This one is fun... handed down through the generations, and never REALLY written down. a pinch of this, a dash of that, salt to taste.... so I'm working on documenting it here. I have included additional family recipes at the bottom of the recipe as i find them. The one documented here is my Mom's mother's recipe.
1 cup vinegar
3 cups water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp salt
3 tbsp pickling spices (including peppercorns and bay leaves)
2 small onions
several cut up carrots (3-4)
several cut up stalks of celery (2 - 3)
1 beef or venison roast (sirloin works well)
several pieces of bacon (uncooked) - I'd go as much as a half package for a decent sized roast
1 pt sour cream
flour (used to thicken gravy) - less than a cup - see instructions
1Put the pickling spices in a piece of cheese cloth, and tie it up, since this will be discarded after cooking
2put the vinegar, water, sugar, sugar, salt, (tied up pickling spices), onions, carrots, and celery in a pot and boil together
4pour the gravy over the roast, and let marinate for several days - up to a week (especially for venison)
5preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
6place the meat in a roasting pan, and place several pieces of bacon over the meat, and pur brine over meat and into roasting pan
7roast the meat for about 2 hours and 15 minutes - or until it reaches a safe internal temperature
8when the meat is completely cooked, remove from the oven, and discard the spices.
9Remove the meat from the gravy / sauce, and set aside to rest
10mash the vegetables down into the gravy (a blender or food processor might work well here), then place in a sauce pan over low heat. Note: This is the Chicago bohemian variant. Some versions do not mash the vegetables into the gravy, but opt to serve them on the side. Note 2: I usually throw most of the celery out, as it just turns to mush, and I don't like celery. It's up to your taste.
11mix in 1 pint of sour cream to gravy until it is mixed in well
12add flour to the gravy to thicken it - 1/4 - 1/3 cup of flour should do it, but add and stir, thickening to your taste. (for reference, I used ~3/4 cup on a double batch to get the consistency I liked)
13slice the meat, and pour gravy over to serve with dumplings.
Ingredients
1 cup vinegar
3 cups water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp salt
3 tbsp pickling spices (including peppercorns and bay leaves)
2 small onions
several cut up carrots (3-4)
several cut up stalks of celery (2 - 3)
1 beef or venison roast (sirloin works well)
several pieces of bacon (uncooked) - I'd go as much as a half package for a decent sized roast
1 pt sour cream
flour (used to thicken gravy) - less than a cup - see instructions
Directions
1Put the pickling spices in a piece of cheese cloth, and tie it up, since this will be discarded after cooking
2put the vinegar, water, sugar, sugar, salt, (tied up pickling spices), onions, carrots, and celery in a pot and boil together
4pour the gravy over the roast, and let marinate for several days - up to a week (especially for venison)
5preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
6place the meat in a roasting pan, and place several pieces of bacon over the meat, and pur brine over meat and into roasting pan
7roast the meat for about 2 hours and 15 minutes - or until it reaches a safe internal temperature
8when the meat is completely cooked, remove from the oven, and discard the spices.
9Remove the meat from the gravy / sauce, and set aside to rest
10mash the vegetables down into the gravy (a blender or food processor might work well here), then place in a sauce pan over low heat. Note: This is the Chicago bohemian variant. Some versions do not mash the vegetables into the gravy, but opt to serve them on the side. Note 2: I usually throw most of the celery out, as it just turns to mush, and I don't like celery. It's up to your taste.
11mix in 1 pint of sour cream to gravy until it is mixed in well
12add flour to the gravy to thicken it - 1/4 - 1/3 cup of flour should do it, but add and stir, thickening to your taste. (for reference, I used ~3/4 cup on a double batch to get the consistency I liked)
13slice the meat, and pour gravy over to serve with dumplings.
Svíčková (“Tenderloin” or “Tenderloin in Cream Sauce”)
