Traditional Sauerbraten Recipe

I cooked this in the crock pot all day (8 hours - 6 lbs) after marinating it for 5 days. WOW! Excellent falvor! I have made this in the past and it turned out tough - the crockpot is the way to go! Made the gravy with Nabisco Ginger Snaps - A real hit at our German themed dinner party. I also served spatsel, red cabbage, mashed potatoes and sourdough rolls with Lingonberry jam. Excellent!

My grandmother’s recipe (born in 1903), was passed down from her grandmother (Germany 1860’s), used more ginger snaps which was dissolved in the original liquid used as marinade. This prevents any lumps. She served it with knedliky, a Czechoslovakian dumpling. Also, she marinated carrots and celery along with the onions in the pot with the meat and cooked the carrots and onions in the Dutch oven in the oven at 325 for at LEAST 5-7 hours WITH THE marinade after browning the meat. This makes for a moister meat. Otherwise, the recipe looks correct. (I’m 100% German but 3rd generation American).

It was good. I have also used a recipe that marinated for three days, using cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, and involved rubbing the meat with a mixture of dry ground ginger and salt before putting in the marinade. One trick I learned is to brown it well on all sides, then place in a Dutch oven, pour over the marinade with spices and onions, and bake covered four hours at 300 degrees F. When done, strain the cooking liquid and save it, then chill it and the meat overnight. Slice the next day, place in a shallow pan, pour over beef broth and warm covered in a slow oven for one hour. Make the gravy with the strained and defatted cooking liquid, adding finely crushed gingersnaps by the handful and whisking them in until blended before adding more. The recipe came from a German lady who ran a deli, but the rewarming in broth step is mine. It makes the meat melt in your mouth.

This is my go-to for sauerbraten. I use an instant-pot because I'm a lazy American. Here's the cheeky text I sent to my German-American mother, bringing this to our family Oktoberfest: Do your marinade in the instant pot, drain and reserve the marinade. Then, sautee in the pot with flour, and once seared, add the marinade back in. When the whole thing is done (2hr pressure cook), remove the meat, and drain the fat and solids with the fat remover. Take the liquid with the ginger snap cookies to make the gravy in the pot. This is my instant pot mod for this recipe.

I made this for my wife who's father was German and loved sauerbraten. The marinade was spot on and was perfect. We marinated the 3.5 lb chuck roast for 2 days in a plastic bag, flipping 2x a day. I put it in a slow cooker on high with the marinade for 6 hours and the 1 hour on medium. I made the gravy in a pot, after straining the solids and I substituted 2 tbs ginger paste and 1/2C sugar for the gingersnaps and boiled it down for about 20 min. Everyone loved it and we served it with red cabbage and spatezel. Fantastic!

Holy this freaking amazing! Seriously I have no words for how amazing this was. Thank you so much! I studied abroad in Germany I find this to be comfort food. Since we are finally getting some cold and snow I thought it was time for a nice hearty meal. This was quite easy to make. I marinated it in my crock pot as I don't have a dutch oven big enough. I did add some extra red wine vinegar to the marinade because I love it. Then I browned it in skillet and put it back in my crock pot for about 7 hours. Don't forget to let it rest before you slice it. It was very tender and just made my tongue explode with flavor.

OUTSTANDING!!! I bought made 2 roasts in seperate ziplock bags and marinated for 2 days then double bagged and put in the freezer. Took one to my daughters 4 hours away and finished thawing in the fridge at her home. (the meat continued marinating as it thawed). I used at slow cooker on this roast, 8 hours on low. I transferred the juices to a sauce pan (through a strainer) added the ginger snaps. It was so good. The second roast was cooked on the stove. simmered for 4 hours. I think it was even better. My daughter said it tasted the same. Used the german spaetzel recipe. WINNER WINNER GERMAN DINNER!!

Thank you for sharing your grandmother's recipe. My grandmother was born in Germany and she made this on special occasions. It was a family favorite! I wish I had her recipe. Every time I crave sauerbraten I'd have to go to my favorite German restaurant. No more! Your recipe came out perfect! The only changes I made were adding a little pickling spice and some red wine (I used 5 lbs of meat). I also cooked it in a slow cooker on low for 8-9 hours. It came out just like my grandmother's sauerbraten - tender and tasty! Brought me back to my childhood. Danke schön!! :)

Very, very good! We followed the recipe as it was written. The only exception was adding a bit of beef broth during the simmering of the meat, and then, after slicing up the meat and dissolving the ginger snaps in the gravy, we added the meat slices to it as well. Let that go for about 10-15 minutes and all came out quite tasty. Had it for Christmas dinner and everyone raved about how good it was. Will definitely make this again. Oh, yes, have to add that finding juniper berries was challenging.

This is exactly like my great-grandmother's recipe. The only difference is that we use chuck roast and cut the meat into 2" cubes. This way it only needs to marinate overnight. I also make my own gingersnaps because I can't fine any store bought that taste good. This is an absolute family favorite!

As with all recipes, there are many variations, and this is stand up. I have always made it a bit differently, I use a 5# roast and lard it with a larding needle with salt pork. Marinate 5 days with 3 cups wine vinegar, 3-water, chopped onion, carrot, cloves, bay leaves, pepper corns & spoonful of pickling spice. Boil, cool a bit, and marinate for 5 days. When making the gravy, I add soaked golden rasins.

Okay, it's mine, but gotta say, it continues to be the best version I've ever had! Thanks, Grandma!

I'm not a huge fan of sweet and meat but I like the recipe. I marinated the meat for 3 days making sure that I flipped it daily. Instead of cooking it in a Dutch oven, I utilized my trusty crockpot and slow cooked for about 7 hours. It was so tender. The gravy cooked up nicely and I served with boiled reds. My hubs stated that it brought back good memories for when he was stationed in Germany. I will be making again.

Made this for my German Class and it was amazing!

This was my first time making sauerbraten and this recipe tasted just like the restaurant. I marinated it for 3 days and served it with egg noodles.

Mine burned bc it needed way more liquid. Scraped it off and remade the marinade with 3x more and it worked out

Perfect for a cozy night in.

This was a fun recipe to make and one of the best meals I’ve ever made. Thank you for this recipe.

Delicious, will be making this again!!

First time making Sauerbraten and it was a huge success for 8 people! Used a bottom blade roast, since it had been mechanically tenderized I marinated for 2 days. Served with Spaetzle and many salads as they do in Schwaben