AI-generated image
Zwiebelfleisch
Wiener Zwiebelfleisch: Viennese beef braised with a heap of onions, vinegar and caraway
Zwiebelfleisch is an old Viennese Beisl dish, the kind of hearty lunch an inn serves on a cold weekday, with boiled or fried potatoes alongside. Thin slices of beef braise slowly with a mountain of onions, a splash of vinegar, caraway and marjoram until the onions melt into a sweet, tangy gravy. The usual mistake is browning the onions too fast: they turn bitter, so let them colour slowly to a deep gold. Pressure-cooker: 25 minutes at high pressure after browning. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of mustard stirred in at the end rounds out the sauce and brightens the vinegar.
- Total time
- 125 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ lb beef chuck or topsidecut in 1 cm slices, then in strips
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 ⅓ lb onionsthinly sliced
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 tsp medium mustard
- 1 ¾ lb potatoes, to serveboiled in their skins
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Season the 1 ¾ lb beef chuck or topside with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper and dust with the 1 tbsp plain flour.
3 minStep 2: Heat 2 tablespoons of the 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy casserole over a high heat and brown the beef quickly in two batches, 3 minutes each. Lift out.
6 minStep 3: Add the rest of the oil and the 1 ⅓ lb onions and cook over a medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often, until soft and deep golden.
20 minStep 4: Stir in the 1 tbsp tomato purée and 1 tsp sweet paprika for 1 minute, then add the 2 tbsp white wine vinegar and let it bubble for 30 seconds.
2 minStep 5: Return the beef with the 2 cups beef stock, 1 tsp caraway seeds, 1 tsp dried marjoram and 2 cloves garlic. Cover and simmer gently for 1¼ hours, until the beef is tender and the sauce is thick.
75 minStep 6: Stir in the 1 tsp medium mustard and taste for salt. Serve with the boiled 1 ¾ lb potatoes, to serve, peeled or in their skins.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 46 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does zwiebelfleisch take?
- About 125 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 105 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean
Char siu
Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.
Chinese