Beef Rouladen

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5 from 7 votes

These beef rolls are braised until tender and the simple filling adds so much flavor. Comforting and delicious.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 40

Total Time1 55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: German

Servings: (approx)

Calories: 465kcal

Author: Caroline's Cooking

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Ingredients

14 oz beef topside or flank steak, as around 6 thin slices around ¼ inch thick, 4x6in (10x15cm)
2 tablespoon mustard either Dijon or for a slightly sharper flavor, a sharp German mustard
6 slices smoked bacon or less if the slices are large
½ onion
3 dill pickle spears
1 ½ tablespoon butter
¼ cup red wine
1 ½ cups water approx
1 tablespoon cornstarch
salt and pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pound the beef slices lightly to tenderize and cut the pieces of bacon, if needed to be a little shorter than the long length of the pieces of beef. Thinly slice the onion and cut the pickles into matchstick lengths.
Spread each of the slices of beef with a thin layer of mustard. Top each with a slice of bacon then place a few pieces of onion and pickle towards one end. From the end with the onion and pickles, roll up the beef tightly so all of the fillings stay inside then secure the end with a cocktail stick, or alternatively tie two loops of twine around the roll.
Preheat the oven to 325F/165C.
Warm the butter in an ovenproof dish with a lid large enough to hold all of the rouladen in a layer, over a medium-high heat. Brown the beef rolls on all sides well, turning as needed to brown the other sides. If your dish doesn't have a lot of space, brown in batches. Remove the beef rolls from the pan once done and set aside.
Deglaze the pan with the the red wine, scraping any of the browned bits from the bottom (they help add flavor). As it starts to simmer, add most of the water (or stock) and warm through. As it starts to simmer, add back the beef rolls, and a little salt and pepper, cover the dish with the lid and place in the oven.
Cook the rouladen in the oven for around 90 minutes, turning now and then so they don't become dry on any one side. If the liquid becomes too low, top it up slightly.
Once cooked, remove the beef rolls from the cooking liquid and set aside to keep warm. Mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and add to the cooking liquid. Warm over a low heat and stir to thicken into a gravy, then remove from heat.
Remove the cocktail sticks from the rouladen before serving then drizzle over the gravy.

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Notes

Note - slightly larger pieces of beef are fine, you just may need slightly more fillings. If your pieces of beef are particularly big, you can add more filling to each and serve one per person rather than two, as here, since they are smaller. For all, they should be thin and it's best to get your butcher to cut the slices thinly for you rather than try to do at home.

I have also made these with smaller pieces of thinly sliced ribeye from the local Asian market (intended for hotpot etc) and made more, smaller rolls which also works, as long as you look for pieces with hardly any obvious pieces of fat or sinew running through them.

If you prefer, you can cook the rouladen in the sauce on the stove over a low heat - overall timing and turning now and then remains the same. Just if you do this, you'll need to take extra care that they cook evenly and don't brown too much on one side.

Nutrition