Suure Mocke — Bernese Sour Beef Roast, Marinated Three Days
Marinate a piece of beef shoulder for three days in red wine, vinegar, onions, carrots and spices. Dry, sear, braise in the marinade for 2.5 hours in the oven. Strain the sauce and thicken with crumbled gingerbread. The marinade makes the meat tender and tangy — that is the whole point.
Suure Mocke is the Sunday dinner that starts on Thursday: the meat sits three days in its marinade, and that is exactly why a cheap piece of shoulder ends up as tender as fillet. On Sunday itself there is almost nothing left to do — sear, into the oven, wait. The gingerbread sauce is the part you have to have tried once.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg Beef shoulder (in one piece)
Marinade
- 5 dl Red wine
- 1½ dl Red wine vinegar
- 2 pieces Onions
- 2 pieces Carrots
- 2 pieces Bay leaves
- 6 pieces Juniper berries
- 4 pieces Cloves
- 1 tsp Peppercorns
- 2 tbsp Clarified butter
- 1 tbsp Tomato purée
- 2 dl Beef stock
- 2 pieces Gingerbread (about 60 g, crumbled)
- 1 dl Double cream
- 1½ tsp Salt
- Pepper
Method
- 1
Marinate (3 days ahead)
Roughly chop the onions and carrots and mix with the wine, vinegar and spices in a bowl. Add the meat — it must be submerged. Cover and refrigerate for three days, turning once a day.
- 2
Sear
Take the meat out of the marinade, pat thoroughly dry, salt and pepper. Strain the marinade, keeping both vegetables and liquid. Heat the clarified butter in a casserole until very hot and brown the meat all over for 8 minutes.
- 3
Braise
Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Remove the meat, fry the marinade vegetables in the casserole for 5 minutes, add the tomato purée briefly. Deglaze with the marinade liquid and stock, return the meat. Braise covered for 2.5 hours, turning halfway.
- 4
Sauce
Remove the meat and keep warm in foil. Press the sauce through a sieve into a pan, stir in the gingerbread and simmer 5 minutes until it thickens. Add the cream and season — it should be sweet-sour and full-flavoured.
- 5
Serve
Slice the meat across the grain into finger-thick slices and pour over the sauce. Mash or Chnöpfli and carrots alongside.
Tips
- Suure Mocke is better reheated than fresh. Cook on Saturday, warm slowly in the sauce on Sunday — then Sunday is free.
- Three days of marinating is the minimum, five is better. Under two days and the meat stays firm and only tastes sour on the outside.
- The casserole must not be too big, or the liquid evaporates and the meat braises dry. It should sit half-submerged in the sauce.
What can I substitute?
Any braising cut with a little fat works. Anything too lean, like rump, turns dry despite the marinade.
Thickens the same way and comes close in flavour. Gingerbread is in Migros and Coop from October; otherwise use Biberli or Basler Läckerli.
Alcohol-free, but the vinegar then has to supply all the acidity — that is what tenderises the meat.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Suure Mocke need to marinate so long?
The acidity of wine and vinegar loosens the shoulder's connective tissue — which is why a cheap, firm cut ends up tender. That takes time, at least three days. Meanwhile the spice flavour reaches the centre.
What is the difference between Suure Mocke and Sauerbraten?
Suure Mocke is the Bernese name for the same idea. Rhenish Sauerbraten often has raisins in the sauce, the Bernese one does not — but it uses gingerbread to thicken and cream. In Bern it comes with mash.
Can I freeze Suure Mocke?
Yes, sliced with the sauce, for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge and warm slowly in the sauce. The dish loses nothing.
How much does Suure Mocke cost per person?
About 6 CHF per person with Swiss beef shoulder — braising meat costs half what a prime roast does, and after three days of marinating nobody notices the difference.
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