Roladen With Spaetzle Recipes

ROULADEN

Steps:

• Peel the onion, then chop it into small cubes. Also, cut the baby dill pickles into small cubes.
• Peel the carrot and cut it into slices. Wash the celery and leek (make sure to wash it well - leek can be quite dirty), then cut those into slices/rings as well. Set the vegetables aside for now.
• Wash the meat and trim the excess fat (if applicable). Place one piece of meat between two pieces of cling film, then pound it thin using the smooth side of a meat hammer.
• Remove the cling film. Salt and pepper on both sides of the meat, then evenly spread one of the sides with mustard (approximately 1 tablespoon per roulade). Add one slice of bacon as well as some of the cut-up onion and pickles. Be sure to place the onion and pickles in the middle of the beef with room at the edges - you'll need this space for rolling/tucking the beef.
• Now roll up the piece of meat and try tucking in the edges. Secure the roll of meat either with toothpicks (we like using a whole toothpick in the middle and a half toothpick for each end) or cooking twine (you can tie the beef roll as you would ribbon in four directions on a present). Set the roulade aside on a plate and repeat the steps with the other pieces of meat.
• Preheat your oven to 310 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Once you have rolled all the pieces of meat, heat oil in a pan/pot with high sides. Alternatively, you can also use a Dutch oven or similar that you can put in the oven. Add the rouladen and sear the meat on high heat on all sides (so make sure to rotate them!). Once all the sides are browned, remove the meat from the pan.
• Turn down the heat to medium and add the vegetables to the pan. Sauté them for around 5 minutes, then add the tomato paste and the sugar. Give everything a stir.
• Now add 1/2 cup of red wine to the pot and wait until it reduces. Then add the other 1/2 cup and wait for it to reduce and thicken again.
• Add the beef broth to the pan/pot and bring everything to a simmer. Then pour the contents of the pan into a roasting pan for the oven or leave them in the pan/pot if it is oven safe.
• Place the meat on top of the evenly spread out sauce and vegetables and put the roasting pan with the lid off into the oven. After 30 minutes, take the pan out of the oven, flip the rouladen and place them back in the oven. Bake them for another 30 minutes, flip them again, and put the lid on at the 1-hour mark. This way, they get a nice dark color. If you don't want them to be that dark, place them into the oven with the lid on from the beginning - but still flip them every 30 minutes.
• Test if the meat is tender after 90 minutes. If it is, remove the pan from the oven. If not, put it back in to continue cooking the beef.
• Once the meat is tender, remove the rouladen from the roasting pan and set them aside.
• Pour the sauce through a sifter to capture the cooked vegetables.
• To thicken the sauce, you have two options. Either blend approximately 1/2 of the cooked vegetables with some of the liquid from the sauce drippings. Then add it back to the strained liquid and bring this mixture to a simmer on the stove in a pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Alternatively - if you don't want to use any vegetables to thicken the sauce - thicken the sauce with approximately 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in a little bit of cold water and discard the cooked vegetables or eat them on the side.
• Serve the meat and gravy with potato dumplings, bread dumplings, spaetzle noodles, or potatoes. German red cabbage and a green side salad are also popular additions.

(ALMOST) MY GRANDMA'S ROULADEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a small saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the bacon just enough to render the fat, and set aside. Salt and pepper the steaks and lay flat on a large cutting board. Brush the top side of the slices with enough mustard just to coat.
• In a small bowl, toss together half the onion with the pickle relish and the reserved bacon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread the onion mixture over the meat. Starting at the short end, roll the meat up jellyroll style, and secure with kitchen twine.
• Heat the oil in a medium heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and brown all sides of the meat. Remove the meat from the pan, and add the remaining onion, carrot and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Deglaze the pan with the wine and then add in the canned tomatoes (with their juice).
• Nestle the meat back into the pan, bring to a simmer, cover and then bake until the meat is tender, about 90 minutes. Turn the meat once halfway through cooking.

ROLADEN WITH SPAETZLE

Steps:

• Ask the butcher to slice the beef or veal very thin. Place the meat between plastic wrap and pound it as thin as possible then set it aside.
• In a large frying pan cut the bacon into small pieces and brown over a medium heat. Dice the onions and mushrooms and add to the bacon. Saute all until well browned and mixed.
• Salt and pepper the beef slices. Put the mixture on a slice of beef and roll up, securing with a toothpick.
• Add the butter to the frying pan and place the rolled beef in the frying pay with any excess bacon/mushroom mixture. Brown the roladen on all sides.
• If using beef base dissolve in 2 cups of water. Pour beef base or beef broth over the roladen and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hrs until very tender. Add water as needed to insure that there is plenty of liquid.
• Mix the corn starch with 1 cup of water and thicken the gravy.
• Meanwhile cook the spaetzle or noodles in salted water until tender.
• Serve the roladen over the spaetzle with the gravy.