Rhineland Sauerbraten in Just a Mere Five Days

Rhineland Sauerbraten in just a mere five days

To marinate or not to marinate. Or to marinate some more? This is not the question.

Westphalia and Northern Rhineland are two areas of Germany you should never go to. Not unless you want to eat yourself silly, that is. Every area of Germany has its own wonderful local specialties, but these two regions, relatively centrally located as they are, offer a fistful of classic German dishes that are prepared, or better yet imitated, throughout the entire country - and all over the world, for that matter. And you know what they say about imitation; it is the most sincere form of flattery. And at the top of this heap of shameless flattery, and one my absolute favorites, too, I might add, is the infamous Rhineland Sauerbraten.

Some say that Sauerbraten (sour roast) is about as close to being Germany's national dish as you can get and, although this simply isn't true, it is prepared in just about every region of Germany you can think of. Variations to the idea of what Sauerbraten actually is - and therefore to what the recipe actually consists of - obviously differ from region to region but, traditionally speaking, it is always prepared with a beef roasting joint like a topside and is marinated for a few days beforehand. Sometimes beer is used, sometimes juniper berries and sometimes even raisins, but is always marinated.

Now I don't know if you gathered from the title and subtitle up there or that last sentence, but I'll repeat it again: Marinating your roast will be a very important aspect of properly preparing the following dish, well, properly. And what will you need for this marinade? I though you would never ask. You will need the following:

1 kg of leg beef, no bone
4 juniper berries
3 onions
3 dried cloves
2 carrots
2 pieces of celery
1 bay leaf
½ l of red wine (dry, of course)
¼ l of water
salt and pepper
some parsley if you wish

So now please combine all the marinade ingredients (not the meat!) in a stainless-steel pot, bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat.