The Perfect No-Stress Holiday Meal

In 2006, we went on a fabulous trip to Germany.  If you have never been, I highly recommend it.  We were there for 10 days but it wasn't nearly enough time. We visited Munich, the Romantic Road (where we stayed in a perfectly preserved medieval village) and visited the Dachau Concentration Camp which is truly an unbelievable, emotional experience.  The highlight of the trip was the famous castle, Neuschwanstein, which Walt Disney used as inspiration for the DisneyLand Castle.  We hope to return someday with our girls.  I was blown away by its beauty, historical interests, and its FOOD!  Which brings me to the point of this post.

Of all the meals we ate in Germany, sauerbraten was hands down my favorite.  It was always served with butter spatzle noodles and red cabbage. Oh my, it was mouthwatering.  If you are like me, the name sauerbraten is kind of a turnoff which is why I had never tried it in the past.  But I had no idea what I was missing! Don't let the name turn you off, this is a terrific meal!

When we returned home, I made it a quest to try to replicate this meal.  It turned out spaetzle is pretty complicated to make, and I every recipe I tried for sauerbraten just didn't meet the challenge.  That is, until I was flipping through my Cooking Light Slow Cooker cookbook and stumbled upon a curious recipe that used gingersnaps for the sauce.  "Hmmmm...", I thought. "Oh what the heck!" I tried it.

Oh. My. Goodness.  Perfection.  And, as luck would have it, my mother found a German food vendor at her local Farmer's Market and sent me the info.  The company sold pre-made red cabbage and spatzle that you just boil in water, like spaghetti.  Perfect!  Don't worry, I will provide the website later.

Okay, so on with the recipe.  This recipe is so simple and good, it will knock your socks off.  It makes the perfect, stress-free holiday meal.  You just plop a roast in the marinade two days in advance and pop it in the crockpot the morning of and you have dinner in a about 8 hours. Which is why this has become our Christmas dinner tradition.  Now I can spend time with the family, not in the kitchen slaving over the stove.  And the results are always spectacular.


Perfect, No-Stress Holiday Sauerbraten

A few weeks ahead, go to this website to order the spaetzle and red cabbage (update: I have also found these items at Aldi's) (Update #2 - Aldi's carrys these items seasonally. They had the red cabbage but not the Spaetzle. The website I usually order from requires minimum $50 order for shipping so I ended up ordering Spaetzle from Amazon this year. I ordered a whole case because it was more cost effective and I know we will use it!). One package of each will feed about 4-6 people so order according to your guest size.

Slow-Cooker Sauerbraten (Adapted from Cooking Light Slowcooker Cookbook - 2004)

I typically use a slightly bigger roast and double the recipe for twice the sauce. Yea, its that good.

Serving size - 6 servings

1 (3lb) rump roast, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
1 1/2 cups sliced onion
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 lemon, sliced
10 whole cloves
6 peppercorns
3 bay leaves
15 gingersnaps, crumbled

Prep roast and set aside. In a large glass bowl or 2 gallon ziplock bag combine the next 9 ingredients (through bay leaves). Place meat in marinade, cover (or zip) and marinate in the fridge for 24-36 hours, turning meat occasionally.
Remove roast from marinade, reserving 1 1/2 cups (or 3 if you are doubling the recipe). Discard remaining marinade.  Place roast in a 6-quart slow-cooker; pour reserved marinade over meat. Cover with lid, cook on high-heat setting for one hour. Reduce to low-heat setting and cook 7-8 hours or until roast is tender.
Remove roast from slow-cooker, set aside and keep warm. Strain the liquid through a strainer to remove all the chunky bits and discard chunky bits.  Return the liquid back into slow cooker. Add gingersnaps, cover, and cook 12 minutes.  Stir with whisk till smooth. Serve over meat.

Serve with spatzle noodles and red cabbage.

Spatzle:  Cook according to package directions, although, I like to use chicken broth instead of water.


Follow meal with my Oh My Apple Pie (recipe coming soon) for dessert and you will think you have died and gone to heaven.


This meal is perfect for any holiday or special occasion meal.


Enjoy!