The BEST German Beef Pot Roast (Böfflamott)
This better-than-Sauerbraten German Beef Pot Roast is a family favorite recipe by Alfons Schubeck! It features lots of wine and spice AND is SO GOOD!
- Prep time
- 72 hr
- Cook time
- 4 hr
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 bottle red wine
- 3 lb beef shoulder roast
- 100 g celery root (Whole Foods usually carries it; coud also use celery stalks instead)
- 150 g yellow onion
- 80 g carrots
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 20 ml cognac
- 500 ml chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp whole allspice
- 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 2 whole star anise
- 1 1 centimeter piece cinnamon stick
- 5 whole juniper berries
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 garlic clove (cut in half length wise)
- 2+1/2 inch slices fresh ginger
- 1 2 inch piece lemon peel
- 1 2 inch piece orange peel
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 50 ml red wine vinegar
- 40 g cold butter
- cayenne pepper & sugar to taste
- some cornstarch to thicken (if needed)
Instructions
- 1
To create the marinade, in a medium-sized pot, let powdered sugar melt and caramelize until light brown. Add in the red wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Let cool completely. Place the beef shoulder in a large container (I used a gallon size freezer bag), pour the wine marinade onto it, and let marinate in your fridge for 3 to 6 days.
- 2
Peel the vegetables and cut them into chunks. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry.
- 3
Pour the marinade into a pot and reduce it to a third of the liquid, removing any foam with a skimmer.
- 4
Add oil in a large pot over medium heat, brown the beef from all sides, then remove it from the pot (mine sprayed hot oil a lot, so make sure to use a splatter guard).
- 5
Add the tomato paste to the oil and let brown for 30 seconds to a minute while stirring, then add the cognac, the reduced marinade, and chicken broth.
- 6
Return the beef to the liquid and add the chopped-up vegetables. Cover with a lid and let roast on the stovetop for 3 to 4 hours at just below boiling (medium simmer), until the meat is tender.
- 7
20 minutes before the end of cooking time, add in the allspice, pepper, anise, cinnamon, juniper berries, bay leaf, garlic, ginger, lemon peel, and orange peel.
- 8
At the end of the 20 minutes, remove the beef and strain the roasting liquid, maybe returning it to the pot to let reduce some more if still too thin.
- 9
In a small skillet, caramelize the powdered sugar over medium-high heat, then pour vinegar into the skillet and let boil down until the mixture has a syrup-like consistency.
- 10
Add butter to the reduced roasting liquid and season to taste with the just-made vinegar mixture, salt, cayenne pepper, and sugar.
- 11
If still too thin, thicken by removing a few tablespoons of the sauce, whisking in a little bit (½ tablespoon at a time) of cornstarch, then removing to the sauce and bringing to a boil. Repeat if necessary.
- 12
Cut the beef into slices and cover in sauce. Serve with potato dumplings to soak up more of that yummy sauce and braised, red cabbage. Guten Appetit!