The entire month of October really is a very significant month for our family. Oktoberfest is celebrated at the beginning of the month, and although we don't have a local Biergarten we try to have our own little family celebrations. I always make soft pretzels, a few German suppers and plenty of other family recipes. We wait out a few weeks and celebrate Riley's birthday, and then of course the months grand finale we have Halloween/Samhain. (my birthday of course being Halloween and Stephens the day after. ) Throughout the month we generally eat a lot of schnitzel (with home made applesauce of course), at least one sauerbraten and plenty of venison. I'm not really sure why its this way, well Oktoberfest obviously but after that it just seems to linger. Its really just an excuse to fry stuff in bacon grease really...not that I don't do that year around? Its that time of year I guess, I'm rendering fat pockets to keep me warm for winter? I should probably consider not using bacon as a condiment but October is just not the time to try and convince me its a bad idea. Why? Sauerbraten, sauer meaning sour or "pickled" and braten meaning roasted meat. Its probably the most popular traditional German supper. If you ask me you absolutely can not make it without the bacon grease. I've actually considered omitting the bacon grease from the recipe however I've never tried it. It just seems wrong, absolutely blasphemous, its like Lucy without Ethel, Sonny without Cher... Wrong I tell you! Just don't do it.
For most celebrations and family get together's I really like to share something that really screams "FAMILY". And although you'd might think I was trying to kill you with pickled beef thats been fried in bacon grease, its absolutely a the loving meal for me. We ate this as a kid, often from the knorr mix and sometimes a variation of this recipe. No matter how you do it its a very familiar and comforting flavor. Although the seasoned mixes are really just the same seasonings already packaged I really don't prefer that method because usually it cuts out the soaking process. Its the soaking process that absolutely makes this meal special to me. Taking four to six days to marinate only insures that your guests will know they are special it also really offers a great deal of flavor and helps to break down and tenderize any lower grade cuts of meat. (I most often use a 2-3 pound London broil/round roast steak) The icing on the cake steak is the gravy, yes theres gravy too! I make mine with homemade gingersnaps and all of the brining liquid thats been roasted with the meat. Gingersnaps being a classically German way to thicken gravy really enhances the Autumn spices, it thickens, seasons and counteracts the sourness from the vinegar. Served best with good beer and great company. (potato dishes, braised red cabbage or homestyle noodles also work well)
Sauerbraten:
2 stalks of celery cut into chunks
1 large onion sliced
2 carrots cut into slices
1 3-4 pound roast, see note*
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pickling spice
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon pink (or black) peppercorns
(+I also add a little extra allspice and whole mustard seed)
2 cups vinegar
5 cups of water or whatever it takes to cover the roast, sometimes I use milk too.
To Prepare:
4-6 slices of bacon
In a large non metallic crock, air tight plastic container or air lock baggy combine all ingredients and allow to soak 4-5 days. Make sure not to use a metallic container, if your using a baggy insure that its resting in another vessel to prevent cross contamination. Depending on the size of your roast will determine how long it needs to soak. Anything above 5 pounds you will want to increase spices a bit and soak longer about 1 day per pound.
NOTE: a 3-6 pound roast of beef or venison is what I like to use most often. Normally I'm only feeding 2-4 so sometimes I use a london broil or a few small steaks. Pork is traditionally used as well however I prefer to stick with darker richer meat. If I'm using a tougher cut of meat such as a venison shank, often I'll add some milk to the brine as well.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
After your roast has soaked strain the liquid, remove the roast from the soaking liquid and DO NOT throw away the liquid. Pat the roast dry and sprinkle with a little bit of flour. In a large dutch oven or oven safe lidded pan, (cast iron preferably) cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan without discarding the grease. You can use this bacon to place in the gravy or for another use. I usually just toss it in when I put the roast in the oven. Fry the roast in the bacon grease on both sides 4-6 minutes until browned.
Set aside. Pick through the strained vegetables and spices and pick out any real large things that you might not want to bite into, allspice, bay leaves etc. Cook the remaining vegetables in the pan the roast and bacon were cooked in. Place the meat in the pan and cover with the soaking liquid. Cover with a lid and place in the oven for 4-6 hours adding more liquid if necessary. (or about 3 1/2 hours for a 2-3 pound roast)
Remove roast and strain the liquid. I wrap my roast in foil and set it aside. (You can let it cool and refrigerate it at this point if you'd like Ive always preferred sauerbraten after its been well rested, often the next day its best.) Press the vegetables into the strainer thoroughly to get all of the juices. Discard the vegetables at this point and make your gravy.
Gravy:
All reserved liquid from soaking and roasting
4-8 gingersnaps (depending on how large they are I used about 4 large homemade ones)
2 teaspoons raw sugar
Any liquid that did not get used for roasting crumble gingersnaps and sugar into. Stir around and allow cookies to soften. Stir this mixture into the pot with the soaking liquid, whisk until smooth. You can reduce on the stove top or place back into the oven until thick.
Das Ende
(... The End...)
0 comments:
Post a Comment