Rinderrouladen (Beef Rolls with Bacon, Mustard & Pickle)

Photo: Robspinella · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Thin beef slices spread with mustard, rolled around bacon, onion and pickle, then braised until spoon-tender in a deep, glossy gravy. A German Sunday dinner classic.

Ingredients

• 1½ lb flank steak (or thin-sliced top round)
• 6 slices thick-cut bacon
• ¾ cup dill pickle chips
• 2 onions (1 thinly sliced, 1 diced)
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1½ lb baby potatoes, to serve
• chopped parsley

From your pantry: 3 tbsp mustard, 2 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 bay leaf, salt, pepper.

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Cut the flank steak across into 6 pieces, then butterfly or pound each to about ¼ inch thick. Season lightly, spread each with mustard, lay on a slice of bacon, then a few onion slices and pickle chips at one short end.
2. Roll each up tightly from the filled end and secure with toothpicks or kitchen twine.
3. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high and brown the rolls well on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes, in batches if needed. Move them to a plate.
4. Add the diced onion, carrot and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then pour in the broth and scrape up the browned bits. Return the rolls, add the bay leaf, cover and braise in the oven until very tender, 1½ hours.
5. Meanwhile boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Lift out the rouladen, strain the braising liquid and press on the vegetables.
6. Melt the butter in the pot over medium, whisk in the flour for 1 minute, then whisk in the strained liquid and simmer until a smooth gravy forms, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the toothpicks, return the rolls to the gravy and serve with potatoes and parsley.

Tip: Many German cooks add a splash of red wine with the broth for a deeper gravy; a spoonful of pickle brine stirred in at the end brightens it, too.

Nutrition per serving

Good for

Adapted from Our Gabled Home.

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