Sauerbraten 0

This is not the recipe to which I linked in this post. This is the recipe I used, Craig Claiborne’s recipe from the 1971 New York Times International Cookbook, the best cookbook ever written.

As with any of Craig Claiborne’s recipes, it is to die for. We verified that tonight.

Ingredients:

3lbs. Bottom round of beef (I used 2 lbs. chuck roast)
3 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 tablespoon mustard seeds (I substituted horseradish because I had no mustard seeds and didn’t want to go back to the store, and the Internet told me I could use horseradish)
25 whole cloves
25 bay leaves (only had six and some flakes)
3 large onions peeled and sliced (I used only two, because I was using less beef)
2 cups wine vinegar
1/4 cup butter
salt to taste (I used about 1/4 tsp. sea salt)
6 slices bacon (I used five, because that was all I needed to cover everything fully)
beef stock
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup cold water
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream

1. The meat must be marinated three days in advance. Trim off most of the fat from the beef, then cut the beef into six large chunks. Select a glass, enamel, or stainless steel bowl large enough to the been comfortably. Combine the peppercorns, mustard seeds, cloves, bay leaves, onions, and vinegar and pour all of it over the beef. Refrigerate for 3 days.

2. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Melt the butter in a casserole.

4. Drain the meat and reserve both the meat and half the marinade with the seasonings.

5. Place the meat in the casserole and add the reserved liquid and seasonings. Add slat to taste. Place the casserole, uncovered, in the oven. Cook about one hour, then reduce the heat to 300 degrees.

6. Turn the meat in the liquid and cover each piece of meat with bacon. Continue cooking about one hour, or until the meat is tender. Remove the bacon and discard it. Cook the meat about ten minutes longer, then transfer to a warm platter and strain the cooking liquid. Discard the solids. To the cooking liquid add enough beef stock to make four cups. (I made three cups because of the smaller quantity of beef.)

7. Return the meat to a clean casserole and add the liquid. Bring to a boil. Blend the flour with the cold water and add it to the boiling liquid, stirring. Simmer about five minutes, adding more salt, if desired. Stir in the cream. Serve hot, with noodles, dumplings, or potatoes. (We served it with rice. I know, thanks to Bush and his ethanol scam, once we run out of rice, we won’t be able to afford any more.)

H/T to Linda for transcribing the recipe.