Sauerbraten

A Sauerbraten is a pretreated by several days marinating in a marinade of vinegar and other ingredients braised roast. The Sauerbraten is in its various regional variants a well-known traditional dish of German cuisine.

Preparation

The raw meat is first for several days (usually three to five, maximum of one week is reasonable ) inserted under cool conditions in a marinade of vinegar, water or wine, onion, carrot, and spices such as bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns. Traditionally, to marinating roasts at a maximum of 12 to 14 degrees Celsius was stored in the basement, modern hygiene regulations allow in the restaurant industry today only storage temperatures in the low single-digit range of degrees. Before frying the meat must be dried carefully because it can not be well browned otherwise. After searing the meat is quenched with the marinade and made up for braising with juice or water. The sauce is seasoned with a sweetener. As side dishes dumplings, pasta and salads are recommended.

Variants

A selection of known variants are the Rhineland, Baden, Swabian, Franconian, Saxon, Dresden, Westphalian and Thurgau Sauerbraten. The Sauerbraten Emmentaler type is called in Bern German Suure Mocke. In addition to beef and horse meat and pork, rabbit or venison is served as Sauerbraten rare.

Rhenish sauerbraten

Traditionally horse meat was also used in Rheinische Sauerbraten. However, since supply and consumption of horse meat have fallen sharply in recent decades, Rhenish sauerbraten is nowadays usually prepared from beef. Less well known is pork marinated beef Rhenish type, also called Pepse. This is preferable to use a piece of pork leg, and the meat is aged only about two days in the pickle.

The sauce is regionally differently prepared with or without raisins, a portion of the marinade and sweetening matter, to give it the desired sweet and sour taste. Sweeteners are traditionally sugar beet syrup, apple butter, Aachener Printe or gingerbread. The pastries also serve instead of or together with flour or cornstarch to bind the sauce.

Classical Accompaniments to Rheinische Sauerbraten are potato dumplings and apple sauce, often it is rarely served with boiled potatoes or noodles and red cabbage with dried fruit.