Eat the Match: Germany vs Ivory Coast

Sauerbraten and Kedjenou.

Group E · Toronto · June 20, 2026 · Iris

Germany: Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten is Germany's national pot roast — beef marinated for several days in a spiced vinegar marinade, then braised in the same marinade until tender, with the sauce finished with gingersnap cookies that thicken it and add a specific sweetness. It is the result of medieval preservation technique applied to beef, and it produces something more complex than any conventional roast.

Ingredients

• 1.2kg beef top round or rump, tied
• For the marinade: 250ml red wine vinegar, 250ml red wine, 250ml water, 1 white onion (sliced), 2 bay leaves, 6 peppercorns, 4 cloves, 1 tsp juniper berries, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 8 gingersnap cookies, crushed
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Combine marinade ingredients and bring to a boil. Cool completely. Submerge beef in marinade, refrigerate covered for 3 days, turning twice daily.
2. Remove beef (reserve marinade), pat dry, season with salt and pepper. Brown in oil in a Dutch oven on all sides. Add strained marinade. Bring to boil, reduce to low simmer, cover, cook 2.5 hours until very tender.
3. Remove beef. Strain liquid into a pot, add crushed gingersnaps, simmer until thickened. Slice beef and serve with the sauce, red cabbage, and bread dumplings or potato.

Ivory Coast: Kedjenou chicken

Kedjenou is an Ivorian stew cooked in a sealed clay pot — chicken and vegetables with chilies, tomatoes, and a small amount of water, sealed and shaken periodically rather than stirred, which produces very tender meat in a concentrated broth with no added fat. The Dutch oven adaptation requires the same seal-and-shake approach.

Ingredients

• 1.2kg bone-in chicken pieces
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 scotch bonnet, whole
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 100ml water
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy Dutch oven. Season well. Cover tightly and cook over the lowest possible heat — not a simmer, barely a murmur — for 1 hour.
2. Every 15 minutes, pick up the pot with both hands and give it a firm, circular shake (do not stir — the sealed cooking is the technique). The chicken will release liquid and cook entirely in its own steam and juices.
3. Serve in the pot with white rice alongside.