Learn to Make German Pot Roast on a European River Cruise

A big part of any river cruise is the food, both on land and on the water

On my Rhine River cruise on the SS Antoinette, we pass from the Netherlands through Germany, France, and Switzerland

stopping in picturesque medieval villages, Alsace's famous wine region, and historic German cities

where a visit to the local browhouse is a must. Sampling culinary delights from these different destinations along our route

I also get in on the action, behind the scenes, meeting with celebrated chef Edward Blanco

This is my first German-inspired cooking class. Actually given to you by half-Spanish-Hof English guys

We're local here in the world, right? We aren't just eating what's local on excursions

Chefs make sure to also source locally. and create dishes inspired by the land, its history and traditions

We're fortunate to have sort of an established route of this solution. We negotiate yearly, monthly, with these suppliers

They come with specials, you know, regional ingredients that are sort of, you know, in season

and they sort of call us up and they liaise with our product manager to sort of say

you know, we've got 500 kilos of this beautiful apple that just come into seasons

Do you want it? We negotiate and we go, we select it

and if it's good enough for us, then obviously it's good enough for our guests. Chef Edward Blanco is teaching me to make a dish

that's traditional to the Rhineland of Germany. Sour bratton with a braised red cabbage, potato dumpling

and an apple puring. I like how you have the recipe here for me

so that I can try to help you. So this would be a traditional dish

This is very regional A sour roast in translation And the trick of this dish or the the particularity of the dish is that it requires a long time of marination It usually uses the

harder cuts, the more fibrous cuts of meat and through this sweet and sour

marination it breaks them down it makes them tender and it's a question of braising so we're

cooking the joint in liquid aromatic's liquid until it's tender soft and then we'll be offering it

today with some braised red cabbage, a little apple puree, and a potato dumping, which is also

very, very regional. Akin to a German pot roast, sour brought in secret sauce, is in a long marinating time, from

three to ten days. Its history is thought by some to date back to Julius Caesar and by others to Charlemagne

as a way to use leftover roasted meats. So a nice pino noir, regional pio noir as well

Later, you'll be speaking with a sommelier, which does his wine pairing according to our menus

As you can notice, you've got the aromatics now filtering through, you've got your vinegar, you've got the red wine, yeah

But definitely, and also an essential element, the acidity to conserve, to marinate

and to break down the fiber of the meat there, which is the most important thing, and the reason for this preparation

Looks like a meaty herbal sandbria. I think we should get a couple of glasses to taste, though

Lots of flavor. We brought the marination back out of it. That's it

Nice little facial there for you. Do you want to come make Thanksgiving for me

The finished dish looks and smells amazing. And up in the dining room, I get to taste it

Mmm. That is truly delicious. The meat is just tender enough. The sauce is salty, yet sweet

It's really good. And I can't wait to see what's on the menu next