German Beef Soup with Dumplings

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German beef soup or Rindfleischsuppe with bone marrow dumplings, vegetables, noodles, and egg custard, so comforting and so delicious.

This German beef soup with dumplings and egg custard must be the first real German food I had when coming to Germany. It is my mother-in-law’s signature dish, I could almost say. She makes it often and always in huge pots, so that she can always bring a large pot for us and a smaller pot for my brother-in-law.

It is something we mostly have during the colder times of the year, those are the times when you don’t mind a pot of bone broth simmering for hours on the stove and when you feel like taking more time to prepare such extra things like bone marrow dumplings and egg custard squares.

Ingredients and method

Marrow bones and dumplings:

• I often make this recipe when cooking fresh beef bone broth.
• To make the broth I always use some marrow bones.
• Before I add the bones to the soup I scratch out the marrow, about 100 g/ 3.5 oz of it, and use that to make the dumplings for the soup.
• However, if you cannot find marrow bones, you can replace the marrow with the same amount of butter. The dumplings will taste a bit different, but you will still like them.
• If I know I want to make this soup when making the bone broth, I also add a larger piece of beef boiling meat to the soup, which I remove from the broth after 2 hours (before the bone broth is finished cooking), when the meat is really soft.

Egg custard:

• The German egg custard for soups (Eierstich) are actually beaten eggs, spiced with salt and nutmeg, which are cooked in a freezer bag.
• Once cooked the eggs are cut into squares and added to the soup.

Spices:

• My mother-in-law uses Maggi sauce to give the dish its typical dark color and a bit of spiciness. All German people know what that is, but I am not sure how known that is outside Germany.
• Because I don’t want to buy a bottle of Maggi just for one dish, I replace it with some soy sauce.
• It is very unorthodox (my mother-in-law would think I am crazy for using it), but I think soy sauce not only gives the soup the expected darker color but also adds some more saltiness and flavor to the soup.

Steps

The German beef soup is not difficult to make, but there are a few very different steps involved.

• Step 1: Make the broth.
• Step 2: Make the egg custard. You can make the custard in advance and keep it refrigerated in an airtight container. Only add to the pot at the end of the cooking process.
• Step 3: Make the marrow dumplings. This kind of dumplings are traditional for this soup, but if you cannot find marrow bones, you can still make delicious dumplings using butter. The procedure is the same.
• Step 4: Cook the chopped vegetables in the broth until slightly softer, about 5 minutes.
• Step 5: Add the dumplings and cook for 10-15 minutes or until they float in the pot.
• Step 6: Add the noodles. Check the noodle’s cooking time and add them while the dumplings are simmering.
• Step 7: Add the cooked chopped meat as well.
• Step 8: Add the egg custard squares during the last 2 minutes of the cooking time, so that they can get hot again.
• Step 9: Adjust the taste with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and vinegar. Start with a little and keep tasting until you get the desired taste. Sprinkle with parsley and/or chives and serve.

Tips

• Beef broth doesn’t have the intense flavor of beef bone broth, which is cooked for a whole day.
• To increase the flavor, I recommend adding a few good quality, low-sodium beef broth cubes.
• Use them to taste and adjust the taste with salt accordingly.

More traditional German soups:

German Lentil Soup

Creamy Kohlrabi Soup with Potatoes

German Cheese and Leek Soup with Ground Pork

German Savoy Cabbage Soup with Ground Meat

Kid-Friendly Soup with Potatoes and Sausages