Sauerbraten With Potato Dumplings And Applesauce

Total Time: 6 hrs Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 1/3 lbs rolled beef brisket
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 4 cloves
• 4 peppercorns
• 2 cups red wine vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons bacon drippings
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup golden raisin (optional)
• 8 -10 gingersnaps, crushed (can be replaced by 1 tsp. corn starch or arrow root)
• 6 medium potatoes (about 2-1/4 pounds)
• 3 eggs
• 6 tablespoons flour
• butter, melted and browned
• breadcrumbs

Recipe

• 1 wipe steak with damp cloth; season with salt and pepper.
• 2 place in earthenware, glass or enamel bowl.
• 3 combine onions, carrot, celery, cloves, peppercorns, vinegar and bay leaves and pour over meat.
• 4 cover and marinate in refrigerator for 4 days.
• 5 boil the potatoes for the dumplings on the night of the 4 day. leave them in their jackets and let stand for a few hours to overnight.
• 6 on fifth day remove meat from refrigerator and drain, reserving marinade.
• 7 sauté meat in bacon drippings plus 1 tablespoon butter until seared on all sides.
• 8 cover with reserved marinade and bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 3 hours.
• 9 melt remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in a pan and stir in flour to form a roux.
• 10 blend in sugar and brown to a nice dark color.
• 11 stir roux into liquid in the pot and add raisins (optional).
• 12 cover and continue to simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hour longer.
• 13 dumplings:.
• 14 peel the potatoes and mash them. add the eggs and flour.
• 15 form the mixture into little balls and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour before cooking.
• 16 bring lightly salted water to just under boiling point.
• 17 to make sure your mixture has the right consistency, cook a single dumpling first. if it does not hold together, add more flour to the mixture.
• 18 gently drop in a few dumplings, being careful not to overcrowd them.
• 19 when the dumplings are cooked, they will rise to the top.
• 20 remove the meat to a warm serving platter.
• 21 stir crushed gingersnaps or starch into the pot juices and cook until thickened.
• 22 pour over the meat and serve with the dumplings and applesauce.
• 23 provide melted, browned butter and bread crumbs for the dumplings.
• 24 red cabbage makes another good accompaniment. a good one is sweet and sour and the brand that comes to mind is "aunt nellie's". it would probably be the easiest to find in the us. i always get mine at our local walmart supercenter.