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
1

Put the pickling spices in a piece of cheese cloth, and tie it up, since this will be discarded after cooking

2

put the vinegar, water, sugar, sugar, salt, (tied up pickling spices), onions, carrots, and celery in a pot and boil together

3

let the gravy cool

4

pour the gravy over the roast, and let marinate for several days - up to a week (especially for venison)

5

preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

6

place the meat in a roasting pan, and place several pieces of bacon over the meat, and pur brine over meat and into roasting pan

7

roast the meat for about 2 hours and 15 minutes - or until it reaches a safe internal temperature

8

when the meat is completely cooked, remove from the oven, and discard the spices.

9

Remove the meat from the gravy / sauce, and set aside to rest

10

mash 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.

11

mix in 1 pint of sour cream to gravy until it is mixed in well

12

add 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)

13

slice 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

1

Put the pickling spices in a piece of cheese cloth, and tie it up, since this will be discarded after cooking

2

put the vinegar, water, sugar, sugar, salt, (tied up pickling spices), onions, carrots, and celery in a pot and boil together

3

let the gravy cool

4

pour the gravy over the roast, and let marinate for several days - up to a week (especially for venison)

5

preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

6

place the meat in a roasting pan, and place several pieces of bacon over the meat, and pur brine over meat and into roasting pan

7

roast the meat for about 2 hours and 15 minutes - or until it reaches a safe internal temperature

8

when the meat is completely cooked, remove from the oven, and discard the spices.

9

Remove the meat from the gravy / sauce, and set aside to rest

10

mash 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.

11

mix in 1 pint of sour cream to gravy until it is mixed in well

12

add 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)

13

slice the meat, and pour gravy over to serve with dumplings.

Notes

Svíčková (Pickled Beef)

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