The regional pride of Limburg: beef slowly stewed for hours in a sweet-and-sour marinade of vinegar, apple syrup and cloves, thickened with ontbijtkoek. Sweet, sour and deep all at once, the Dutch counterpart of carbonade flamande.
Limburg sour beef sauce
Sauce zoervleisch
Limburg sour beef sauce
Sauce zoervleisch
Method
01
Marinate
Marinate the beef for at least 12 hours, preferably 2 days, in the vinegar with the bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns and onions in the fridge.
02
Brown
Take the meat out of the marinade and pat dry. Brown it all over in batches in butter and set aside. Keep the marinade.
03
Braise
Fry the onions from the marinade until golden brown in the same pan, return the meat and pour in the marinade until the meat is just covered, topping up with water if needed.
04
Cook
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 2.5 to 3 hours until the meat is tender.
05
Thicken
Lift out the meat, crumble the ontbijtkoek into the sauce and stir until dissolved. Stir in the apple syrup, season with salt and pepper and reduce for another 10 minutes. Return the meat.
Tips & notes
Ontbijtkoek isn't a garnish here but a thickener: the spices in it (cinnamon, cloves) also reinforce precisely the flavours already in the marinade. Don't use a sweet cake as a substitute; it lacks that spiciness. Keeps for 3–4 days in the fridge, and freezes very well (up to 3 months); the flavour often deepens further the next day.
Chef's tip
Zoervleisch is one of the few Dutch regional stews with its own recognisable sauce, and deserves a place alongside the international classics. The combination of vinegar and ontbijtkoek is exactly the same principle as Flemish carbonade with beer and peperkoek: two neighbouring regions, almost the same recipe.
Variations
- Carbonade flamande – With beer instead of vinegar, peperkoek (Dutch gingerbread) instead of ontbijtkoek.
- With raisins – A handful of raisins for extra sweetness.
- Without ontbijtkoek – Thicken with a spoonful of potato starch for a gluten-free version.
Contains:
Gluten
Milk
Sulphites
Serve with
- Frites
- Apple sauce
- Red cabbage
- Mashed potatoes
- Vlaai (as dessert afterwards)
| Calories | 604 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 43 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39 g |
| Fat | 34 g |
| Fibre | 13 g |
Estimated values, calculated from standard nutritional values per ingredient.
