This is a German recipe where Black Forest Ham*, German mustard, sweet pickles and onions are rolled in thinly sliced beef. The rolls are seared and then cooked in stock with vegetables that will later become a thick, rich gravy.
It can be served with German potato dumplings, mashed potatoes, spaetzle or whatever you want. It's gravy, so it will be good no matter what...
Because there's a lot of steps and individual components, when I make this, I make a big batch so I only have to clean up the mess once. This recipe makes 15-18 rouladen. I also make MUCH more gravy than is needed for the number of rouladen made because we use the gravy for other things later.
* The stuff sold as Black Forest Ham in American stores is NOT REMOTELY similar to the real thing. The real thing is much closer to prosciutto, which is much easier to get in the U.S. so that's what's being used here.
Sauté 3 cups diced onion on medium high heat in oil or butter until caramelized. You want there to be some brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
Add diced pickles and mustard to the pan. Stir and cook until brown bits develop on the bottom of the pan.
Deglaze with white wine on high heat. Use a wooden spoon to scrape all brown bits off the bottom and mix into filling.
Set aside to cool to room temperature before rolling.
Note: Don't salt the filling. The mustard and prosciutto will add a lot of salt so it's better to season at the end.
This part is messy so make sure you have everything set up ahead of time. You'll need
* Cutting board or plate to make the rolls on
* Turkey trussers, toothipicks or cooking string
* Plate or sheet pan for finished rolls
* Bowl or plate for flour
* The meat
* Prosciutto, separate and count out what you'll need so they're easy to grab without contaminating the entire package
* Cooled filling and a spoon to scoop
Place one slice of beef on your rolling surface.
Place one or two slices of prosciutto in the center so it comes almost to the edge. If using two slices, overlap them slightly.
Place two tablespoons of filling about an inch from one end in the center.
Fold the end over the filling and then fold the sides in 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Gently roll the meat around the filling, folding the sides in as you go to make a fairly tight roll.
Fasten the overlapping end with trussers, toothpicks or string so the filling stays inside.
Note: If you are using a non-stick pan to brown or have a non-stick pressure cooker, opt for toothpicks or cooking string over metal turkey trussers!
Set aside and continue rolling until all the filling and meat are gone. If you have any leftover filling, don't throw it out! We'll add it to the sauce later!
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Sometimes, your slices of meat will be ragged or have holes. See video clip below for how to deal with a less-than-perfect piece.
Place the flour in a shallow bowl or plate big enough to hold one roll.
Preheat oil or ghee in a wide pan over medium heat.
Coat each roll in the flour and tap off excess.
Reserve any excess flour in the bowl in case you need to thicken the gravy later.
Place in pan seam side down and brown on all sides. You'll probably have to do this in batches.
Remove from pan when brown and place on a plate until all are complete. They don't need to be cooked through.
Be careful not to burn the flour, but you definitely do want the heat to be high enough to brown - maybe more than you're used to. Don't worry, it's OK!
After removing all the meat, add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan. Reduce the heat a little if necessary and allow to sweat until some moisture is released.
Use a wooden spoon to scrape the browned flour from the previous step from the bottom of the pan.
Continue cooking until vegetables are beginning to brown.
Deglaze the pan with some of the stock and scrape every last bit of that brown goodness off the bottom. The flour will cause the liquid to thicken a little.
Carefully layer in the browned rouladen in your pressure cooker. Add the vegetables and everything else in the pan as well as any remaining filling and enough stock to fill to the max fill line.
Set your pressure cooker to cook on high for 30 minutes. Release pressure using quick release when done.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the rouladen from the sauce, place in a bowl and set aside. You can place them in the microwave or oven or cover with foil to keep warm.
Using a stick blender, puree the sauce until smooth.
Here's where you'll have to decide how thick you want your gravy and how much you want to make. We like to make as much gravy as we have ingredients for.
You should have at least a few cups of stock left. Reserve one cup of it and add the rest to what's left in the pressure cooker. Reduce by 1/3 to 1/2 using the saute setting of your pressure cooker or on the stove top if your pressure cooker liner can be used on the stove. The longer you reduce it, the richer the flavor will be.
To thicken your gravy, whisk 1-2 tablespoons of the leftover flour into the reserved stock or put both in a jar and shake until foamy and thick. Pour this mixture through a sieve into the sauce, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until reduced to desired thickness.
Season sauce to taste, remove trussers, toothpicks or string and serve!
You can freeze leftover rouladen in gravy for several months. Allow to thaw before reheating in the microwave.
We also freeze some of the gravy separately to use for things like poutine, sauce for steak or as a base for beef stew or whatever else you might use gravy for.
Servings 0