This traditional German Beef Rouladen is wonderful comfort food and perfect for an Oktoberfest. Rouladen is simply tender steak, seasoned with mustard, onion and paprika and wrapped around a pickle, served with a lovely pan gravy.

German Beef Rouladen

Rouladen is classic German food, with thin slices of beef, rolled up with mustard, onion, bacon and pickle. (Rouladen is based on the word Roulade, meaning “rolled”.)

While Rouladen is a traditional German dish, there are as many different versions as there are German Omas. I’ve detailed some of the options in the Ingredient Notes below. This is the version I love, with grainy mustard, a bit of paprika, lots of bacon (to keep it moist!), a bit of chopped onion and a pickle in the middle.

These are quickly seared on the stove-top, then popped into the oven to cook slowly, until tender and flavourful. Then simply thicken up the gravy on the stove-top at the end, serve and enjoy!

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Ingredients and substitutions

Beef – If you are lucky, you will find “rouladen” cut beef at your grocery store or butcher, which takes all the guesswork out of it :) Of course, when I went looking for it, there was none to be found. It’s quite easy to find very thin round steaks though, so that’s what I went with. Go for a top or topside round steak or a flank steak.

Mustard – I love grainy mustard (the type with the seeds visible), but there are other mustards that would be lovely here. A nice German mustard, such as Loewensenf™ or Inglehoffer™ would be nice. Use one you have or one you simply enjoy.

Pickle – you will want to use a dill pickle of some sort. I went with baby dills here, though you can use a large dill pickle and cut it into quarters, if you like. Look for a nice German dill pickle, if you can.

Preparing Rouladen

Recipe tips!

  • You may notice the pinkish in the centre of the rouladen, which may make you think the beef isn’t cooked. Generally, that’s the bacon, not undercooked beef. When checking your rouladen for done-ness, be sure to note that :)
  • Be sure to taste your gravy at the end and season generously with salt and pepper, as needed. If the gravy tastes flat, it needs salt!
German Beef Rouladen

What to serve with rouladen?

You can serve your rouladen and gravy with mashed potatoes, German potato dumplings or spaetzle. I enjoy mashed potatoes, flavoured with a little sour cream, myself. On the side, cooked red cabbage is very traditional, but you can’t go wrong with some simply boiled or roasted carrots, either.

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German beef rouladen sliced open in small skillet

Get the Recipe: German Beef Rouladen

Traditional German beef rouladen is beef rolled with bacon, onion, mustard and a pickle, served with a lovely pan gravy.
4.94 stars from 15 ratings
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the rouladen:

  • 4 boneless round steaks, very thin, about 4 inches wider x 7 inches long
  • Salt and pepper
  • Paprika
  • 4 Tablespoon whole grain mustard, or Dijon, regular yellow mustard
  • 8 slices bacon
  • 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
  • 4 baby dill pickles, halved or larger dill pickles quartered. Sweet pickle is also an option here.
  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the gravy:

  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 2 Tablespoons red wine, can omit or replace with a couple of teaspoons of red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon tomato paste, or ketchup, in a pinch
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, or regular mustard
  • Pinch paprika
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

To thicken gravy:

  • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 Tablespoons cold water

For garnish:

  • Chopped fresh parsley

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted)
  • Prepare the rouladen by pounding out the beef until about 1/4 inch thin and about 5 inches wide by 9 inches long. Sprinkle the beef slices with salt, pepper and a sprinkling of paprika. Spread 1 Tbsp of mustard over each of the 4 pieces of beef. Place two pieces of bacon over each piece of beef, side by side, trimming any part of the bacon that extend over the ends. Scatter each with diced onion, dividing evenly between the four pieces. With the widest end of the short side facing you, place two pickle halves end to end about 1 1/2 inches from the end. It's ok if they stick out the side at this point. Take the end closest to you and fold it up and over the pickles. Continue rolling by lifting and rolling until it is completely rolled. Take a skewer and secure the end of the roll to the main part of the roll, so it doesn't unroll. Trim any excess pickle sticking out the sides so it is even with the sides of the roll. Roll up the remaining beef pieces similarly.
  • Stir together the gravy ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
  • In a Dutch oven or large, heavy bottomed, oven-proof dish with a lid, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef rolls to the pan, skewer/seam side down. *Don't over-crowd the pan. Do in batches if necessary. Sear for a few minutes until lightly browned, then flip over and sear the other side. Place the rolls on their sides if necessary to sear the entire outside of each of the rolls.
  • Once rolls are browned, add the prepared gravy mixture to the pan. Stir gently to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring liquid to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover pot and place in the preheated oven.
  • Cook, covered in the oven until tender, about 1 – 1/2 hours (depending on the size of your rolls), flipping rolls over a couple of times during the cooking period.
  • Remove pot from oven and use tongs to remove rolls to a plate. Carefully remove the skewers from the rolls and discard, then cover the plate loosely with aluminum foil ,while you thicken the gravy.
  • Place pot on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Combine cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl and add to liquid in pot a bit at a time, stirring between additions, until gravy thickens to your taste. If necessary, mix up and add a bit more cornstarch/water to gravy if not thick enough. Taste gravy and add additional salt, pepper and paprika, to taste.
  • To serve, cut rolls in half diagonally in the middle. Place halves on side mashed potatoes and spoon gravy over-top. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Notes

Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!
Cuisine: German
Course: Main Course
Author: Jennifer Maloney
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 275kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 29mg, Sodium: 517mg, Potassium: 187mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 75IU, Vitamin C: 2.6mg, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 0.5mg
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