Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Tafelspitz
Viennese boiled beef gently simmered with root vegetables into a clear broth, sliced and served with apple-horseradish and chive sauces.
Austrian · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 180 min
~894 cal · 70g protein · 43g carbs · 47g fat · 6g fiber · 9g sugars · 21g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Tafelspitz is the great classic of Viennese cuisine and, unlike Schnitzel or Apfelstrudel, one that genuinely originates in Vienna. It takes its name from a specific cut, the triangular tip of the rump with a cap of fat, and its fame is tied to Emperor Franz Joseph I, who was famously fond of it.
The method is patient and gentle: the beef, often with marrow bones, is simmered slowly, never at a hard boil, and skimmed for a clear broth. Root vegetables, carrots, celeriac, parsley root, leek and onion, are added later so they flavour the broth without turning it too sweet. The onion is charred cut-side down first to give the broth colour and depth. The meat is cooked until tender but still sliceable, never falling apart.
It is traditionally served in two acts: the clear broth first, then the sliced beef with its vegetables, roast potatoes and creamed spinach. Just as defining are the cold sauces on the table, an Apfelkren of grated apple and horseradish, and a creamy chive sauce, which load each bite with brightness and richness.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1.5 kg beef (tafelspitz rump cap, or top round/silverside)
2 beef marrow bones
2 onions, halved (skin on)
3 carrots
1 parsley root
150 g celeriac
1 leek
4 garlic cloves
3 bay, 1 tsp peppercorns, 1 tsp juniper bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper berries, lovage
1 Granny Smith apple, grated (for the Apfelkren)
3 tbsp fresh horseradish, grated (for the Apfelkren)
2 tsp lemon juice (for the Apfelkren)
150 ml sour cream (for the chive sauce)
3 tbsp chives, chopped (for the chive sauce)
for 6 roast potatoes, to serve
to taste coarse salt
Instructions
1
Char the halved onions cut-side down in a dry pan until dark; this deepens the broth’s colour and flavour. Blanch the marrow bones and rinse.
2
Put the beef and bones in a large pot, cover with cold water, add the charred onions, garlic, peppercorns, juniper, bay and lovage, and bring gently to a bare simmer. Do not let it boil.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep it just below a simmer and skim the foam for a clear broth; a hard boil turns it cloudy.
3
Simmer very gently for 2.5-3.5 hours until the beef is tender but still sliceable. Add the carrots, parsley root, celeriac and leek for the last 45-60 minutes.
4
For the Apfelkren, mix the grated apple, horseradish, lemon juice and a little salt. For the chive sauce, stir the chives into the sour cream and season.
5
Strain the broth and season it. Slice the beef against the grain.
6
Serve the clear broth first, then the sliced beef moistened with broth, with the vegetables, roast potatoes, and both sauces on the table.
Viennese classic, popularised under Emperor Franz Joseph I.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Vienna. Pastry here is a trade with its own vocabulary. Strudel dough is stretched by hand until print can be read through it, the coffee list is a set of ratios rather than flavours, and the question of who could call their Sachertorte the original went through the Austrian courts for the best part of thirty years.
🗺️
Austria. Two Viennese facts worth having straight. The city's coffee house culture was inscribed by UNESCO in 2011, listing the newspapers, the marble tables and the waiter as much as the coffee. And Wiener Schnitzel is legally veal in Austria; a pork one has to be sold under a different name. The story that Radetzky brought the dish back from Milan is a twentieth-century invention.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Austria
Wiener SchnitzelVienna’s golden icon: a thin cutlet in a puffed, wavy breadcrumb crust, fried in butter and finished with lemon.
Wiener FrühstückA Viennese breakfast of a crusty Kaisersemmel, soft-boiled egg, butter, jam, and a milky Melange.
FrittatensuppeClear beef broth poured over ribbons of sliced savory pancake, a classic Viennese starter and light lunch.
Browse all Austria recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Oven.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Austria meal
KaiserschmarrnDessert
FrittatensuppeLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
RomazavaMadagascar
Pyongyang NaengmyeonNorth Korea
Chorba FrikAlgeria
Olla de CarneCosta Rica
Sopa de PataEl Salvador
Bún Bò HuếVietnam
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Tafelspitz?
Viennese boiled beef gently simmered with root vegetables into a clear broth, sliced and served with apple-horseradish and chive sauces.
Where does Tafelspitz come from?
Tafelspitz is a Austrian dish from Vienna, Austria.
Can Tafelspitz be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tafelspitz recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tafelspitz safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tafelspitz take to make?
About 210 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 180 minutes cooking), serving 6.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.