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Tafelspitz served with potatoes and apple horseradish
Authentic Austrian Tafelspitz with beef and vegetables

Tafelspitz

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Main Courses Soups
Tafelspitz is more than a dish: it's an institution. Emperor Franz Joseph's favourite, the pinnacle of Viennese cuisine. The name refers to the tapered end of the rump (topside), which is the noblest boiling cut. The secret is that the meat isn't boiled into tastelessness in water, but 'poached' (simmered) in a rich, vegetable, spicy broth, so both meat and soup become phenomenal. Two courses in one: first the soup, then the meat with horseradish.
🕒 Prep Time 30 mins
🍳 Cook Time 3 hrs
⌛ Total Time 3 hrs 30 mins
🍽️ Servings 6 servings
🔥 Calories 650 kcal
🌍 Cuisine Austrian

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Large pot (8-10 litres): So meat fits comfortably.
  • Sieve and ladle: For clear soup.

Allergen Information

⚠️ Celery

Instructions

1 ✓

Wash onion but leave skin on. Cut in half, and char cut side in a dry pan until black.

Tip: Onion skin and burnt surface give beautiful golden brown colour to soup.
2 ✓

Boil water in large pot. Add meat. Wait until it boils again, skim off grey foam.

Tip: Foam is coagulated protein. If not skimmed, soup becomes cloudy. Only season after skimming!
3 ✓

Add spices (pepper, bay, salt) and charred onion. Reduce heat to minimum so water just moves (simmers). Cook for 2-2.5 hours.

Tip: If boiling hard, meat falls apart and becomes dry. Gentle heat (approx 90°C) keeps it juicy.
4 ✓

Peel vegetables. When meat starts softening (fork test), add carrots, parsnips, celeriac, and leek. Cook further 30-40 minutes until done.

Tip: Vegetables need less time than meat. If added at once, they boil to mush.
5 ✓

Remove meat, rest in a ladleful of soup until serving so it doesn't dry out.

Tip: Meat surface turns grey and dries in seconds in air.
6 ✓

Slice meat across the grain into finger-thick slices.

Tip: Cutting with grain makes even softest meat chewy.
7 ✓

Serve meat with boiled vegetables, poured over with soup, offering boiled potatoes, chives, and apple horseradish on the side.

Tip: Classic Viennese service includes 'Schnittlauchsauce' (chive sauce) too.

Recipe FAQ

What do I put the meat in: cold or hot water?
That's the big question! If you want strong soup, cold. If juicy meat (Tafelspitz), put into boiling water to seal outer pores quickly.

Ingredients

  • 2 kg Beef Rump Cap / Topside (Tafelspitz, with fat layer)
  • 3 l Water (or beef stock)
  • 3 whole Carrots
  • 2 whole Parsnips
  • 0.5 whole Celeriac
  • 1 stick Leek
  • 1 whole Onion (with skin)
  • 2 whole Bay leaves
  • 10 whole Black peppercorns
  • 1 tbsp Salt
  • 1 bunch Parsley and Lovage
  • 1 bunch Chives (for serving)
  • 200 g Apple Horseradish (side)
  • 800 g Boiled potatoes (side)