Tafelspitz

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large stockpot (10-liter minimum)
• •Fine-mesh sieve and muslin cloth
• •Sharp carving knife
• •Box grater for apples and horseradish
• •Warm serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the broth with bones

   Place the beef bones in your largest pot and cover with four liters of cold water. Cold water is everything here. It draws the proteins out of the bones slowly, which is how you get a clear, golden, honest broth. Hot water seals them in and gives you something cloudy and flat. Bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Don't walk away during this stage. Gray, foamy scum will rise to the surface in waves. Skim it off with a ladle, patiently, every few minutes, until the foam turns white and then stops coming entirely. This takes fifteen to twenty minutes.

   Gretel always said the difference between phony soup and real soup is right here, in these first twenty minutes. If you skip the skimming, no amount of time will give you a clear broth.
2. 2

   Add vegetables and aromatics

   Once the broth runs clear, add the charred onion halves, carrots, parsnip, celeriac, leek, peppercorns, allspice berries, bay leaves, parsley, and salt. The charred onion is doing two jobs: it gives the broth that deep golden color and adds a hint of smoky sweetness. Reduce the heat until the surface of the liquid barely trembles. You want lazy bubbles rising every few seconds, nothing more. Let this simmer for one hour before adding the meat.

   Char the onion cut-side down directly on a gas burner or under a very hot grill until nearly black. It should smell toasted, not burnt. This is not optional. Pale broth means a missed onion.
3. 3

   Add the beef

   Lower the Tafelspitz into the simmering broth in one piece. The liquid should cover the meat completely. If it doesn't, add a little hot water. Bring it back to that same barely trembling simmer. This is where most people go wrong. If you see rolling bubbles, your heat is too high and the beef will tighten up and go stringy on you. Turn the flame down until the pot looks almost still. The Viennese have a phrase for this kind of patience: es muss ziehen, it must draw. The broth draws flavor from the meat, the meat draws flavor from the broth. Neither one can be rushed.

   The meat goes in after the bones have simmered, not at the same time. The bones build the broth's foundation. The beef finishes it.
4. 4

   Simmer until tender

   Let the beef simmer gently for two to two and a half hours. The time depends on the size and shape of your cut. Don't trust the clock alone. After two hours, test by pushing a carving fork into the thickest part. It should slide in and out with almost no resistance, like pushing through warm butter. If there's a tug, give it another thirty minutes. When it's ready, lift the beef out carefully and set it on a warm plate. Cover loosely with foil and let it rest for ten minutes. The resting matters. It lets the fibers relax so the slices hold together instead of falling apart under the knife.

5. 5

   Make the Apfelkren

   While the beef simmers, peel and coarsely grate the apples. Work quickly because they brown fast. Toss them immediately with the lemon juice, then fold in the freshly grated horseradish, sugar, and a pinch of salt. The ratio is up to your taste and your tolerance for horseradish. Start with three tablespoons and add more until it makes your eyes water just slightly. The sauce should be sharp enough to cut through the richness of the beef. If it doesn't make you sit up a little, it needs more horseradish. Taste and adjust. This sauce is served cold, always.

   Fresh horseradish root is the only option here. The jarred stuff has vinegar and preservatives that change the flavor completely. Peel the root and grate it on the fine side of a box grater. Do it near an open window. It's stronger than onions.
6. 6

   Make the Schnittlauchsauce

   Whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, and mustard until smooth. Fold in the finely cut chives. You want a generous amount, enough that the sauce looks more green than white. Season with salt and white pepper. White pepper because you don't want black specks in this sauce. It should be cool and creamy and absolutely loaded with chives. Taste it. If you can't taste the chives, you haven't used enough. This sauce is also served cold.

7. 7

   Strain and serve the broth

   Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with muslin into a clean pot. It should be clear and deeply golden, the kind of broth you can almost see through. Discard the spent vegetables and bones. Bring it back to a gentle simmer. Ladle the hot broth into warm soup bowls over Frittaten strips, a Leberknödel, or simply on its own with a scattering of fresh chives. This is the first course. Set it on the table. Let everyone finish before the beef arrives.

8. 8

   Slice and serve the beef

   Slice the rested Tafelspitz against the grain into pieces about half a centimeter thick. The grain runs in one direction through the tri-tip, and cutting across it is what gives you tender, clean slices instead of chewy strips. Arrange the slices on a warm serving plate, slightly overlapping. Place the cold Apfelkren on one side and the cold Schnittlauchsauce on the other. A small dish of Preiselbeeren goes next to both. Serve with Rösti or plain boiled potatoes. The sauces are always cold. The Viennese want that temperature contrast against the warm meat. It's deliberate, not an oversight. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •Ask your butcher for the tri-tip cap, sometimes labeled 'Tafelspitz' at Austrian or German butchers, or 'picanha' at Brazilian ones. It's the same cut. You want a piece with a fat cap on one side. That fat renders into the broth and bastes the meat from above while it simmers. Don't trim it off before cooking.
• •The allspice berries are not optional and they're not a substitute for something else. Allspice is a quiet signature of Viennese beef broth. It sits in the background, warming everything without announcing itself. Leave it out and something will be missing that you can't name.
• •Slice only what you're serving. The leftover beef keeps far better in one piece, stored in a covered container with a ladle of broth poured over it. Sliced leftovers dry out overnight. A whole piece stays moist for two days in the fridge and reheats beautifully in warm broth.
• •Gretel always said the Apfelkren should make you blink. If you can eat it without any reaction at all, you've been too gentle with the horseradish.

Advance Preparation

• •The broth can be made one day ahead through step 2, before adding the beef, and refrigerated. The fat will solidify on top, forming a natural seal. Scrape it off before reheating and continuing with the beef.
• •Apfelkren is best made the same day but will hold for up to four hours in the fridge, covered. The apple will darken slightly. The lemon juice slows this down but won't stop it entirely.
• •Schnittlauchsauce can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated. The chive flavor actually intensifies overnight.
• •The beef itself must be cooked and served fresh. Tafelspitz reheated in broth is still good, but it's not the same as slicing it warm from the pot for the first time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 620g)