I made Sauerbraten (pork), Himmel Und Erde (mashed potatoes and apples),
and Bohnen Und Speck (green beans with bacon dressing). It was, and
still is, scrumptious. I was really looking forward to this as I
haven't made it for several years and it's one of my favorites.

Here are the recipes:

SAUERBRATEN AUF NORDDEUTSCHE ART
(North German-style Sauerbraten)

3 1/2-4 lb. boned rump or shoulder of beef, or shoulder of pork, or
fresh ham
1 qt. buttermilk
few drops lemon juice

Sauce:
2 c. red wine
2 c. water
1 T. salt
1 bay leaf
4-5 peppercorns
1 T. vinegar
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1/2 c. Lebkuchen, broken in bits, or stale gingerbread, or crushed
gingersnaps
1/4 c. raisins or currants

Wash and dry the meat. Place in a deep bowl, cover with the buttermilk
and lemon juice, and marinate in refrigerator 2 days, turning several
times. Remove; wash off the buttermilk. Place meat in a pot or kettle,
add the red wine, water, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns, and vinegar.
Cook, covered, 2½-3 hours or until very tender. Remove meat. Strain
the stock, measuring 3 cups. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in
flour, them slowly stir in the stock, simmer until slightly thickened.
Add the Lebkuchen, gingerbread, or gingersnaps and the raisins or
currants, cook until sauce is thickened. Add sugar to taste, if
desired. Makes about 10 servings. (Notes: I started making this with
pork about 10 years ago when I belatedly realized that you *could* make
it with pork. Even though it was right in front of my
face every time I read the recipe it somehow never registered - I guess
because I had always thought of sauerbraten as a beef dish. Well, I
like beef but I *love* pork so I switched and have never looked back.
I don't bother with the raisins - I like them in many things but they
don't appeal to me in this recipe.)

HIMMEL UND ERDE
(“Heaven and Earth”, a Rhineland Specialty)

4 lg. potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 tart apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
salt and sugar to taste
butter
blood sausage (optional)

Cook potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes. Drain, add apples, and
cook until tender. Mash, season with salt, sugar, and butter. The
blood sausage is sliced, fried in a little fat and served over the
potato-apple mixture. Makes 4 servings. Note: Leftover Himmel und
Erde can be made into delicious potato cakes. Form into patties with a
spoon, shape between palms of hands, fry in butter. With Onion: Omit
blood sausage, fry onions separately in butter or schmalz, serve as a
topping for the potato-apple puree. With bacon: Fry bacon until crisp.
Serve Himmel und Erde topped with crisp bacon and a little of the
bacon drippings.

Notes: I cook the potatoes as I normally would for mashed potatoes. I
cook the apples separately in the microwave until soft enough to be
mashed. I mashed them coarsely with a fork . When the potatoes are
done I drain them and return them to the pot and add lots of butter and
start to mash them with the mixer. When they are partly mashed I add
the still warm apples and continue mashing until they are blended. I do
not add any sugar as I always use MacIntosh apples and they are plenty
sweet. The sugar might be advisable with tarter apples. I have never
tried any of the other serving options at the end of the recipe but they
sound really good - especially the bacon version.

BOHNEN UND SPECK

I don't have this on on the computer but it's basically
cooked green beans tossed with a bacon dressing similar to that used
for German Potato Salad. Dice up some bacon, brown it. Cook some
onions in the bacon fat. Add some flour to the bacon fat and cook it
to make a roux then add some cooking water from the beans and some
vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with the
hot beans.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

On 1/7/2011 3:51 PM, Kate Connally wrote:
> I made Sauerbraten (pork), Himmel Und Erde (mashed potatoes and apples),
> and Bohnen Und Speck (green beans with bacon dressing). It was, and
> still is, scrumptious. I was really looking forward to this as I haven't
> made it for several years and it's one of my favorites.
>
> Here are the recipes:
>
> SAUERBRATEN AUF NORDDEUTSCHE ART
> (North German-style Sauerbraten)
>
> 3 1/2-4 lb. boned rump or shoulder of beef, or shoulder of pork, or
> fresh ham
> 1 qt. buttermilk
> few drops lemon juice
>
> Sauce:
> 2 c. red wine
> 2 c. water
> 1 T. salt
> 1 bay leaf
> 4-5 peppercorns
> 1 T. vinegar
> 3 T. butter
> 3 T. flour
> 1/2 c. Lebkuchen, broken in bits, or stale gingerbread, or crushed
> gingersnaps
> 1/4 c. raisins or currants
>
> Wash and dry the meat. Place in a deep bowl, cover with the buttermilk
> and lemon juice, and marinate in refrigerator 2 days, turning several
> times. Remove; wash off the buttermilk. Place meat in a pot or kettle,
> add the red wine, water, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns, and vinegar. Cook,
> covered, 2½-3 hours or until very tender. Remove meat. Strain the stock,
> measuring 3 cups. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in flour, them
> slowly stir in the stock, simmer until slightly thickened. Add the
> Lebkuchen, gingerbread, or gingersnaps and the raisins or currants, cook
> until sauce is thickened. Add sugar to taste, if desired. Makes about 10
> servings. (Notes: I started making this with pork about 10 years ago
> when I belatedly realized that you *could* make it with pork. Even
> though it was right in front of my
> face every time I read the recipe it somehow never registered - I guess
> because I had always thought of sauerbraten as a beef dish. Well, I like
> beef but I *love* pork so I switched and have never looked back.
> I don't bother with the raisins - I like them in many things but they
> don't appeal to me in this recipe.)
>
> HIMMEL UND ERDE
> (“Heaven and Earth”, a Rhineland Specialty)
>
> 4 lg. potatoes, peeled and cubed
> 3 tart apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
> salt and sugar to taste
> butter
> blood sausage (optional)
>
> Cook potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes. Drain, add apples, and
> cook until tender. Mash, season with salt, sugar, and butter. The blood
> sausage is sliced, fried in a little fat and served over the
> potato-apple mixture. Makes 4 servings. Note: Leftover Himmel und Erde
> can be made into delicious potato cakes. Form into patties with a spoon,
> shape between palms of hands, fry in butter. With Onion: Omit blood
> sausage, fry onions separately in butter or schmalz, serve as a topping
> for the potato-apple puree. With bacon: Fry bacon until crisp. Serve
> Himmel und Erde topped with crisp bacon and a little of the bacon
> drippings.
>
> Notes: I cook the potatoes as I normally would for mashed potatoes. I
> cook the apples separately in the microwave until soft enough to be
> mashed. I mashed them coarsely with a fork . When the potatoes are done
> I drain them and return them to the pot and add lots of butter and start
> to mash them with the mixer. When they are partly mashed I add the still
> warm apples and continue mashing until they are blended. I do not add
> any sugar as I always use MacIntosh apples and they are plenty sweet.
> The sugar might be advisable with tarter apples. I have never tried any
> of the other serving options at the end of the recipe but they sound
> really good - especially the bacon version.
>
> BOHNEN UND SPECK
>
> I don't have this on on the computer but it's basically
> cooked green beans tossed with a bacon dressing similar to that used
> for German Potato Salad. Dice up some bacon, brown it. Cook some
> onions in the bacon fat. Add some flour to the bacon fat and cook it
> to make a roux then add some cooking water from the beans and some
> vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with the
> hot beans.
>
> Kate
>
I'm going to have to keep this recipe and method. I've never been a fan
of Saurbraten but it was a favorite of my ex-husband. He's retired now
so he might like the recipe to try for himself. Thanks!

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