
You can use sour cream, but keep in mind not to boil the gravy anymore or it will curdle on you, which creme fraiche wont. A final touch of a little red currant jelly (for sweetness) and creme fraiche round out this fantastic sauce. German gravy is fairly thin and never gloppy like many American gravies tend to be. My gravy, which is just the way my family cooks it, is achieved by caramelizing sugar in a pan with butter, flour is added and finally some of the cooked marinade and red wine round out the gravy. We also don't add rasisins to the finished gravy, this is more of a rhineland addition. Many people know Sauerbraten with a thickened gravy containing gingersnaps, this is NOT the way it is prepared in the region of Franconia (upper Bavaria) where I grew up. After the meat is fully cooked you get to work on the gravy. The marinade, along with the seasonings and vegetables is added to the meat, which is then cooked for a couple of hours on the stove top. After the meat is removed and dried off, it will get a good searing on all sides in a heavy pot.
#Best cut of beef to use for sauerbraten full#
Most people will keep the meat in the brine for 3 to 4 days, but I've even heard of people leaving the meat in for a full week. The cut of meat is usually a tougher cut, like a bottom round roast and by marinading the meat in something acidic for several days the notion is it will help tenderize the meat.

Sauerbraten simply refers to a beef roast that has been marinaded in a brine of vinegar, spices, root vegetables and red wine for a few days. Mine is simply a family recipe which might not be "authentic" by other German standards, but is a special recipe handed down from my dad to me. Let me preface by saying that different regions in Germany will produce different recipes for this. I promise to showcase all of the recipes, but today I'm concentrating on the Sauerbraten.
