Beef Rouladen
Rouladen rest on three things inside: sharp mustard, salty bacon and a sour gherkin. Leave out the gherkin and it is just braised beef. The meat has to be thin — a centimetre thick, beaten thinner still — or the roll will not close tightly and comes apart in the pan. And do not rush the browning: a dark crust on every side is half the colour of the finished sauce.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 1 h 45 min
- Total
- 2 h 20 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 560 kcal
Ingredients
For the rouladen
For the sauce
Makes: 4 rolls, 4 servings
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Beat the meat
Cover each slice with cling film and beat it out to 5 mm, taking care not to tear it. Season both sides. Any edges that end up too thin can be folded inwards as you roll.
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Step 2: Fill the rolls
Spread each slice with a teaspoon of mustard, lay on a rasher of bacon, three halved cornichons and a handful of onion, leaving 2 cm bare at the far end.
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Step 3: Roll and tie
Fold the sides in and roll it up tightly away from you. Secure with kitchen string in two places, or with cocktail sticks. The roll must be tight — a loose one unwinds in the sauce.
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Step 4: Brown them
Heat the oil in a wide pan and brown the rouladen over high heat on all sides to a dark crust, 6–8 minutes for all four. Lift them onto a plate.
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Step 5: Build the sauce
In the same pan fry the carrot, onion, leek and garlic for 6–7 minutes, add the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes more until it darkens. Pour in the wine and reduce by half, scraping everything off the bottom.
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Step 6: Braise
Return the rouladen, pour in enough stock to cover them three-quarters, add the bay and thyme. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and braise covered for 90 minutes, turning them every half hour.
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Step 7: Finish the sauce
Lift out the rouladen, remove the strings and keep them under foil. Strain the sauce, pressing the vegetables well, and reduce over high heat to the consistency of pouring cream. Stir in the cranberry sauce, season and return the rolls to warm through.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Use topside or thick flank. Fillet does not work here: too little connective tissue, and ninety minutes leaves it dry.
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Tip
Do not throw the braised vegetables away — blitz them and stir them back in instead of flour if the sauce seems thin.
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Variation
Without wine, use another 350 ml of stock and a tablespoon of vinegar: the acidity is what stops the sauce tasting flat.
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Storage
In their sauce they keep three days in the fridge and are better on day two. Reheat covered over the lowest heat, never boiling.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 560 kcal | 2,240 kcal |
| Protein | 45 g | 180 g |
| Fat | 30 g | 120 g |
| Carbohydrates | 14 g | 56 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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