The Five Star Kitchen

NOTE: This is an old post I wrote on 5/22/2007.

Caramelized meat. It’s a good thing. Since my boys are coming into town this weekend, I thought I’d cook up a batch of Sauerbraten (which is becoming a bit of a tradition). Since it has to marinate for days and days and days, I started the whole process tonight.

Recipe (formulated from the Good Eats version):

2 cups water
1 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup aged sherry vinegar
1 medium onion, diced
2 small carrots, diced
1 tbls plus 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 whole cloves
12 juniper berries
1 tsp mustard seed
2 bay leaves

3lb bottom round roast, trimmed of excess fat

1/3 cup honey, eyeball it
ginger snap cookies, blended fine

The last time I used half red wine vinegar and half apple cider vinegar but I was all out of the A.C. this time so I improvised. I tasted the pickle (basically what this produces) and it’s a bit sweeter already than before. I think it’s the sherry vinegar.

Bring everything (except the meat) to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes while you caramelize the roast. Once caramelized on all sides, add to pickle and let sit, uncovered, for an hour to cool down. Store in the fridge for three-five days. Cook for about 4 hours in a 350 oven. Remove meat and let sit.

My favorite thing about this recipe is that all the ingredients except the meat, onions and carrots pretty much keep forever so once you buy them, they won’t go to waste. These are pretty classic pickling spices so experiment with other combinations. Apple cider vinegar with brown sugar and some coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and cloves would make an excellent base for a quick-pickled onion relish.

Bring sauce to a simmer on the stove (get rid of those bay leaves), and whisk in honey. Slowly whisk in cookie crumbs until a smooth gravy is formed. Leave it a little thiner than you think it should be since it will thicken up greatly as it cools off and the crumbs soak up the moisture. Slice meat thinly or pull it with a couple forks like BBQ pork and spoon gravy over the top. Serve with a good German beer you make your friends bring over.