Sauerbraten & Rotkohl
A three-to-five-day marinade, a chuck roast, and a gravy thickened with gingersnaps instead of a roux — Alton Brown's Rhenish riff, tweaked for over a decade.
Sauerbraten traces back to Roman legions preserving tough meat in vinegar and wine so it wouldn't spoil on the march. Centuries later it became a German tradition built around whatever tough cut you had — chuck roast does the job today. This version boils the marinade first to unlock the vegetables and spices, browns the meat before it ever hits the brine, and thickens the gravy with crushed gingersnaps instead of a traditional roux.
Read the full story — SauerbratenMarinade
- 4 cups red wine
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 4 bay leaves
- ~12 whole cloves
- ~24 juniper berries
- ~1 tsp mustard seeds
Meat
- 3½–4 lb bottom round or chuck roast
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Gravy
- ⅓ cup sugar (or ¼ cup brown sugar + ¼ cup molasses)
- 1 cup cranberries
- 18 dark old-fashioned gingersnaps (~5 oz), crushed
- ½ cup seedless raisins, optional but recommended
No raisins on hand? Dried cranberries work as a substitute — already in the ingredient list for exactly that reason.
To Serve
- to taste spaetzle
- to taste rotkohl (German sweet-and-sour red cabbage)
Make the Marinade 10 min simmer
In a large saucepan over high heat, combine the wine, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, onion, carrot, salt, pepper, bay leaves, cloves, juniper berries, and mustard seeds. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Brown the Meat 2–3 min per side
Pat the roast dry and rub with vegetable oil and salt on all sides — no pepper at this stage. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat, add the meat, and brown on all sides.
Marinate 4–7 days
Once the marinade has cooled enough to touch without burning yourself, place the meat in a non-reactive vessel and pour the marinade over it. Let it sit on the counter for 1 hour, then refrigerate 4–7 days. If the meat isn't fully submerged, turn it once a day.
Cook ~4 hours
Preheat the oven to 325°F, or use a crock pot. Stir the sugar into the meat and marinade, adding the cranberries if using. Cover and cook on the middle oven rack until tender, about 4 hours — or in a crock pot, high for 1–2 hours then low for an additional 6–8 hours.
Make the Gravy
Remove the meat and keep warm. Strain the liquid to remove the solids, then return it to the pan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the crushed gingersnaps and cook until thickened, stirring occasionally. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove lumps (an immersion blender works too). Stir in the raisins if using.
Serve
Slice the meat and serve with the gravy over spaetzle, alongside a side of rotkohl.