We’ll start off a with a little bit of a fun story. I was looking to buy the cheapest red wine at the grocery market. I have no clue about wine whatsoever, so I asked the kind older lady where the cheap red wine is. I got a little bit of a history lesson about cabernet’s and merlot’s.. which brand is decent or good for the price. I cared about none of that. I stopped her and said, “I just need a cheap red wine to marinade a large cut of meat with”. She was all excited to expand and brag about her niche of intoxicant just above box wine and got deflated.
So I found Woodbridge and got a big ol beef roast and collected my gatherings. I still wonder if she’s in that aisle waiting for someone to take her advice seriously.
The Prep Table
We have quite the journey ahead. Still working through the potato dumplings, I went searching for a recipe. We’re going to Germany for this one with a red wine marinated Sauerbraten. I couldn’t stop there, we’re doing a some sour red cabbage as well. Not often you start with a frozen dumpling and advance into a days long marinade project. But that’s what we’re doing.
We’re going to reduce this magical blend of wine, red wine vinegar, onion, carrot, leeks. Some raisins, juniper berries, cloves and bay leaves. Sugar, pepper, salt.. Throw that to a boil and just take in the aromas. I knew it was going to be good.. going to take a little bit long, but it’ll be good.
The above picture is the what would be in our refrigerator for the work week. Had this made on a Sunday and was ready to cook on Saturday. I’d wake up, flip the meat.. go work and when I got home, flip it again. Kept the mix and flavors moving. Let’s see what a 5 day marinade looks like
The Process
Definitely weird, looking like a meaty purple rock. We’re going to flour this on all sides with a salt/pepper and browned up the sides. Now it’s time to put it back where it birthed and braise the thing for a few hours.
Checked it every hour, maybe every half hour because I’m impatient.. we just need that thing tender. In the mean time, we’re going to do our rotkohl – or our red cabbage side.
Keeping with the traditional flavors, we’re adding some sweet apples to some chopped cabbage and add some acidity. Some fatty butter and sugar and we’re going to simmer this for about an hour, hour-and-a half.
Now that it was fork-tender, it
Threw a foil tent on this while we finished up the sauce. We’re going to slice this up and plate it as is. But where this weird concoction really takes form, we’re going to take the leftover marinade and strain the liquid. Once we have just the liquid back in the pot, we’re going to add in some ginger snap cookies.
An essential, crucial ingredient. We took this liquid and made it a gravy. Let’s get this thing plated.
The Result
We started off with an idea – what can I make with the dumplings. And I forgot to make the dumplings. Too funny, but this happens far too often. Good thing we have multiple meals to make from this roast. From frozen, this will take just a few seconds, so let’s pan fry these things. I think I’ve boiled ’em, I don’t think I’ve pan fried ’em yet.
This was a very rich, very traditional kind of meal. I don’t know if the juice was worth the squeeze. This was a lot of work, took a lot of time in the fridge. The food was delicious, but took quite a bit of time. While I love making new dishes, I don’t see myself making this one again. Was quite the adventure!