German Beef Rouladen is a unique and delicious preparation of beef. This very classic and traditional German dish; a German meat roulade consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles wrapped in thinly sliced sirloin beef steak. The roulades are seared quickly and then slowly braised until the meat is fork tender. They are traditionally served with mashed potatoes and red cabbage. Roasted winter vegetables are another common side dish. The gravy is an absolute requirement to round off the dish!
Ingredients
3 lbs inside-round steak
or 12 thin slices scaloppini
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp caraway seeds
2 tbsp mustard (Dijon or ballpark)
6 slices slab bacon/halved
2 onions, minced
6-8 garlic pickles, ¼’d
1 bouillon cube, beef
1 tbsp Worchester sauce
1 cup Potato cooking liquid
¾ cups water
½ cup grease/oil
Slurry
1 tbsp cornstarch
¾ cups water
Preparation
1. Combine salt, pepper and caraway seeds in a small ramekin. Lay out thinly sliced round steak on a wooden cutting board. Sprinkle spices from ramekin on steaks evenly. Spread one side of each piece of meat with ½ tbsp of mustard. Place a half-slice of bacon on each piece of steak lengthwise. Lay pickles width-wise, then spoon on chopped onions assembly-line style. Then, roll up steaks jelly-roll style and secure them with toothpicks.
2. In a large 10” skillet with lid, heat oil and place steak rolls into pan. Brown all sides, turning carefully. Then add ¾ cup water, bouillon cube and Worchester sauce. Lively simmer for 40-45 minutes or longer – until meat is tender (not pink). Remove beef roulades with tongs onto a plate and gently remove toothpicks or *thread.
3. Gravy – Prepare a slurry with water and cornstarch. Pour into pan and deglaze to remove brown bits and whisk until gravy is glossy and smooth. Strain the gravy through a fine sieve. Finally, return beef roulades and gravy to saucepan. Gently swirl rolls to coat each and reheat roulades in the gravy. Adjust seasonings to taste.
4. CHEF’S HINT: Rouladen is secured with either thread (traditional) or a party toothpick (modern) to hold the roll together.
5. CHEF’S HINT: The braising can take up to one hour or more, depending on the meat and preferences.
6. SERVING SUGGESTION: Fluffy mashed potatoes with sides of buttered carrots, green beans and or asparagus. Hot German Potato Salad is also a classic side.
7. I got this recipe above from an amazing cookbook called “Helen’s Hungarian Heritage Recipes â„¢ © 2005” The author is my best friend -Clara M. Czegeny who is a Hot Hungarian Chef in her own right. She’s pure genius. I love her writing style and her stories. It’s just the best cookbook out there. I hear it won an award for being the TOP TEN EUROPEAN COOKBOOKS. That’s quite an achievement.
Credit: Foodista