Sauerbraten & Potato Dumplings
This recipe is from my wife's German grandmother. It has become
our traditional
Christmas Day dinner, and everyone enjoys it tremendously. It
involves a bit of work for the potato dumplings, but we found we
could prepare them completely the day before and just reheat them
on Christmas day. I usually get the butcher to make a roast from
a hind quarter of a deer in order to get one big enough. The
venison will be eaten much quicker than the beef because it will
absorb more of the brine and literally fall apart when you try to
slice the roast. This is NOT your typical restaurant sauerbraten.
This gravy will make most restaurant gravies taste like they have
been watered down. The reason for our half venison/half beef is
that some folks
have an aversion to eating venison. (Although they always manage
to eat a little because it is soooo much better).
Enjoy,
Ray
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SAUERBRATEN
Top Sirloin or Bottom Round - about 6 lbs.
Have butcher tie up securely
Larded with larding pork (I don't do this.. old German
grandmother)
I usually do the beef roast and additionally the same amount of
venison so the meat recipe is doubled.
Put in earthenware crock or plastic bucket
Cover meat with equal parts of cider vinegar and water along
with-
2 tablespoons sugar 2 medium sized onions sliced
round
1 teaspoon salt 2 lemons - washed & sliced round
with rind
12 whole cloves 6 whole peppercorns
6 bay leaves
Refrigerate 3 to 4 days, turning several times.
Brown meat very well on all sides in margarine, then put all
the pickling fluid in the (big) pot with meat and cook slowly for
at
least 2 1/2 to 3 hours. About 30 minutes before done throw in
6-8 gingersnap cookies or ZUZU's (ginger cookies).
Take meat out of pot.
Put 3/4 cup of flour in a metal pie pan and brown the flour in
the oven, turning with a spoon to brown evenly to a tan color.
Add the browned flour to 1 cup of cold water and slowly add the
flour/water mixture to the cooking pickling fluid to thicken and
cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Place the thickened fluid through a cranberry strainer and grind
so
all juices come through.
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POTATO DUMPLINGS
Ingredients-
3 eggs 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 cup plain breadcrubs
1 teaspoon salt
6 medium to large Idaho potatoes
I usually triple this recipe. Leftovers are excellent either
reheated
by microwave or sliced in half and heated in a frying pan with
margarine. Even with 3X the recipe, you will run out of these
quickly.
Cook potatoes until firm, not soft, then peel potatoes and rice
with potato ricer
onto a turkish towel. The idea is to sort of grate the potatoes
so they are fluffy.
You do not want mashed potato consistency.
Put riced potatoes into a large bowl, make a well and add all
ingredients.
Make into balls about twice the size of a golf ball and drop into
rapidly boiling water. When they rise to the top cook for 2 1/2
to
3 minutes more and remove.
Source: rec.hunting
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