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    Home » Main

    German Rouladen

    Published: Jan 5, 2017 · Modified: Jun 19, 2020 by Carolyn Hetke · This post may contain affiliate links,

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    German Rouladen melts in your mouth by the time it has simmered in its juices for an hour or two.  This is a typical Sunday dinner or holiday recipe.  

    Two German rouladen on a plate.

    Rouladen is a traditional German recipe which literally translates to 'roll ups'.

    I came to realize a number of years into my marriage into a German heritage family that most of my family holiday entertaining recipes were German.  I am not particularly sure why except that when you were entertaining my traditional German father-in-law, traditional German cooking was generally a much safer bet!

    I guess also the more English childhood recipes from my Mom - think ham and scalloped potatoes- though delicious were not as intriguing as a new type of cuisine. Regardless of the reason I am happy to have this recipe in my repertoire!

    rouladen-prep

    Because the Kitchener Waterloo area has a strong German background I can go to the meat market and buy rouladen cutlets. The are escalopes of beef usually about 10" long by 4-6" wide and about ¼ " thick.  If you have to ask your butcher to cut them for you ask for inside or top round cut to the above specifications.

    For the mustard slather I just trickle a zig zag line the length of the rouladen from the squirt jar. Then I smooth it all over the  face of the meat. All that to say... I am guessing at the 6 Tbsps below!

    The 'roll ups' are typically slathered with mustard, topped with onion and bacon and rolled around a dill pickle slice.  I sometimes use whole baby dill pickles if they are approximately the width of my rouladen.  If I only have large dills then I would halve them lengthwise.

    My mother-in-law had a good trick - she always used 2 toothpicks per roll up whether she needed two or not. That way she knew if she removed 2 from each rouladen she had them all.  This is more important than you might think!  I always double check the number of toothpicks I have removed at the end...and I have had to go back for a missing one more than once!

    rolled-rouladen
    Two German rouladen on a plate with crispy potatoes

    This recipe makes a lot of broth that you thicken to gravy consistency.  I like to serve it with red cabbage on the side and lots of mashed or roasted potatoes to take advantage of all that gravy!

    Two German rouladen on a plate.

    German Rouladen

    A traditional German recipe of melt in your mouth beef with a savoury gravy and unusual filling.
    Author: Carolyn Hetke

    If you tried this, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know it went in the 📝 comments below!

    5 from 1 vote
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    Course: Main Dish
    Cuisine: German
    Prep Time: 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time: 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
    Total Time: 1 hour hr 55 minutes mins
    Servings: 6 servings

    Ingredients

    • 12 rouladen slices (or inside round cut ¼" thick about 10" X 6")
    • salt and pepper for seasoning
    • 6 Tbsps yellow mustard
    • 2 medium onions finely diced
    • 10 strips bacon finely minced
    • 6 dill pickles halved lengthwise to make 12 spears
    • 2 Tbsps vegetable oil
    • 3 cups beef broth
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 1 ½ tsps dried thyme
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 2 Tbsps each cornstarch and water
    • 24 toothpicks

    Instructions

    • Lay the rouladen out flat on a work surface. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to season.
    • Drizzle mustard the length of the meat and smear it all over the face of the meat with a knife.
    • Mix onion and bacon in a small bowl. Sprinkle onion and bacon over the surface of the rouladen leaving about a ¼ " from the outside edges.
    • Place a dill pickle spear across the widest end of the rouladen. Starting at the pickle end, roll the meat lengthwise into a roll. Secure with 2 toothpicks.
    • Repeat with remaining rouladen.
    • Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet, large enough to eventually hold all 12 rouladen. Brown the rouladen a couple of minutes on each side. You may have to do this in batches. Remove browned rouladen and repeat in batches until they are all browned.
    • Return all rouladen back to the skillet. Pour enough broth into the skillet to come half way up the rouladen. Add the herbs and spices.
    • Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer about 90 minutes. Check half way through to see if you need to add more broth to keep the level halfway up the rouladen.
    • When rouladen is cooked remove the rolls and keep warm. Remove the toothpicks from each rouladen.
    • Strain and reserve the broth. Discard the solids and return the broth to the skillet. Add water to the cornstarch to dissolve it. Add to the broth and bring to a boil. Stir until it reaches the thickness you want. Depending on how much broth you have you may have to add another tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in water to get a nicy gravy consistency.
    • Serve on a platter with gravy on the side.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 395kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 983mg | Potassium: 330mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g
    Tried this recipe?Mention @thewineloverski or tag #thewineloverski!

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      5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Bella Taylor

      April 02, 2020 at 11:10 am

      This is the EXACT same recipe I always use when I make rouladen, although I finish cooking them in my pressure cooker. My grandmother taught me how to make these rouladen many moons ago. Five stars!!

      Reply
      • thewineloverskitchen

        April 03, 2020 at 3:54 pm

        Bella- I think it is the recipe you gave me way back on Montreal!!!

        Reply

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