Sauerbraten
This brings back fond memories, and yes, it does say 3 days.
Ingredients:
- 4 lbs. stew beef chunks
- 2 med. onions diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 peppercorns
- 12 cloves
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar (give or take)
- 1/5 gal red wine (good burgundy from France works best; ~$20-25 a bottle, use the whole thing and buy another to drink with the meal)
- Salt and pepper
- 2/3 cup flour, sifted.
Directions:
- Lightly salt & pepper meat and put in a bowl in layers with onions, bay leaves, cloves, and peppercorns.
- Mix burgundy and vinegar and pour onto the meat. Push the meat down until covered by the wine, a small plate can be used for this purpose.
- Marinate the meat for 3 days at room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil to ensure no air or light hits the mixture.
- Pour contents of bowl into a large pot and bring to a slow boil. Simmer for 3-4 hours or until meat is very tender (read: falls apart in your mouth). Don’t over boil, stir occasionally to make sure that the bottom doesn’t burn and stick.
- When meat is tender, remove from heat and take out 2-3 cups of the juice. Brown flour in large cast iron skillet (It will take a while, don’t keep the heat too high, flour will explode). You’re looking for a nice golden brown color.
- Mix browned flour and juice from the finished sauerbraten. Heat and stir until cooked throughout, season gravy to taste. Serve gravy with sauerbraten.
- Season to taste before serving, serve with mashed potatoes or potato dumplings.
