Sauerbraten – The Dish I Wanted to Love…

I had this lovely piece of topside beef sitting in the fridge, and I wanted to use it for something special.
For a while now, I’d been curious about German Sauerbraten. It’s one of those dishes with history and tradition behind it — slow-cooked, marinated for days, and full of strong flavours. So, I decided: this was the moment.

First up was the marinade. The marinade consisted of red wine, red wine vinegar, water, onion, black peppercorns, juniper berries, bay leaves and salt. I brought it to boil, let it cool and then poured it all over the beef. Then it went into the fridge for several days, turning it over twice a day like the recipe suggested. The longer it sits, the more flavour it’s supposed to absorb.

The Ginger Nuts

The recipe I was following called for either Ginger Nuts or Honey Cake — they’re used to thicken the sauce. So, I made a batch of my favourite ginger nut biscuits. They’re super easy to throw together.

I actually left the meat marinating for eight days. The recipe suggested three, but I’d read in several places that the longer, the better — and to be honest, I’d had such a busy week that I didn’t get the chance to cook it any sooner.

After those eight days, I patted the beef dry, seared it on all sides until it was beautifully browned, then added the mirepoix to the pot. Once that had softened, I poured in the marinade and thickened it slightly. Then I returned the beef to the pot, covered it with a lid, and let it slow-cook in the oven for two hours.

After two hours in the oven, I transferred the meat to a dish and covered it with foil to keep warm while I finished the sauce. In went the ginger nut crumbs, which I cooked for a few minutes, then strained the sauce. While the meat was cooking, I also made a classic German side dish — Red Cabbage with Apples — and boiled some potatoes. Traditionally, Sauerbraten is served with either potato dumplings or boiled potatoes and red cabbage.

The Verdict

Well… I didn’t love it.

It turns out sour meat just isn’t my thing. I really wanted to like it. I wanted to understand the appeal and have it become one of those special “keeper” recipes. But as much as I respect the tradition behind it… it wasn’t for me.

Mike, my German husband, thought it was delicious and said it tasted exactly as it should. That was a relief, at least the recipe was a good one, just not to my taste.

Maybe Sauerbraten is an acquired taste. Or maybe it’s one of those dishes that you grow up loving — and if you didn’t, it might be a harder sell. Either way, I’m still glad I made it. Sometimes it’s not about finding a new favourite — it’s about trying something different and seeing where it takes you.