Grandma Joyce’s Beef Rouladen
Grandma Joyce was the official cook of the family, and her small home would magically expand to host all-comers; everyone, especially if you were hungry, was welcome. Her role as the family chef inspired my culinary journey. My grandma was good at being a grandma. She would tell me/lie to me and say how good I was at cooking; positive reinforcement was one of her secret ingredients.
Grandma’s Beef Rouladen was one of my absolute favorite recipes. My family would marvel at how much of this I could eat in one sitting! It looks fancy but it’s really easy, and that’s what made grandma’s cooking so special: simple ingredients made with lots of love that were transformed into beautiful and delicious dishes.
I use the same process as my grandmother did when she made this dish. I first butterfly a flank steak, dividing it into two twin pieces, now thinned and seasoned with salt and pepper. I’ve also prepared a savory filling of sautéed onions, carrots, celery, and some chopped dill pickle for a bite of brininess. The butterflied flank steak is coated with the filling, rolled – hence “rouladen” – and seared to lock in the flavors.
All good cooks know that the brown bits left behind are like gold when it comes to building flavor, and I use it, just like grandma taught me, to make a savory sauce. Flour, butter, and red wine are slowly simmered and reduced along with beef stock and bay leaves to create a luxurious sauce that will surround the beef rouladen in all kinds of goodness. This reduced sauce is made silky after it’s puréed and strained to ensure a smooth consistency. I pour the sauce around the rouladen as a final flourish.
Now, I like to serve this in a variety of ways: a simple side salad is a refreshing contrast to the richness of the beef, but when I’m looking to capture comfort, then my go-to is roasted potatoes, because, well…meat and potatoes with a “gravy” will always be good! Grandma would sometimes serve this with spaetzle, too.
Beef rouladen is fancy without being stuffy, perfect for Sunday dinner or a holiday dish, but not so difficult that your kitchen is destroyed as you navigate a list of overwhelming ingredients. That was grandma’s specialty, simple ingredients to make delicious food. Grandma always knew how to make everything taste just right. Her comfort food filled our bellies and hearts with fond memories of her. This dish is one of my favorites because it tastes so darn good and I have Grandma Joyce to thank for it! I love that I get to share this with my kids and continue the food-love.
Grandma Joyce's Beef Rouladen
Ingredients
- 1.5 pound flank steak, butterflied and pounded thin
- 2 dill pickles, diced
- 3/4 pound lardon of bacon
- 1 cup dijon mustard, puree or seeded, based on preference
- 1 large yellow onion, diced and divided
- 1 cup carrot, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 8 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cups red wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 5 peppercorns
- 6 cups beef stock
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Cooking twine
Preparation
- Pound the butterflied beef thin with smooth side of mallet, bring the meat to room temperature.
- Sauté bacon lardon until just crisp, then add 1/2 cup diced onion and sweat till translucent; transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Salt and pepper both sides of the beef flank; brush the Dijon mustard on the inside of the beef flanks.
- Spread the bacon and onion mixture on the inside of flanks. Scatter the chopped dill pickle evenly over both pieces of beef flank. Roll as tight as possible and tie with the twine, set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large rondeau or wide skillet. Sear each side of rolled rouladen until a dark brown, remove from the pan and let rest.
- Add onion celery and carrot to beef drippings, sauté until just softened and add whole garlic cloves and deglaze with 1/4 cup water, scraping the bottom to pick up any brown bits.
- Once the celery and carrots have browned, add in the butter until just melted. Add 2 tablespoons flour and stir until the flour is fully incorporated, 2 minutes.
- Pour in red wine and reduce until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Wrap the bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and peppercorns in a cheesecloth, tied at the ends. Add in beef stock, bay leaf and thyme. Whisk it all together and bring back to a simmer.
- Add rolled rouladen to rondeau or skillet, cover and simmer on low heat for 45 min-1.5 hours, until the outside layer of rouladen shreds to the touch. Remove from the rondeau and rest for 10 minutes.
- While the beef roulades rest, remove the herbs wrapped in the cheesecloth. Purée braising liquid with an immersion blender and run through a meshed strainer (chinoise etamine), adding 1 tablespoon of butter, if desired.
- Pour the sauce into a serving dish. Set the roulades into the sauce. Serve with roasted or mashed potatoes, spatzle, or a simple side salad. Bon appetite!
Recipe by Loren Larsen