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- Jun 2, 2003
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Sauerbraten. A fear-inducing compound word and dish in the English-speaking world. Fear not, my sauerbraten is different than the slop you may have encountered locally. Sauerbraten is supposed to be mildy sweet and sour, not sour.
The meat, a big, ideally organic, pork rump (cheeky!) or beef (make sure it's not mad beef!) butt or shoulder piece , is quickly browned in a hot fying pan in some butter and sugar, just to get some caramelization going. Then the meat goes in a pot and the marinade is added. The marinade consists of stock and a variety of ingredients: vinegar, red wine, carots, clery root, onion, parsely, peppercorn, cloves, juniper berries, thyme, marjoram, pepper. You can throw a piece of fresh pineapple in there to accelerate the marinating and tenderizing process.
After a few days, the meat is cooked in the marinade for a couple hours until the meat is very soft and almost coming apart. The meat is removed at this point, and the marinade is finished as a sauce: pour the marinade through a sieve, add water and more red wine and vinegar (to taste). Add spices, stock, and finally some sour cream. The sauce is thickened with a "sauce cake," which is a very simple gingerbread made specifically for this dish. I got pictures -- but you knew that.
Cut up the meat and serve with sauce and rice, mashed, baked or boiled potatoes. Lingonberries should be served on the side, cranberries work too, but are comparatively bland and not authentic. As you can see in my picture, I had neither berries.
Those of you who think photographed food looks gross are right. Food photographers use all sorts of tricks when making food look appetizing, from using glycerine for gloss to adding food dyes for more appetizing colors. I use only the real food in all its brown nastiness. Trust me, my stuff tastes better than it looks.
The meat, a big, ideally organic, pork rump (cheeky!) or beef (make sure it's not mad beef!) butt or shoulder piece , is quickly browned in a hot fying pan in some butter and sugar, just to get some caramelization going. Then the meat goes in a pot and the marinade is added. The marinade consists of stock and a variety of ingredients: vinegar, red wine, carots, clery root, onion, parsely, peppercorn, cloves, juniper berries, thyme, marjoram, pepper. You can throw a piece of fresh pineapple in there to accelerate the marinating and tenderizing process.
After a few days, the meat is cooked in the marinade for a couple hours until the meat is very soft and almost coming apart. The meat is removed at this point, and the marinade is finished as a sauce: pour the marinade through a sieve, add water and more red wine and vinegar (to taste). Add spices, stock, and finally some sour cream. The sauce is thickened with a "sauce cake," which is a very simple gingerbread made specifically for this dish. I got pictures -- but you knew that.
Cut up the meat and serve with sauce and rice, mashed, baked or boiled potatoes. Lingonberries should be served on the side, cranberries work too, but are comparatively bland and not authentic. As you can see in my picture, I had neither berries.
Those of you who think photographed food looks gross are right. Food photographers use all sorts of tricks when making food look appetizing, from using glycerine for gloss to adding food dyes for more appetizing colors. I use only the real food in all its brown nastiness. Trust me, my stuff tastes better than it looks.
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