We do not ever use ginger snaps and anything else you may find that sounds American, so the ones I've found are not anywhere near traditional German food.

This is for the pure German Sauerbraten from Koln, uninfluenced and had not changed for thousands of years.

Wash and dry beef, place in large cook pot or bowl; chop onion and place all other ingredients in bowl to marinate (except for the sour cream and corn flour).

Place in cupboard to marinate, turning every day to allow all of the meat to become infused with spices. Marinating should be allowed to take place over 4-7 days. Remove meat from the marinade and place in pre-heated oven at 180°C with a small amount of water to prevent burning and sticking.

Dook until done to your liking. Mix corn flour and water to make paste for gravy.

Pour meat juices from pan and marinade into saucepan, bring to the boil and add corn flour to thicken, Maggi seasoning to taste.

Finally add sour cream to make gravy creamy and serve wtih dumplings and vegetables.

Cook's Note: To modernize this recipe, marinate meat in refrigerator and discard any used marinade - use only fresh marinade in the gravy preparation.

Submitted by: vanessa