Sauerbraten Soup

Name: Sauerbraten Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 15 min
Yield: 11 cups
Cuisine: German Dinner Recipes, German Recipes
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces; 1 tablespoon mixed pickling spices; 1 bay leaf; 6 cups beef broth, divided; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 jar (16 ounces) shredded sweet-and-sour red cabbage; 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 8 gingersnap cookies, crushed; Cooked wide egg noodles

Sauerbraten and soup are both family favorites. This combines the two, without the long marinating time the traditional beef dish requires. You can substitute spaetzle or gnocchi for the egg noodles. —Jennifer Yerkes, Franklin Square, New York

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon mixed pickling spices
1 bay leaf
6 cups beef broth, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jar (16 ounces) shredded sweet-and-sour red cabbage
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
8 gingersnap cookies, crushed
Cooked wide egg noodles

Directions

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown meat in batches. Transfer meat to a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker.
Place pickling spices and bay leaf on a double thickness of cheesecloth. Gather corners of cloth to enclose seasonings; tie securely with kitchen string. Add spice bag, 4 cups broth, onion, cabbage, ginger and cloves to slow cooker. Cook, covered, on high 3 hours.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining broth and gingersnaps over medium heat; cook and stir until thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker; cook, covered, until meat is tender, about 1 hour longer. Discard spice bag. Serve with noodles.

Test Kitchen tips

Yes, there are cookies in this dish—in fact, they're a key to its success. Cookies are a common thickening agent in German gravies and sauces, so why not soup?

Put the pickling spice into a loose tea bag and tie off. This keeps the whole spices out of your soup and makes them easy to remove.

Nutrition Facts

1-3/4 cups: 371 calories, 16g fat (5g saturated fat), 94mg cholesterol, 1226mg sodium, 22g carbohydrate (13g sugars, 1g fiber), 32g protein.

Originally published as Sauerbraten "Fakeout" Soup in Taste of Home September/October 2018

Reviews

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Average Rating:

PoseyP

Sep 26, 2019

This is wonderful and much easier than traditional sauerbraten. The first time I made this I followed the directions exactly. We thought it was a bit heavy on the stew beef; the second time I scaled back the meat by 8 oz and the proportions were more to our liking.
Sinbad2362

Jan 27, 2019

Very tasty soup for a cold wintery night. Made it as directed and served with noodles as suggested. Saving this to my recipe box.