Svíčková na smetaně

Traditional Czech sauce made from root vegetables and heavy cream. Served with a beef slice and bread dumplings.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Czech

Keyword Czech Sauce, svíčková

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 2 30

Total Time 3

Servings people

Calories 833kcal

Cut fat bacon into ⅓ inch thick and about 4 inch long pieces and put them into a freezer for 30 minutes to harden them.
Use a thin knife with a long edge and make some holes into the meat.
Stick your index finger inside each hole and wiggle it so the hole enlarges.
You can make the holes into both sides of the beef.
Once you have the holes ready, press in stripes of fat bacon.
For a better shape, you can tie the irregular-shaped meat with a cooking string (kitchen twine).
After the meat is larded (and tied if you tied it), salt and pepper it properly from all sides.

Peel the carrot, parsley root, and celeriac, dice into ½ inch pieces.
Peel onions and chop them roughly. Peel an apple and dice it.
If possible, tie the spices tightly in a clean canvas; you will place the canvas with spices into a pot later.

In a large heavy pot, melt lard over higher heat and sear the beef from all sides until golden brown. Remove the browned meat and set it aside.

Use the same pot which we used to prepare the meat. Reduce temperature to medium heat, add butter and any leftover fat bacon from larding.
Add diced carrots, parsley root, and celeriac. Cook until slightly golden, stirring occasionally.
Throw chopped onions to vegetables and cook until lightly golden. Add a diced apple and cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add sugar, mix, and let it melt while stirring.
Pour in vinegar, mix, and let vinegar evaporate, so that there are only vegetables and some fat on the bottom of the pot.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt and mix it.

Return the browned beef to a pot, pour over hot water until you have the meat almost submerged.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt and spices.
Count the number of bay leaves if you add them to the pot freely! You have to remove them all later before the final mixing of svíčková sauce.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a minimum. Cover with a lid and allow it to simmer for 2,5 hours.
Remove the spices, especially all bay leaves. Remove ¼ of vegetables and discard them. If you left all the vegetables in the sauce, it would taste too much like the vegetables, and it would be too dense.
Take out the beef and keep it in a warm place.

In a pan, melt butter on medium heat.
Add flour, frequently mix until lightly golden.
Get a sieve, put roux in it, submerge into the svíčková and press roux through the sieve. Continuously mix the roux in the sauce.
Bring the pot back on a stove, let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Stir occasionally because the roux tends to sit down and stick to the bottom of the pot. The roux loses its floury taste after about 15 minutes of simmering. It thickens the sauce, whose taste will be very smooth.

Add heavy cream into sauce; no more cooking!
Mix everything with an immersion blender and strain the sauce in a clean pot. Season with lemon juice and salt to your liking.
Serve with bread dumplings and a slice of beef.

Makes 6 portions.
You can also garnish the svíčková with a slice of lemon, a whipped cream scoop, and a spoon of canned cranberries. This type of garnishing is called “terčík” in Czech.
On the second day, svíčková tastes even better. It’s thicker. That’s why you add some water while heating up the sauce, which will help it return to its regular creamy texture.
Don’t use any cream containing less than 30 % fat. Low-fat creams can cause the sauce to start curdling.
You must remove all bay leaves before mixing svíčková for the final time. The pieces of bay leaves are inedible and can taint the entire meal, especially if you don’t strain the svíčková over a sieve.