Cider Sauces are delicious and easy for a perfect fall treat, especially with traditional German sides like bread dumplings (recipe coming soon)
By Michaele Garcia
October 18, 2021
On a recent trip to Upstate New York I was lucky to get some venison from a local hunter and I also bought some apple cider at a local cidery (when I talk about cider in this blog, I mean a still dry alcoholic version, not the sweet juice). The cooler weather up north and the beautiful fall colors invited me to try some new recipes with local delicacies. These dishes with cider sauces are so delicious that I will also make them in Miami in the winter when we get an occasional cold front. Fortunately, even in the South we can get frozen venison and New York ciders. You can also use any other meats, preferably 100% grass-fed beef or lamb. Pork is also often paired with apples and apple cider and a lean pork loin can be a good alternative. As always, I am incorporating healthier ingredients and rather than using cream and white flour in sauces I prefer to blend vegetables to obtain a creamy sauce without the cholesterol and fat. The result is tasty, but it will not have the rich saturated fat taste of the traditional German cream sauces which I used as inspiration for these dishes.
In this blog you will find recipes for
- Cider glazed meatballs
- Venison steaks in cider reduction
- Venison goulash in cider sauce
- Mulled cider
Apple Cider Glazed Meatballs
Here I use my go-to recipe for ground meat, but since venison tends to be very lean it needs extra fat for those juicy meatballs to come out just perfectly. For this reason I use more olive oil to saute the onions and might add a bit more to the meat mix if it seems a bit too dry. When researching the venison recipes I came upon one that uses finely grated frozen butter, but the olive oil works just as well and is much healthier.
Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
- 1 lb ground venison or other meat
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh breadcrumbs (2 slices of sourdough bread finely chopped)
- 1 organic egg
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the cider glaze:
- ½ cup still apple cider
- ½ cup chicken bone broth
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 small apple, finely grated
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Saute onion over medium to high heat in olive oil until translucent. If using venison, add another tablespoon of olive oil, which makes the meatballs more tender. Add all other ingredients and mix well with your hands. Form table tennis sized balls with moist hands and fry in olive oil, turning when brown on one side, until desired doneness (I like it medium), about 5 minutes.
In a saucepan saute the onion until translucent. Add to a blender with remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour over the meatballs and heat thoroughly.
Venison Steak with Apple Cider Reduction
A tender juicy venison steak is a special treat and a tablespoon of tart lingonberry preserves is traditional in Germany to complement the earthy taste of the meat. If you don’t mind a bit of extra sugar, try this heavenly combination. Many supermarkets and also Ikea carry it and I often use a little bit to go along an occasional meat dish.
Ingredients:
- 4 venison or 100% grass-fed beef steaks
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the cider reduction:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ onion, minced
- ½ cup still apple cider (or red wine)
- ½ cup beef bone broth (or chicken)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to finish sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Season the steaks with salt and pepper and fry in avocado oil until desired doneness. The more done the steak, the less it will spring back when touched with a finger. Remove the steaks from the pan and keep warm in aluminum foil. Do not overcook because the steaks will keep on cooking in the foil.
To make the reduction, using the same pan, add the olive oil and saute the onion until translucent, then add the cider, bone broth and rosemary and reduce by half over medium to high heat. Strain the sauce, whisk in the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Variation: Instead of straining the sauce as in a traditional reduction, I prefer to put the sauce with the onions and rosemary in my bullet and blend until creamy. The sauce gets thicker and has a more intense taste.
Venison Goulash in Cider Sauce
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs venison or other meat, cubed (about ½ to 1 inch)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- ½ teaspoon dried or 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 ½ cups dry still apple cider
- 1 ½ cups beef or chicken bone broth
- 1 whole medium or half large onion, peeled
- 1 whole red bell pepper, stem and seeds cut out
- 1 cup spinach
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ cup of bone broth to finish sauce
Directions:
Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown in the avocado oil on all sides. Add the onion and keep sauteing until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add the seasoning, cider and bone broth. Stuff the spinach and garlic into the bell pepper and carefully place the whole onion and stuffed bell pepper into the pot to the side of the meat.
Cook for approximately 1 ½ hours. Check if the meat is tender. If not, keep on simmering for another half hour. Pour the remaining half cup of bone broth in a blender and carefully remove the stuffed bell pepper and whole onion from the pot and add to the blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add to the pot with the goulash and stir in well. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
You can add other ingredients like mushrooms or diced red bell peppers if you like more texture in your sauce. Add those with the minced onion before you add the garlic.
Other Types of Meat
This recipe also works for any roast. My favorite way of making a roast is in the slow cooker. You can use beef, lamb, pork, or, of course, venison. The rest of the ingredients and the way to make the sauce are the same. Cooking time in the slow cooker depends on the type of meat you use and the size of the roast. Average size roasts range from 6 hours for pork loin to 8 hours for beef and lamb.
I am working on healthier types of German style side dishes like our famous Spӓtzle and dumplings and better-for-you mashed potatoes (I like to make them with broth and goat cheese, but still have to write down the measurements). Look out for a blog on those, which should be coming up shortly.
Apple Cider
If you are lucky enough to live or travel near a cidery, go visit. Most have cider tastings paired with some great locally sourced foods. Like wine, ciders range from very dry to sweet with a similar alcohol content. And like with wine you can make a warming glass of mulled cider for a cold fall or winter night.
Mulled Cider
Mulled red wine is a staple in winter in Germany. When visiting one of the famous Christmas markets, the smell of mulled wine, combined with roasted nuts and other favorites is mesmerizing. During a trip to the New York state Finger Lakes region in the winter, I had bought cider from the region and coming home on a snowy and cold evening decided to try making a mulled cider and this is now my favorite. I prefer a dry cider, similar to the red wine used traditionally in Germany to which I add sweetener. Finger Lakes ciders are available in many liquor stores. My favorite cidery, South Hill Cider (www.southhillcider.com) has a cider club, where you will get a selection of ciders four times a year (www.southhillcider.com/cider-club)
Ingredients:
- 750 ml (3 cups) dry apple cider
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 4 orange slices
- ¼ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- ¼ cup stevia or monk fruit sweetener
Directions:
Combine all ingredients (break cinnamon stick in halves) in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. All ingredients are to taste. You can make it sweeter or add ingredients like star anise (I am not a fan) or cardamom pods.
I will leave you with an impression of a recent fall event at South Hill Cider which was going on when I visited last time to buy a selection of ciders to take back home
As always: Happy cooking! 🙂
You can find more recipes on my blog www.foodiewithpurpose.com