Flavours of home is a series of recipes from around the world cooked by people at home in Otago. This week, Josef Kaiser from Germany shows us how to make sauerbraten with potato dumplings.
for 3-4 people
1kg piece of beef - use crosscut blade, corner cut or rump
2 onions
1 carrot
7 juniper berries
4 allspice berries
1 bayleaf
3 cloves
8 black peppercorns
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp caster sugar
300ml red wine vinegar
700ml water
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp canola oil
30g butter
1 tsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp cornflour
1 Tbsp water
100g sour cream
Peel and cut carrots and onions into rough cubes. Put them in a pot with vinegar, water, spices, sugar and salt, and boil for five minutes. Allow to cool.
Rinse the meat to remove any blood, and place in the marinade. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 12 hours or overnight. The next day, take out the meat and dry on kitchen paper.
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Strain the marinade, keeping the vegetables and spices, and the liquid.
Heat the oil in a pot that fits the meat snugly and brown the meat on all sides. Remove the meat and add the vegetables and spices to the pot. Add tomato paste and butter. Cook, stirring a little until the vegetables have coloured a little.
Add about 3/4 of the marinade, and put the meat back in the pot. Simmer for 2-2 1/2 hours with the lid on, turning every half hour. The meat should be cooked through and tender. A fork or knife point will insert and come out easily.
Remove the meat. Strain the cooking liquid, discarding the vegetables. Return liquid to the pot. Mix the cornflour with the water to a liquid and add. Reheat slowly, whisking until the sauce has thickened. Whisk in the sour cream.
To serve, cut the meat in thick slices across the grain and spoon the sauce over.
TIPS:
• For the sauerbraten, use a bowl and a pot that hold the meat snugly so it remains covered by the marinade.
• Use a fork or tongs to hold the meat as you brown the ends.
• Using all the marinade to cook the meat makes the sauce too vinegary so only use about of it.
Josef Kaiser grew up in Berlin and came to Dunedin with his New Zealand fiancee a year and a-half ago.
He trained as a chef in Germany, but sauerbraten mit kartoffelklösse (beef pot roast with potato dumplings) was one of his favourite dishes as a child. His mother used to cook it for Sunday lunch, especially in winter.
- Thanks to Afife Harris and Gardens New World.
