Polenta with grilled vegetables, served on a plate with colourful vegetable slices on top Polenta with grilled vegetables Japanese prawn gyoza in crispy bottomed dough, prawn filling, served with soy dipping sauce Prawn and cabbage gyoza (Japanese pan-fried dumplings) Tiramisu ice cream served Creamy tiramisu ice cream Spicy vinegar pickled aubergine in a jar Spicy Pickled Aubergine Rinderrouladen served with vegetables and gravy Rinderrouladen (German beef roulades) Shurpa with vegetables, rich and spicy soup with vegetables and chicken meat Chicken thareed (Arabian vegetable & bread stew) Kolokithokeftedes with mint and dill, vegetable fritters with fresh herbs Mint and Dill Kolokithokeftedes Savoury Meat Tangyuan, served with fried onions Savoury Meat Tangyuan Orange pistachio cannoli served Orange and pistachio cannoli Smoked BBQ pork ribs rack on board Smoked BBQ pork ribs with bourbon sauce Plăcintă with curd cheese, a fresh cheese pie with rested dough Romanian sweet cheese pie (Plăcintă) Avgolemono with Egg Yolks, egg-lemon soup with rich chicken meat and rice Avgolemono with Egg Yolks Red berry and marzipan macarons served Red berry & marzipan macarons Salmon pitta with fresh vegetables and creamy filling Smoked salmon & cream cheese pitta pockets Pickled plums in a glass jar Pickled plums Loukoumades with yoghurt dough, served with honey and cinnamon Loukoumades with yoghurt dough Passion fruit sorbet homemade refreshing dessert Zingy passion fruit sorbet Pork Roll Doughnut served fresh Pork Roll Doughnuts Creamy potato soup served Creamy potato soup Spicy pickled herring in a jar Spicy pickled herring Polenta with grilled vegetables, served on a plate with colourful vegetable slices on top Polenta with grilled vegetables Japanese prawn gyoza in crispy bottomed dough, prawn filling, served with soy dipping sauce Prawn and cabbage gyoza (Japanese pan-fried dumplings) Tiramisu ice cream served Creamy tiramisu ice cream Spicy vinegar pickled aubergine in a jar Spicy Pickled Aubergine Rinderrouladen served with vegetables and gravy Rinderrouladen (German beef roulades) Shurpa with vegetables, rich and spicy soup with vegetables and chicken meat Chicken thareed (Arabian vegetable & bread stew) Kolokithokeftedes with mint and dill, vegetable fritters with fresh herbs Mint and Dill Kolokithokeftedes Savoury Meat Tangyuan, served with fried onions Savoury Meat Tangyuan Orange pistachio cannoli served Orange and pistachio cannoli Smoked BBQ pork ribs rack on board Smoked BBQ pork ribs with bourbon sauce Plăcintă with curd cheese, a fresh cheese pie with rested dough Romanian sweet cheese pie (Plăcintă) Avgolemono with Egg Yolks, egg-lemon soup with rich chicken meat and rice Avgolemono with Egg Yolks Red berry and marzipan macarons served Red berry & marzipan macarons Salmon pitta with fresh vegetables and creamy filling Smoked salmon & cream cheese pitta pockets Pickled plums in a glass jar Pickled plums Loukoumades with yoghurt dough, served with honey and cinnamon Loukoumades with yoghurt dough Passion fruit sorbet homemade refreshing dessert Zingy passion fruit sorbet Pork Roll Doughnut served fresh Pork Roll Doughnuts Creamy potato soup served Creamy potato soup Spicy pickled herring in a jar Spicy pickled herring
Rinderrouladen served with vegetables and gravy
Authentic German beef rolls with vegetable gravy

Rinderrouladen (German beef roulades)

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Main Courses
Rinderrouladen is the star of German Sunday lunches. This dish is a textbook example of braising. Beef topside would be dry and tough if fried quickly on its own. However, the mustard-bacon filling bastes and flavours it from the inside, while long, slow braising transforms the tough collagen in the meat into soft gelatine. The result: tender meat rolls that can be cut with a spoon, in a dark, rich gravy.
🕒 Prep Time 30 mins
🍳 Cook Time 2 hrs
⌛ Total Time 2 hrs 30 mins
🍽️ Servings 4 servings
🔥 Calories 720 kcal
🌍 Cuisine German

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Meat pins or kitchen string: To secure the rolls so they don't open.
  • Dutch oven (Cast iron pot) with lid: Retains heat best for even braising.
  • Meat mallet: For thinning the slices.

Allergen Information

⚠️ Mustard
⚠️ Sulphur dioxide (wine)
⚠️ Celery

Instructions

1 ✓

Lay out the beef slices, season with salt and pepper. Spread a teaspoon of mustard on each.

Tip: The vinegar content of the mustard helps tenderise meat fibres and adds a piquant flavour.
2 ✓

Lay two slices of bacon on top, place gherkin strips and finely chopped onion (from one onion) at the edge.

Tip: The bacon fat will keep the dry topside juicy from the inside.
3 ✓

Fold in the longer sides of the meat, then roll up tightly. Secure with meat pins or string.

Tip: Tight rolling is important so the filling doesn't leak out.
4 ✓

Heat fat in the pot and brown the rolls on all sides until dark brown. Remove them.

Tip: Don't rush the browning! The Maillard reaction creates the flavour compounds here that make the gravy dark and tasty.
5 ✓

In the remaining fat, fry the remaining chopped onion, carrot, and celery. Add the tomato purée and fry for 1 minute.

Tip: Frying (caramelising) the tomato purée removes its acidity and deepens its colour.
6 ✓

Pour in the red wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the wine reduce by half.

Tip: Deglazing is the soul of the sauce.
7 ✓

Return the meat, pour in the stock (to cover halfway). Cover and braise on low heat (or in a 160°C oven) for 1.5-2 hours.

Tip: During slow cooking, collagen turns to gelatine, thickening the sauce and tenderising the meat.
8 ✓

When ready, remove the meat and remove the string. Strain the gravy (or blend with the vegetables for a thicker consistency).

Tip: Serve with potato dumplings or pasta.

Recipe FAQ

Why is the meat tough?
It didn't cook long enough. Collagen breakdown takes time (min. 1.5-2 hours). If hard, put it back and braise longer!
The roll fell apart.
You didn't secure it tightly enough. Pin the ends thoroughly or tie them up.

Ingredients

  • 4 large slices Beef Topside (pounded thin)
  • 4 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 8 slices Bacon rashers
  • 2 whole Gherkins (quartered lengthwise)
  • 2 whole Onions (one for filling, one for gravy)
  • 500 ml Beef stock
  • 150 ml Dry red wine
  • 1 tbsp Tomato purée
  • 2 tbsp Oil or fat (for frying)
  • 1 whole Carrot (for gravy)
  • 1 stick Celery (for gravy)