Classic German Beef Roulades

Beef roulades are a traditional meat dish from Germany & Austria, the roulades are filled with bacon, onions & pickled gherkins.

In today’s post I will show you how easy it is to cook this classic beef dish with a delicious brown sauce at home. I wish you lots of fun cooking 😉




Cooked/Baked today: German Beef Roulades
Difficulty: Medium
Preparation Time: 3 hours
Category: Main Dishes, Meat Dishes, German Cuisine, Beef Stew Recipes, Christmas Recipes
Our Recipe rating:

German Beef Roulades

Ingredients for 4 servings:

…for the roulades:

• 4 beef roulades (each 200 – 250 grams)
• 8 slices bacon
• 2 large gherkins
• 1 onion
• Mustard
• Salt & pepper

…more ingredients:

• 1 bunch mirepoix
• 500 milliliters beef stock
• 250 milliliters red wine
• 2 – 3 onions
• 1 – 2 clove(s) garlic
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 – 5 cloves, allspice seeds & juniper berries
• 1 – 2 branches thyme & rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt & pepper
• Oil or clarified butter for frying
• 1 heaping teaspoon cornstarch + 2 – 3 tablespoons water to thicken the sauce

Required kitchen gadgets, helper & preparations:

• Cling film
• Meat tenderizer
• Toothpicks to fix the roulades
• Pot or large pan with lid
• Fine sieve
• Cup to stir smooth cornstarch & water
• Aluminum foil

Instructions:




…preparations for the roulades:

Wrap beef roulades between 2 sheets cling film & gently flatten them with a meat tenderizer (or alternatively with a small pan or pot) until the meat is about 0.5 centimeters thick. Peel 1 onion & chop finely. Also finely dice 2 gherkins.

Preparing Roulades

Then season the roulades with salt & pepper, spread them with 1 teaspoon of mustard and top with 2 slices of bacon & some diced onions and gherkins. Then roll up the roulades, while folding the long sides about 1 centimeter inwards over the filling & finally fix the roulades with a toothpick.

…for the roulades:

Wash, possibly peel & then coarsely chop mirepoix. Peel onions & coarsely chop. Peel garlic & cut into slices.




Next, heat up a pot or large pan adding a dash of oil or piece of clarified butter & sear the roulades from all sides for a few minutes until brown, then lift out of the pan & briefly set aside.

Now add the vegetables to the pan & stir-fry for about 3 – 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste & stir in until all the vegetables have a light tomato glaze. Deglaze everything with 250 milliliters red wine & allow to simmer while stirring until nearly the whole red wine has evaporated.

Cooking Roulades

Then give the beef roulades back to the pan, also add 1 – 2 branches thyme & rosemary, 2 bay leaves & about 4 – 5 allspice seeds, juniper berries & cloves. Afterwards pour in about 500 milliliters beef stock until the roulades are almost completely covered with the liquid.




Bring the liquid to a boil & then allow to simmer over low heat with the lid closed for about 2,5 hours. After 1 hour & 15 minutes turn the roulades once & allow simmer another 75 minutes until done.

…for the sauce:

Stir smooth 1 heaping teaspoon cornstarch with 2 – 3 tablespoons water. After 2,5 hours lift the roulades out of the pan & wrap into aluminum foil to keep them warm.

Preparing Sauce

Strain the vegetables & liquid through a fine sieve & pour the collected liquid back to the pot or pan. Bring the sauce to a boil, the add the cornstarch mixture & allow to simmer while stirring until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.

Season the sauce with salt & pepper, then give the roulades back to the sauce & allow them to heat up for about 5 minutes into the hot sauce before serving. Serve the roulades along with red cabbage & duchess potatoes.

I wish you lots of fun cooking 😉

Video Tutorial:

Watch the video tutorial to see the recipe and the preparation method precisely (German Audio only, English Subtitles available):