Rinderrouladen (German beef rolls) with potatoes and red cabbage
140 min · 42 g protein · 577 cals / serving
German Sunday lunch: thin slices of beef spread with sharp mustard, rolled around bacon, onion and gherkin, browned hard and braised in red wine until tender. The braising vegetables become a deep, savoury gravy for the potatoes, with sweet-sour red cabbage on the side.
Ingredients
Rouladen
- 4 large thin slices (1 1/3 lb) top round steak, about 15 × 20 cm (6 × 8 inch), pounded to 5 mm (1/4 inch)
- 2 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard, or medium-hot German mustard
- 4 rashers raw bacon, smoked streaky bacon
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 gherkins pickles, cut lengthwise into strips
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 2 tsp butter
Gravy
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2/3 cup red wine, dry
- 2 cups beef broth, low-sodium
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Red cabbage (Rotkohl)
- 1/2 medium head red cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 medium granny smith apple, cored and diced
- 4 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp butter
- 2 whole cloves
- scant 1/2 cup water
To serve
- 1 3/4 lb gold potatoes, peeled, halved
- 1 tsp salt
Steps
- Lay the beef slices flat, season lightly with salt and pepper and spread each with mustard. Lay a rasher of bacon along each, scatter over the chopped onion and put a few gherkin strips across the short end. Fold in the long sides a little, roll up tightly from the gherkin end and secure with toothpicks or kitchen string.
- Heat the oil and butter in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat and brown the rolls well on all sides, 8–10 minutes in total; the dark crust is what makes the gravy. Lift them out.
- Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery to the pan and cook 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute, pour in the red wine and let it bubble 2 minutes, then add the broth and bay leaf. Return the rolls, bring to a simmer, cover and braise very gently for 1 1/2 hours, turning once, until a fork slides in easily.
- Lift out the rolls and keep them warm. Remove the bay leaf, blend the vegetables into the braising liquid with a stick blender (or press through a sieve), bring it to the boil and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Simmer 1 minute until it coats a spoon, then season with pepper and salt.
- While the rouladen braise, put the red cabbage, apple, vinegar, sugar, butter, cloves, water and a pinch of salt in a pan, cover and simmer gently for 50–60 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and glossy.
- Boil the potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes, until tender, and drain. Remove the toothpicks or string, and serve each roulade with potatoes, red cabbage and plenty of gravy.
Good to know
Where do I get the beef?
German butchers sell it ready cut as Rouladenfleisch. Elsewhere, ask for top round (topside) sliced across the grain about 1/4 inch thick, or buy a piece and slice it yourself when it is half-frozen. Each slice should be large enough to roll around the filling.
Can I make them without wine?
Yes; use more beef broth in place of the wine, plus a teaspoon of red wine vinegar for the acidity. Many families do, the gravy is just as deep thanks to the browning, and it comes out at about the same score.
Can I use bought red cabbage?
Jarred Rotkohl is what most German households use on a busy Sunday. Warm it with a grated apple and a knob of butter to freshen it up.
Alternatives
Per
- Calories
- 91
- Protein
- (31%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (29%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (40%)
- 9 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 238 mg
About 20% of the alcohol remains after cooking; the label counts only that.
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2308 kcal goes into the pot and 3400 g of ingredients comes out as about 2550 g of food: 91 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.