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Recipes Nugget Markets Signature Recipes

Sauerbraten – Sour Roast

Prep time
2 days PT0
Cook time
3 hours PT3H
Yield
Serves 4-6
Difficulty
3 out of 5 on the difficulty scale
Nugget Markets signature recipes

Ingredients

  • 3 cups dry red wine
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 carrot, sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • 2 whole cloves
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2½ teaspoons kosher or sea salt
  • 3 onions, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
  • 3-3¼ lb. boneless lean beef chuck roast, rolled and tied
  • ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Sauce:
  • ⅓ cup raisins
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar to taste
  • 2 gingersnaps, crushed coarse
  • Kosher or sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preparation

Marinate the Beef:

Combine wine, water, vinegar, carrot, bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves, thyme, 1 tsp. salt and ⅓ of the onions in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat completely.

Place beef in a large sealable plastic bag and pour marinade over it; add more water if necessary to barely cover beef. Seal and place in refrigerator for 2 days.

Braise the Beef:

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 300°F.

Remove beef from marinade, reserving marinade. Place meat; dry and sprinkle with remaining 1½ tsp. salt and pepper. Strain remaining marinade. Keep both liquid and solids separately.

Heat oil in a 6- to 7-quart saucepan. Braise the beef on all sides for at least 20 minutes over medium-high heat. Transfer beef to a plate. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining onions to pot. Stir until soft; then add marinade solids. Continue cooking for 2 minutes. Return beef to pot along with any juices that accumulated on plate, add marinade liquid enough to cover halfway up the side of the beef, and bring to a boil. Discard rest of marinade liquid. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Braise beef until tender, about 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Transfer beef to platter and cover with foil.

Make the Sauce:

Strain braising liquid (discard solids) and skim fat. Soak raisins in ⅓ cup braising liquid for 15 minutes.

Melt butter; then add flour and sugar to make a toasted roux. Add 3 cups of braising liquid in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Add raisins and increase heat; bring to a boil until liquid is reduced to about 2 cups. Add gingersnaps. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is glossy and slightly thick; season to taste.

Serve with Beef.

Great with Riesling-Braised Sauerkraut & Apples.

Techniques used in this recipe:

braise
braise: a cooking method in which the main item, usually meat, is seared in fat, then simmered in stock or another liquid in a covered vessel.
reduce
reduce: to decrease the volume of a liquid by simmering or boiling; used to provide a thicker consistency and/or concentrated flavors.

Glossary:

bay leaves

Sweet Bay of Laurel is native to the Mediterranean region where it grows to an evergreen tree up to 40-feet high. It is found extensively in the milder climates of North America; the leaf of the California Bay Laurel is long and tapered, bright green in color, and extremely pungent - from two to three time more pungent than that of the European variety.

The uses of Bay are many and varied. Eggs, meats, game, soups, casseroles, and sauce benefit from the judicious use of this herb; use it sparingly, however, for it is dominant by nature.

cloves

The clove tree is a small evergreen from 20 to 40 feet high and native to Indonesia. As we know them, cloves are the unopened buds of the Clove tree.

Cloves, ground or whole, have a wide variety of uses and compliment just about any sweet or savory dish from desserts, beverages, cooked fruits, chutneys, relishes, pickled beets to meats, fish, eggs, and vegetables.

It is also a popular addition to smoking tobaccos in many countries.

roux

French. Containing equal parts of flour and fat (usually butter) used to thicken liquids. Roux is cooked to varying degrees (white, pale/blond, or brown/chestnut), depending on its intended use. As the roux cooks, the natural nuttiness of the flour increases and the color darkens which lends both flavor and color to the dish it will be used in.

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