My Favourite Travel Food – Sauerbraten

With Oktoberfest about to begin this weekend, I started thinking of my favourite memories of Germany. First is Oktoberfest and all the fun I had drinking with all the Germans and tourists like myself. Second is the food. I loved the German food. My mother’s family are German so I have always been fascinated with all things Deutsch! German food was not a staple in our house: we were more of a meat and potatoes family (very Irish which happens to be the background of my father) so I was very excited to visit Germany and check it out first hand.

From bratwurst to apfelstrudel to currywurst to käsespätzle (noodles with cheese) to schnitzel, I did some good eating in Germany. However, my favourite travel food was and is SAUERBRATEN!

So what is Sauerbraten? German is very straightforward to translate – sour beef. It is a very simple recipe as well. You marinate the beef roast (usually a tough cut of meat) for a minimum of three to four days in a mixture of vinegar or wine, herbs and spices. Then you simmer the meat in the marinade for several hours and you end up with a very tasty and tender roast. Different areas of Germany will have their own versions and add their own mixtures.

It was made originally with horse meat but thankfully we have moved away from that. If you want horse meat, go eat at Ikea. 🙂

Rheinischer Sauerbraten adds raisins and gingerbread to the sauce while Swabian Sauerbraten has no sweetening or raisins. You serve it with potatoes, dumplings or noodles such as Spätzle.

I wish I had taken pictures when I was in Germany but I’m one of those people who NEVER takes pictures of food. But take my word for it and try it out. My German tutor Catrin told me to check out currywurst and sauerbraten so I have to thank her or I probably never would have ordered it.

Sauerbraten in Deutschland – photo courtesy saveur.com

I plan on trying my hand at this soon. When I do, I will take pictures and update this article with my attempt. I think I shall try this recipe or this one unless anyone has a better one.

So there you have it: my favourite food during my travels. Of course I adored the pasta in Italy and pastry in France but nothing beats Sauerbraten!  So what is your favourite travel food?