Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten is a German pot roast of beef, most often rump or bottom round, marinated for five to fifteen days in a mixture of wine or vinegar, water, herbs and spices before being browned and then braised for several hours in the strained marinade, producing a tender roast in a rich, tangy gravy often thickened with crushed gingerbread or gingersnaps. It is widely regarded as a national dish of Germany, though its exact origin is uncertain: some accounts credit the emperor Charlemagne in the ninth century with devising it as a way to use leftover roasted meat, and the medieval scholar Albertus Magnus is said to have helped popularize it in the thirteenth century, while an older story crediting Julius Caesar is not well supported. Regional versions differ across Germany, with wine-based marinades more common near France and vinegar-based marinades more common in the east, and the Rhineland version typically adds raisins and sugar beet syrup for extra sweetness; it is usually served with potato dumplings, potato pancakes or spatzle.