Sauerbraten part II

My recipe notebook with all kinds of recipes jotted down from my host-sister, neighbors, and friends. 1988.....sheesh some of you were probably still wearing diapers back in 1988. I don't want to know who you are....cause my hip is already aching today making me feel old, I don't need to get it from you too!

I assume you have been marinating your roast (Sauerbraten part I), and yesterday I gave you all the sides to go with your it. So now lets finish this thing.....

Sauerbraten

(printable recipe)

Your roast has been marinating 48-72 hours. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Place the meat and all the marinate and vegetables in a 6-8 quart roasting pan.

Add one cup of water.

Cover with a tight fitting lid. Place in 325 degree oven. This roast will need to be cooked for a minimum of two hours, max four hours. Set your oven timer for 90 minutes. Don't open oven or even peek at it before 90 minutes! When the timer goes off, check roast, if roast looks dry add more water. If not put cover back on pot and cook for another hour or two.

These cookies from Traders Joe's are a problem. I am madly, deeply in love with them. I can't live with out them. However, my love for these gingery morsels is not the problem. The problem is that TRADER JOE'S will not open a store in Grand Rapids, Mi!!!!!!!! Or even Lansing. Lansing would be closer, nicer, doable. I realize that I am not the only soul with out a Trader Joe's in my backyard......but dang. Grand Rapids, is a big town, "Trader we got it goin oawn in GR", we even have a bring Trader Joe's to Grand Rapids, Facebook page. Trader.....tap, tap (loud buzz from my mic) are you listening Mr. Trader Joe? I know people that drive all the way to Detroit on a regular basis to stock up. Detroit can be a dangerous city...you could be held liable for us West Michiganders driving into danger to get your Triple Ginger Cookies. Think about that would ya!

Sorry....some things just get my undies in a bunch. So now back to our regularly scheduled food blog......

While your roast is cooking you will need to pulverize about 4 gingersnap cookies depending the size cookie you have. You will need 1/4 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs. This step all depends on your taste preference. By using gingersnap cookies to thicken your gravy, your gravy will have a slightly sweet taste. If you would rather stick to the more traditional type gravy then just use 1/4 cup of flour to thicken the juices from the roast.

After your roast is finished cooking, let it rest 15-20 minutes with the lid on outside of the oven before removing meat from the pan and placing it on a platter. Cover with tin foil to keep warm. You will need a sauce pan with a strainer over it, pour all the juice and onions etc. into the strainer. Press out juices with back of spoon. (If you don't have a strainer like this your colander would work just fine, sit it on top of your pan)

Put roasting pan on stove top over medium heat, deglaze pan with 1 cup of beef stock, scrape all the yummy bits loose from pan with spoon.

Pour the stock through strainer over the previously stained vegi's, you want to get all the flavor out. Press juice out with back of spoon again.

Bring juices to a slow boil, add the 1/4 cup gingersnap crumbs plus 1 tablespoon flour and whisk until smooth. Let cook for 5 minutes on a low boil. If you prefer not to use cookie crumbs then use 1/4 cup of flour and follow the same directions.

Now you are ready to serve your Sauerbraten meal. If you made Spaetzle you can put them in the oven that is still warm from cooking the roast to heat them through. Microwave your red cabbage.

Oh my heavens, I just drooled....I really hope you try the gingersnaps in your gravy it really makes it so delicious.

It's hard to photograph dark, moist meat....it doesn't appear very appetizing...but believe me this is melt in your mouth.


There it is the perfect bite! Das schmeckt!

Bon Appetite!

Gutes Appetite!

Enjoy!

SPAETZLE and other easy sides

Spaetzle, spaetzle, spaetzle....say that three times fast. Spaetzle is a traditional German noodle. When I lived in Germany, I actually was sent over to Oma's house for the afternoon after school one day to get a spaetzle making lesson by my spitfire of a German host grandmother. This woman was memorable, and lovable...and she taught me to make spaetzle with the love a drill sergeant. Part of the problem was my language was not quite up to par and then her dentures were clacking.

Spaetzle is like pie crust the more you make it the easier and the better it gets. I don't make spaetzle nearly as much as pie crust so bear with me as I demonstrate the art of spaetzle making.

Spaetzle

printable recipe

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 medium eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-6 tablespoons of water

13 cups of water + 3 teaspoons of salt for boiling

4 tablespoons of butter for pan frying

ACHTUNG! Here we go!

Sift the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt out on to parchment paper.

Dump flour/salt into mixer with the dough attachment on the mixer.

Make a nice nest for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the nest.

Start the mixer on slow and gradually add the water a tablespoon at a time. By the way Oma did not have a nice Kitchen Aid mixer we did it all my hand!

You want a nice firm dough. Not too sticky, definitely not runny.

It should hang on to your mixer like so but still be pliable....comparable texture to pizza dough.

You can make spaetzle without one of these doo-hickeys a Potato Ricer...call it what you will. I learned to make spaetzle by smashing the dough through the bottom of a colander into the boiling water. And before I bought this one, I pinched off pieces and threw them into the boiling water....I would not recommend that method.

One more spaetzle making tip...if you high strung or easily distracted like myself, you can make these noodles ahead, at a time when your kids are not running around and opening every cupboard and hungry waiting for supper to be put on the table. Even if you are as calm as a cucumber I would suggest you do this a few hours in advance and then heat them up before you are ready to eat.

1. Fill pot with water add 3 teaspoons of salt and bring it to a rolling boil.

2. Spray Pam or any non-stick cooking spray on your Potato Ricer.

3. Fill the ricer with about a cup of dough at a time. Now get out your mOOscles.

4. Now press the dough through the ricer and slice it off with a knife as it comes through. As seen above.

5. Drop the pieces of dough into the boiling water, they will stick together a bit and look all funky, these are random type noodles they do not need to be uniform. Let them boil for aproximately 3-5 minutes. Then take a strainer and lift them out tapping all excess water off.


5. Then you can transfer them directly to a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of melted, on the verge of browning, butter. See how it is just getting brown on the edges...Perfectamundo!

Drop those little guys in there, and fry them up. You will do this in two shifts. Use the second 2 tablespoons of butter for the second 1/2 of your noodles.

You want them to get brown and slightly crispy. Transfer them to a glass dish. Later when you are ready to eat. Place the dish in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes just till they are warmed through.

Now I am all about easy. So if all that seemed just a bit too complicated for your busy schedule or your temperment. Then grab a bag of these noodles at the store, boil them up, drain well, toss them in a frying pan with some butter brown them up and Voila! Speedy Spaetzle...just don't tell Oma.

So I am assuming you have your Saurerbraten marinating, so this is why I wanted to give you some sides to go with your roast and gravy. You can also boil up potatoes and toss them with some butter and parsley as an alternative to the noodles. The other two sides I serve with Sauerbraten are Rotkohl / red cabbage, and butter spiced carrots.

Isn't that beautiful?! Red Cabbage is very differant from Saurerkraut, so if you have an aversion to saurerkraut, you need to put all that behind you and give this a try. It compliments the Sauerbraten perfectly. I have made it from scratch....but I is much easier and taste comparable to Aunt Nellie's so I pop open a jar and warm it in the microwave. If you can't find Aunt Nellie's, in the canned vegetables aisle, then look in the International section of your grocery store. It would be with the German or Dutch food products.


Butter Spiced Carrots (print recipe) are something my kids love and also go well with this meal. Very easy. I happened to have a parsnip so I cut that up this time too. Usually I just do carrots. Boil carrots in a 1/2 inch of water, for 10 minutes, watch carefully so the pan doesn't go dry. Pour off any excess water and toss in 2 tablespoons of butter toss it around add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, salt and pepper and a dash or three of ground ginger. Super easy beautiful side dish.

Tomorrow we cook the Sauerbraten!

Saurerbraten part I

Sauerbraten is the perfect meal for a cool Fall or a cold Winter day. It's comforting, and it makes your house smell so wonderful. The only downside to sauerbraten is that it is not a quick throw it together meal. It's by no means difficult, in fact I would rate it as easy. You will just need to plan ahead, the roast needs to marinate the for 48-72 hours before it bakes for 3 to 4 hours. Anticipation....anticipaa-aa-aation...it's mAkin me wait..

Sorry...this wonderful, comforting meal should not be likened to a ketchup commercial. Songs just pop in my head like that. You will need the following ingredients:

Sauerbraten

printable recipe

4 pound beef shoulder or chuck roast

1 large onion sliced thin

2-3 carrots peeled and sliced into chunks

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon pickling spices

2 bay leaves

(the following ingredients are used in part II of this recipe)

1/4 cup gingersnap cookies pulverized (optional)

2 tablespoons -1/4 cup flour

1 cup beef stock

Trim any exess fat off the roast and place in a glass or plastic bowl that has a tight fitting lid. (Do not use a metal bowl.)

In a sauce pan combine vinegars, sugars, bay leaves and picking spices, bring to a boil.

Add the carrots and onion to vinegar sugar mixture, let liquid come back up to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes. Take marinate off heat, and let cool for 5- 10 minutes.

Pour warm marinate over beef roast.

All of it, every last drop, give the roast a turn in the bowl. Make sure it is nice and happy in its vinegar hot tub.

Place lid on bowl. Let sit on counter until cooled. Now many recipes say you can leave it in a cool place for 48 hours before cooking. But I put mine in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. This dude had a 3 day siesta in the marinate.

So now you're good go about your business for a few days. Anticipaaation, antici-pa-yeh-tion...