Rump Roast Braised in Ale

Family Meal, Rewarms Well, Great Leftovers

SERVES: 6 to 8

This slightly sweet pot roast is inspired by both the classic Belgian beef carbonnade and the German pot roast called sauerbraten. It’s best served with a full-flavored dark beer, such as porter or German bock. Choose a rump roast with as much marbling as you can find.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR HERB AND DRY MUSTARD RUB

• • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder (I use Colman’s)
  • 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 4-pound rump roast, tied

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

• • 3 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼-inch-wide pieces
  • 2 cups homemade beef stock  or canned low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed
  • 1 12-ounce bottle porter or bock beer
  • 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar, or more to taste
  • 6 pitted prunes
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 6 cups thinly sliced onions (2½-3 pounds)
  • 8 garlic cloves
  • 2 cups peeled carrot chunks
  • 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons coarse-grain mustard
  • 1 tablespoon malt vinegar, or more to taste
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   2. Rub: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and rub all over the roast. If there’s extra rub, save it to add to the braising sauce.
   3. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and fry until brown. Remove from the pot, drain on paper towels, and set aside. Add the roast to the pot and sear for 4 to 5 minutes on one side, or until nicely browned. Flip over the meat and sear for 4 to 5 minutes more, or until the other side is nicely browned. Remove the meat and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of fat.
   4. Pour the stock into the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the beer, brown sugar, and any extra rub. Return the meat to the pot, fat side up, and scatter the reserved bacon, the prunes, caraway, bay leaves, onions, and garlic over it. Cover the pot and bake for 1 hour. Remove the lid and turn over the roast so that the onions fall into the liquid. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes more, stirring the onions and adding stock or water if it evaporates.
   5. Cover and bake for 30 minutes more. Lift up the meat and add the carrots and mushrooms to the liquid in the pot. Cover and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until the meat and carrots are tender. (You can refrigerate the meat in the sauce overnight. The next day, remove the meat and congealed fat. Finish the sauce by adding the mustard and vinegar. Slice the cold meat and rewarm in the sauce.)
   6. To finish the sauce, remove the solids from the pot and keep warm, covered with aluminum foil. Discard the bay leaves. Remove any fat from the surface of the sauce and, if desired, boil the sauce to concentrate it. Whisk in the mustard and vinegar and season to taste with salt, pepper, additional vinegar, and/or brown sugar. To serve, remove the twine and slice the meat, then spoon the sauce, prunes, and vegetables over.

ALTERNATIVE CUTS:

• Brisket (increase the cooking time by 1 hour). Sirloin tip, eye of round,and bottom round—look for roasts with some marbling. Any rolled and tied roast from the chuck—cross-rib works well, as does chuck-eye roast.

COOK’S NOTES:

• If you’re not a beer drinker, this dish can be made with the same amount of a slightly sweet Riesling.
• If you don’t have malt vinegar, use cider vinegar.
• To add more body to the sauce, puree all the prunes and ½ cup of the cooked onions in a food processor and add back into the sauce.

LEFTOVERS:

• For a real German treat, serve slices of rewarmed roast over egg noodles tossed with some sauce, carrots, and mushrooms and garnished with a dollop of sour cream.
• Leftovers make great Reuben-type sandwiches: Cook some sauerkraut in the leftover braising sauce. Slather toasted rye bread with mustard, then layer on rewarmed slices of meat, some sauerkraut, and slices of Swiss cheese.