How to cook original German Beef Rouladen - a home made recipe with long family tradition

Oma’s Beef Rouladen - simple and  delicious (photos will follow soon)

One of the most famous and most popular German recipes you can cook for your family or guests are Original German Beef Rouladen ( stuffed beef rolls).

Served in many different ways, the following recipe was cooked in our family for decades and we consider it the original for the Mid-German area.

Ingredients to serve 4 guests (2 Rouladen per person or to have some left overs)

8 slices beef top round (approx ¼ inch thick, best fresh cut by your local butcher, it is

  crucial to tell the butch who cuts the beef that the thickness is not more than

  mentioned and that the length of each piece is 12 inches minimum!!)

8 slices Schwarzwaelder schinken (black forest smoked bacon, if you can not find any

  you can use thin slices of smoked bacon as a supplement only!)

2 onions, sliced i( not too thin)

4 dill pickles, sliced (like sandwich slices)

hot mustard (Loewensenf is best, see bottom of recipe for where to get it)

salt, pepper

butter (or oil)

2 cups water (and or vegetable broth) - 500 ml

Note: In order to get the best results original German hot mustard is of great benefit and Loewensenf is by far the best choice and compliments  the other ingredients best.

Preparation of Rouladen

- Season one side of beef with little salt and pepper

- lightly spread German mustard over entire slice

- Place one slice of bacon, some sliced onions and 1 or 2 pickles on top.

- Next roll up the beef slices firmly and tuck in sides securing with wooden toothpicks,

  thread or skewers. ( we prefer thread to keep the Roulade nicely together through out)

-  Heat butter and brown Rouladen on all sides.

-  When Rouladen are nicely browned, add water ( with broth or without )and let simmer for

  about 1 ½ to 2 hrs ( check if meat is tender using a skewer, it should go in smooth)  

-  About 15 minutes towards the end of cooking time, remove all Rouladen out of pot to

  prepare sauce

- The easiest way is to use one or two packages of original Sauce mix :

 

But you can also thicken the sauce with regular brown gravy mix and season it with some salt and pepper. Bring to a cook and add either of the two options. Once you have a nice smooth sauce, turn down heat to simmer and put Rouladen back in pot.

If you like to give it a little extra touch you can add red wine ( which is popular in our family) or a little dark beer. But that is optional.

If no gravy mix has been added you follow instructions as follows:

- To thicken the gravy, remove rouladen and combine flour or cornstarch with

cold water and stir into cooking liquid. When slightly thickened season gravy to taste

with salt and pepper. If you wish a creamy gravy, add heavy or sour cream .

- Return Rouladen to gravy after sauce is done.

In Germany many family use ready sauce mix for decades and then season it to their liking. It makes things easier, but it is a preference.

In our family this is  a favorite dish and delicious with potato dumplings and red cabbage.

For detailed instructions on how to get the potato dumplings and the red cabbage done, please go back to our Sauerbraten recipe following this link:

Make Potatoe Dumplings and Red Cabbage

Our friends always ask for German rouladen when invited for a special dinner!

Rouladen are best served with a glass of red dry wine or a cold dark beer.

Enjoy and let us know how it turn out or if you have questions.

Pictures will follow soon.