Rinderrouladen (German Beef Rolls in Red Wine Gravy)

• 12 thin beef rouladen slices cut from the topside (Oberschale), about 1.3 kg
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• medium-hot German mustard (mittelscharfer Senf), a thin layer on each (about 4 tbsp)
• 12 slices bacon (Speck, about 180 g)
• 3 pickled gherkins (Gewürzgurken), cut into strips
• 3 onions, cut into thick slices
• 2 tbsp oil, for the onions and for browning
• a piece of celeriac from the soup-vegetable bunch (Suppengrün), about 150 g, diced
• 2 carrots from the soup-vegetable bunch, about 150 g, diced
• 1 small leek (about 100 g), sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 750 ml (1 bottle) dry red wine, or unsweetened grape juice
• water to top up the pot (about 400 ml)
• 1 tsp allspice berries (Piment)
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 4 cloves
• 2 bay leaves

Method

The cook speaks German; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Cut the onions into thick slices and sweat them gently in a little oil with salt and pepper until soft and just colouring; they should melt, not brown. 1:03
2. Lay the beef slices side by side. Season the top side only with plenty of pepper and some salt, then spread a thin layer of mustard over each with the back of a spoon. 2:00
3. Top each slice with a rasher of bacon, a few strips of gherkin and a spoonful of the softened onions. 3:03
4. Put the onion pan back on the heat and roast the diced celeriac and carrot in it. Meanwhile roll each slice up tightly from the short end, push the rolls together in packs of four and pin each pack with two skewers. 4:07
5. Add the leek to the vegetables. Heat a little oil in a large casserole and brown the packs of rolls well on both sides. 6:24
6. Lift out the rolls, tip the browned vegetables into the casserole juices, stir in the tomato paste and deglaze with a splash of red wine, letting it cook down to a deep brown; repeat three times. 7:07
7. Set the rolls back on the vegetables with their juices, add the rest of the wine and top up with water until almost covered. Add the allspice, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves, cover and braise at 160 °C fan for about 1½ hours until fork-tender. 9:00
8. Pull out the skewers and lift out the rolls. Blend the sauce with its vegetables and spices until smooth, season, and spoon it over the rolls. 11:26

Tip. Serves 6 (two rolls each). Traditionally eaten with boiled potatoes and red cabbage; a cucumber salad or steamed greens keeps it lighter. Keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes well in its sauce.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.