Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Zoervleisj Sevy's Daily
Print Recipe

Zoervleisj

The sweet smell alone is enough to make your mouth water: meat simmered for hours, filling the kitchen with the warm aroma of spices. This is a true classic from my childhood best enjoyed at your grandmother’s house, alongside homemade Belgian-style fries with too much Mayonese or a crusty baguette.
For me, it brings back vivid memories of trips to the snackbar before the World-Famous VVV Venlo played, ordering a Frietje Alá: Zoervleisj topped with two frikandellen, fries, curry sauce, mayonnaise, and a boat-load of finely diced onion all washed down with a good sip or two of Brand beer.
Originally, this dish was made with horse meat, but today we’ll use beef, my favourite horse butcher sadly closed last month. If you’re lucky enough to find horse meat, definitely go for it!
I promise it does not disappoint!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Marinating Time1 day
Total Time3 hours 15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Servings: 6

Equipment

  • 1 Large sized mixing bowl
  • 1 Large Casserole pot
  • 1 Chef Knife
  • 2 Cutting Board
  • 1 Wooden Spoon (for Stirring)

Ingredients

Ingredients needed to marinade

  • 1 kg beef or horse meat if available
  • 2 large onions finely sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 300 ml Vinagre
  • 300 ml Water
  • 10 Black pepper corns
  • 10 Juniper Berries
  • 5 Cloves
  • 1/2 Cinnamon Stick (Optional)
  • 1 Star Anis Pod
  • 1/2 Crushed Morita Chile (de-seeded) (Optional but gives some Mexican Heat)
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil or butter
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 – 4 slices Ontbijtkoek Alternatively peperkoek or 6-7 Speculaas cookies
  • 1 -3 Bay leaves (optional but traditional)

Instructions

Marinate the meat (12–24 hours)

  • Place the cubed meat in a large bowl or container.
  • Add sliced onions, all whole spices, garlic, vinegar, and water.
  • Make sure the beef is fully covered by the marinade, cover, and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. (do not mix too well, we will need to split the meat and onions later)
  • This tenderizes the meat and builds the deep, classic sweet-sour flavour.

Drain and dry the meat

  • Remove the meat from the marinade, but keep the marinade (including onions!).
  • Pat the meat very dry with paper towels, this ensures proper browning.

Brown the meat

  • Heat oil or butter in a large Dutch oven.
  • Brown the meat in batches until well-coloured on all sides.
  • Remove each batch to a plate before adding the next.

Sauté the onions

  • In the same pot, add the onions from the marinade.
  • Cook them down until soft and slightly golden, scraping up browned bits for flavour.

Add back the meat and the marinade

  • Return all browned meat to the pot.
  • Pour in the reserved marinade (liquid + spices).
  • This replaces any need for stock it is the sauce base.
  • Bring to a gentle simmer.

Slow simmer (2.5–3 hours)

  • Cover the pot and let it simmer on low.
  • Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
  • Cook until the meat falls apart and the liquid reduces slightly.

Thicken with peperkoek

  • Crumble peperkoek (or ontbijtkoek/speculaas) directly into the stew.
  • Stir and let it melt, it will thicken the sauce naturally and add the characteristic sweetness.
  • Cook another 15–20 minutes to fully incorporate.

Taste & adjust

  • Add salt if needed.
  • If the sauce is too sharp, a bit more peperkoek balances it.
  • If it’s too sweet, add a splash of vinegar.

Notes

Final Notes & How I Feel About This Dish

Zoerrvleisj isn’t just a recipe for me, it’s warmth, childhood, and the sound of my aroma in my grandmother’s house when she made this, the slowness of it. Every time this stew simmers away, the house fills with that same sweet-sour aroma and for a moment, life feels wonderfully slow again. This dish comes from a place of memory, simplicity, and love… and I hope it brings a little of that into your home as well.

If You Can’t Find Peperkoek or Speculaas (International Alternatives)

Peperkoek and speculaas are very Dutch soft gingerbread-like cakes that melt into the stew and thicken it while adding warmth and sweetness. If you can’t find them where you live, here are reliable substitutes:

Best Alternatives Abroad:

  • Soft gingerbread loaf (the type sold around Christmas)
  • German “Honigkuchen” or “Lebkuchen” (without chocolate coating)
  • British ginger cake / Jamaican ginger cake
  • American soft gingerbread cake 

If you only have cookies

Use one of the following, crushed:
  • Gingersnaps
  • Speculoos / Biscoff cookies
  • German Spekulatius cookies
They won’t melt the same way as peperkoek, but they thicken beautifully and give the stew the right flavour profile.

Emergency substitution:

No gingerbread at all?
Mix this into the stew during the last 20 minutes:
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp apple butter or apple sauce
  • 1–2 tbsp of a thick slice of bread, torn
It’s not 100% traditional, but it gets you surprisingly close.