Bavarian Pot Roast

By Addie

Since all of my grandparents were German, it's no wonder that so many Bavarian recipes have been handed down to me. Because the Midwest has such a large German population, I feel this recipe represents the area well.

Ingredients

• 1 boneless beef chuck pot roast (about 3 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 3/4 cup beer or beef broth
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Cornstarch and water, optional

Preparation

Step 1

In a Dutch oven, brown roast in hot oil. Combine water, beer or broth, tomato sauce, onion, sugar, vinegar, salt, cinnamon, bay leaf, pepper and ginger. Pour over meat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat is tender, for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Remove meat. Discard bay leaf. If desired, thicken juices with cornstarch and water. Yield: 8-10 servings.
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REEVIEWS:

Loved this recipe! Great taste, and it does taste like saurbraten which my son loves, but its so consuming to make. Now I can make this in less time. Thanks to the poster who said they made it in a crockpot... thats how I plan on making this next time.

This is so delicious. I've made it many times (with good beer, as others suggested.) And, for the reviewer who was concerned because there were too many leftovers, here's what I do with any type of leftover pot roast: When I make pot roast, I save the leftovers to make Shepherd's Pie. Cut the meat into 1-inch chunks. Save the gravy. Saute a small chopped onion until tender, and stir it into the meat. Roast a cup of baby carrots in the oven and then chop them up. Press homemade mashed potatoes into a baking dish, pressing up the sides of the baking dish. Spoon in the carrots, plus a half cup of frozen peas, thawed. (You can add other roasted veggies to this too, such as butternut squash, etc.) Top with the meat. Pour the gravy over. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through. Total comfort food! Sometimes I make a thin biscuit mix and pour it on top before baking. It makes a nice crust.

We love this recipe--a little different than most pot roasts.

WOW... This was truly a great meal. Reminds me of Sauerbraten and the roast doesn't have to be brined for days ahead of time. I followed the recipe, except put everything in the crockpot at around noon and we ate at 6pm.... Hubby even asked if I used ginger, he thought I put it in the spaetzle I made as a side, he was surprised that it was in the gravy! He says the recipe is a keeper!!!

This pot roast has excellent flavor! I did not know what to expect mixing sweet spices such as cinnamon, ginger, and sugar with meat but it was yummy. My kids loved it too. I made it exactly as in the recipe except I added carrots about 20 minutes before the meat was done, and mushrooms a minute before it was done. Mixed cooked noodles with the sauce and it soaked it all up. I will make this roast again for sure.

Not your average pot roast. This had a really nice/unique flavor. Will definitely try again

I was really looking forward to making this recipe based on the reviews. It has a light flavor... it definitely could use more pizazz. I used a porter for the beer. If we made this again, I'd add some carrots and a bit more spice.

As a family of "foodies" our reaction to the first bite was, "Wow." The flavor was full and complex. I used a full bottle of German beer, no beef stock, and added the water with some corn starch at the end to loosen up the browning in the dutch oven. I also browned it on the stove top and finished it in the oven for 3 hours at 325 degrees. Delicious over egg noodles with roasted vegetables on the side.

Very flavorful! I doubled all the sauce ingredients except the cinnamon (it seemed like a lot), and even though I did this, the sauce cooked down considerably, and there was just enough for one meal---no leftover sauce. I served the roast for my daughter's birthday, and everyone really enjoyed it.

I received what I believe to be the best compliment when cooking this for a family meal. My 70ish year old mother in law and her life long best friend asked for the recipe after dinner claiming it to be the best pot roast they ever had and they are great cooks.

A unique but fairly bland flavor. My picky child complained that it didn't have enough flavor. I did add carrots and made w/beef broth.

Didn't change anything. I did use beer in place of beef broth, next time I will use a better beer. I would also add carrots to the pot along with the mushrooms. Served this with a simple salad and garlic mashed potatoes.

FANTASTIC! I have made Bavarian pot roasts for yrs. but decided to try this because it was different than my recipe. The many ingredients give it layers of flavor that are wonderful. My other half said, "HOME RUN". I added carrots and did it in the pressure cooker for 1 hr. This made a complete meal and saved time.

Our favorite way to make pot roast.

It was just too heavy a meal for us. Too many different flavors in one dish. I am not sure what to do with the leftovers because of the unique taste, it does not lend itself to any other dish. I was disappointed.

Probably the best dish on this site.. I LOVE this meal. I didn't cook it in the oven what I did was put it in the crock pot for 8 hours and then thickened the sauce by putting cornstarch in it. It was excellent over egg noodles and with carrots cooked in the crockpot together. YUM! 5 STARS!!

I have been making this pot roast for years and it is my absolute favorite. Definately a recipe to try and keep.

delicious roast..better than I thought it would be...I definitely would make this roast again!

This was very good. My husband bought the wrong roast ( a rump) but it still worked. I just cooked it longer.

Easy to make and everyone loved it even the picky eaters. Very tasty.