable marinade, bring it to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.Add the raisins, honey and crushed ginger snaps.  Return the roast to the pot.Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 2 hours (may need less or longer depending on roast and marinating time) or until the meat is very tender.(Important Note: The longer you let the roast marinate the faster it will cook because the meat will be more tender from the start. So check on your roast periodically for doneness.)When the roast is done, remove and transfer it to a plate, tent it to keep warm, and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. 

Prepare the Gravy:&nbsp; While the roast is resting, strain the gravy and return the gravy to the pot.&nbsp;&nbsp;Taste and more sugar, salt and pepper as desired. If you want your gravy thicker, make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the gravy.&nbsp; (Note:&nbsp; The balance of sour to sweet is a matter of personal taste - adjust the flavor according to your preference.&nbsp;If the flavor is too strong for you, you can dilute it with a little water or broth.)Spoon the gravy over the sliced Sauerbraten and serve immediately.

Serve with Homemade German Rotkohl&nbsp;and boiled potatoes, Homemade German Spätzle, Semmelknödel&nbsp;or Kartoffelklöße .&nbsp; A few parts of Germany even serve it with&nbsp;Homemade Kartoffelpuffer.

This Sauerbraten recipe is made quickly in the pressure cooker. Enjoy the robust flavors of this traditional German Pot Roast without having to marinade the meat for days! Your instant pot seals in the flavor in a fraction of the time!

Instant Pot Sauerbraten Recipe (German Pot Roast)

pickling spices

roast

Salt and black pepper

olive oil (divided)

onion,

celery ribs,

garlic cloves,

beef broth

bouillon granules (chicken

black pepper

gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 10 cookies)

Place the pickling spices, thyme sprigs and bay leaves into a cheese cloth bag.

Season the meat generously with salt and ground black pepper.

Turn the instant pot/pressure cooker to "saute". Add 2 tablespoons of oil and allow it to get hot. Add the beef roast to the pot and brown on all sides for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the roast to a plate and set aside.

Add the remaining oil into the instant pot. Add the sliced onions, carrots and celery. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Deglaze the pot by adding the wine and the vinegar. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook for about 2 minutes.&nbsp;

Stir in the broth, bouillon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black ground pepper and the spice bag.

Press the keep warm/cancel button on the instant pot. Return the meat to the pot with any collected juices. Close the lid. Set the instant pot to meat/stew and set the timer to 55 minutes.

Once the cooking cycle is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Then do a quick release.

Carefully unlock and remove the the lid. Remove the roast to a cutting board and let it rest, covered with aluminum foil for about 5 - 10 minutes.

In the meantime, remove the spice bag from the pressure cooker and stir in the gingersnap cookie crumbs.

Using an immersion blender, blend most of the veggies in the sauce (I do a quick blend so I am left with a few chunks of carrots and onions). If you prefer a totally smooth sauce you can blend a bit longer. Turn the instant pot to "saute" for 5 minutes. (while you slice the meat).

Slice the meat thinly.&nbsp;

Press the cancel/warm function and taste the sauce. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Return the meat to the instant pot and spoon the sauce over so all the slices get coated with the sauce. Serve or keep it warm in the pressure cooker until you are ready to serve.

Once again the Instant Pot saves the day! Make this&nbsp;Instant Pot Sauerbraten and you will never want to make it the traditional way ever again. It's simple, tender, and absolutely delicious in a fraction of the time and effort of the traditional method of cooking.

Sauerbraten | Instant Pot German Sauerbraten

juniper berries

Bay Leaves

beef

Sliced Onions

carrots

Chicken Broth

Red Wine Vinegar

Ginger

Brown Sugar

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

gingersnaps

sour cream (optional)

Coarse-Ground Mustard

For the spice packet: Place pickling spices, juniper berries, and bay leaves into a cheesecloth bag and place into the inner liner of the Instant Pot or pressure cooker.&nbsp;

Place  the  beef  into  the  inner  liner  of  the  instant  pot.  Add  onions,  carrots,  ginger,  sugar,  salt,  and  pepper.  Pour  over  the  red  wine  vinegar  and  chicken  broth.

Set  the  Instant  Pot  at  High  pressure  for  40  minutes.  When  cook  time  is  complete,  let  the  pot  sit  undisturbed  for  10  minutes,  and  then  release  all  remaining  pressure.

Open  the  lid  and  remove  the  beef  to  a  serving  tray.  Cover  with  foil  and  let  it  rest.  Discard  cheesecloth  bag.

Add  in  in  crushed  gingersnaps  (if  using),  sour  cream (if using)&nbsp; and  mustard.  Use  an  immersion  blender  to  blend  the  vegetables  until  a  rough  sauce  forms.  Pour  over  the  meat  and  serve.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

The famous German Sauerbraten Recipe. This is the traditional recipe for Rheinischer Sauerbraten that is made with gingerbread sauce and raisings.

Authentic German Rheinischer Sauerbraten Recipe

onions

g celeriac

g parsely

brown sugar

ml red wine vinegar

tsp all spice

tbsp black pepper corns

dry red wine

1.2 kg roast beef

vegetable oil

tbsp flour

tomato paste

beef stock

60 g lebkuchen or biscoff biscuits

tbsp raisins

Peel the onion, carrots and celeriac and chop them into rough (1.5 cm) cubes. Roughly chop the parsley

Add the vegetables to a saucepan. Add the sugar, spices (all spice, juniper berries, pepper corns and bay leafs) and our over the red wine. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer on a medium to low heat for 5 minutes. This is to bring the flavors of the vegetables into the marinade.

Now leave it to cool down completely to room temperature. Pour in the red wine vinegar and stir. Place the beef into a deep container with a lid. Pour the marinade over the beef. Ideally, the beef should be completely covered by the marinade.  You can top it up with a little water if small parts still remain uncovered. If you have the ability to vacuum pack the beef, you can also marinade it that way.

Place the beef in the fridge to marinade for at least 4 days. 7 days is ideal, but 4 days is sufficient. Turn the beef once or twice during that time, to ensure that the marinade is absorbed evenly.

To Marinade

To cook the beef roast, remove it from the marinade. Pat the meat dry with some paper towels. Pour the marinade through a fine sieve. Keep the liquid and set it aside. In a separate bowl set aside the vegetables and spices.

Now season the beef from all sides with salt and pepper. Dust with the flour.

In a large saucepan heat up the vegetable oil and sear the beef on all sides at a high temperature for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove it from the pot and set it aside.

Preheat your oven to 170°C top to bottom heat

Add the drained vegetables and spices to the pot and start frying them for about 2 minutes. Then add the tomato paste and fry it with the vegetables for a further 2 minutes. This will release the roasting flavors of the paste, but also give the sauce a lovely brown color later.

Deglaze the vegetables with a little marinade juice, just enough to cover the base of the pot. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated and then repeat the process and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Fill up the pot with the beef stock and the remaining marinade. Place the meat into the dutch oven. Crumble in the gingerbread or spiced biscuits.

Cover the pot with a lid and place it into the oven for about 2 hours. Turn the meat at least once.  The meat should end up being really soft when you pick a fork into it.

To cook

Remove the meat from the pot, wrap it in some foil, and set aside to rest.

Pass the sauce through a fine sieve. Then place back onto the hob and boil for approximately 5 minutes. Then add the raisins to the sauce and cook for another 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced and is thick.

To serve, slice the beef into 1.5 cm thick slices and pour over the sauce. It goes well with red cabbage and potato dumplings or spätzle.

To make the sauce

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