Beef Rouladen – Spend With Pennies

The smell of Beef Rouladen cooking in my Grandma Mary’s kitchen is one of my fondest childhood memories.  

Thin slices of beef are rolled with a bit of mustard, bacon, onions, and a dill pickle! The beef rolls are slow roasted and served with a rich brown gravy.

This dish has an old-fashioned, hearty flavor with melt-in-your-mouth tender beef. Serve with mashed potatoes or cooked macaroni like my grandma always did.

What is Rouladen?

Just one of the finest comfort foods of all time! If you come from a German heritage, you probably grew up with beef Rouladen. My Polish grandmother and my mom made these beef rolls frequently and they’re definitely a favorite.

In this beef rouladen recipe, thin slices of beef are brushed with mustard and then wrapped with bacon, onion and dill pickle before slow cooking. It’s served with a rich brown gravy.

Ingredients for Rouladen

Beef: Some grocery stores in my area sell beef labeled as “Rouladen”. You will want slices of beef that are about  8″ to 10″ long x 4.5″ wide and 1/4-inch thick. Either ask the butcher or use thinly sliced top round steak or even flank steak. If using thin round steaks you may need to layer two to get a 10″ length.

Fillings: My grandma always used yellow mustard although Dijon mustard is great too. Thin slices of bacon, onion and dill or sweet pickle (I definitely prefer dill) are wrapped in the beef.

Broth: This recipe uses beef broth with a bit of dill pickle juice. My mom always added a can of mushrooms with the juices so I add them in as well. The juices are later used to make the sauce or gravy for serving.

While some recipes add a bit of red wine, my Grandma kept it simple. You can add extra onions to the gravy and a rib of celery and carrot if you’d like for flavor. Discard the carrot/celery before thickening the gravy.

How to Make Rouladen

1. Place the beef slices and gently pound them with a meat tenderizer until they are all uniformly thin (per the recipe below).
2. Top with mustard, bacon, onions, and roll around a whole dill pickle, secure with a toothpick or tie with cooking twine.
3. Brown the outside in a dutch oven or pan. Add broth and a splash of pickle juice. Either roast or simmer the rouladen until fork tender.
4. Thicken the juices with flour or a cornstarch slurry to make gravy.

Rouladen can also cook in a slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours.

To Make the Gravy

• When done, remove from the pan and pour the juices into a stockpot on medium heat.
• Make a Slurry by whisking cornstarch with an equal amount of water or beef broth until it is fully dissolved.  When the pan juices are boiling, whisk in the slurry a bit at a time and cook until the desired gravy thickness is reached.
•  I always add a can of mushrooms with juices to my rouladen gravy just the way my mom made it.

My absolute favorite way to enjoy rouladen is on top of elbow macaroni with lots of gravy spooned over top.  Of course, it’s great over mashed potatoes, spätzle, egg noodles, or potato dumplings, or even baby potatoes. It’s great with a side of braised red cabbage to round out the meal.

To Freeze Rouladen

This easy dish can be prepared and the rolls can be frozen either before or after cooking. Simply prepare as directed, place in a single layer on a baking sheet, and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag or air-tight container.

To enjoy from frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and cook as directed in the recipe.

Got Leftovers?

Rouladen tastes great the next day! It makes a perfect work-day lunch over mashed potatoes or even cauliflower rice! You can also chop up the rouladen and add the gravy to a soup!

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