SAUERBRATEN (GERMAN BEEF ROAST WITH GINGERSNAP SAUCE) RECIPE - (4.7/5)

Sauerbraten (German Beef Roast with Gingersnap Sauce) Recipe - (4.7/5) image

Provided by Foodiewife

Number Of Ingredients 19

NOTE*:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 boneless beef bottom round roast* (3 to 4-pound), trimmed, cut into 2-inch chunks, and seasoned with salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup gin
1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca**, ground
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoon pickling spices, wrapped in cheesecloth and tied with kitchen string
2 teaspoons sugar (my addition to the sauce, which seemed just a tad too tart, when I tasted it)
6 medium carrots, halved crosswise, then halved lengthwise
4 ribs celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, quarted
10 gingersnap cookies, crushed
Ask your butcher for chuck-eye roast, which is a very tender cut of beef, and has more marble to it You'll be much happier with this cut of beef.
I used one tablespoon of Clearjel, that I order from King Arthur Flour.com. It's great for thickening stews and pies.

Steps:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Brown beef in oil in 2 to 3 batches, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer beef to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Stir tomato paste and ginger into skillet; cook 1 minute. Deglaze skillet with wine and reduce by half, scraping up any brown bits. Whisk in broth, vinegar, gin, tapioca, and salt; simmer 5 minutes. Taste the sauce. I found it to be a tad much on the sour side, and when I add the sugar, I felt it gave the perfect balance to the sauce. Pour broth mixture over beef in slow cooker and submerge spice sachet in it. Cover slow cooker and cook until beef is tender on high setting, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add carrots, celery, and onion to slow cooker; stir in gingersnaps. Cover slow cooker and cook until sauce thickens and vegetables are tender, stirring halfway through,about 1 hour more. Transfer beef and vegetables to a serving dish; discard spice sachet. Serve beef and vegetables with sauce. Tasting notes: The carrots aren't mushy at all-- in fact just slightly "al dente" which we liked. The sauce turned out with just the right amount of thickness. The gingersnaps melted right into the sauce, and really gave this sauce an authentic sauerbraten flavor . I have a homemade Spaetzle recipe, but you could serve this over buttered thick noodles or mashed potatoes. Definitely worth a repeat performance!