I have many German ancestors, and I like to study them in any way I can. I especially love trying foods that my ancestors likely ate. One of my favorite dishes that we make is German rouladen. Derived from a French word that means ‘to roll,’ rouladen is rolled beef with mustard, bacon, onions and pickles inside. This seemed a little odd to me the first time I read the recipe. Mom didn’t know what it would taste like with all of those bold flavors. I just figured that each individual ingredient was delicious, so why shouldn’t the whole dish be wonderful? Each roulade is then browned and simmered in a gravy. My mom and I have made this dish several times, but we’ve never used beef. Instead, we use elk from my 2021 hunt.
Rouladen is by no means a quick or easy dish. The meat must simmer for a couple hours on the stove or in the oven. We like to use our instant pot though, partly because it cuts down on time, but mostly because my elk is quite tough. He was an old bull in the middle of the rut, and we weren’t able to stay out of state long enough to age the meat before processing. We try to either cook this venison for many hours or use the instant pot, which tenderizes quickly and effectively through the use of pressure.
Any venison can work for rouladen, whether it’s elk, deer, pronghorn, or something else. According to Gerhild Fulson, the woman who wrote the recipe we use, venison and pork were the original meats of choice for rouladen. These days though, people use beef or sometimes veal. She even makes roulades with chicken.
Mom and I also work together on the rouladen to help save time, and to make less of a mess. Raw meat and several wet ingredients can make rouladen quite the clean-up. I squeeze the mustard, spoon pickles and onions, and provide toothpicks to keep the rolls closed. Mom does all of the work with the meat, which consists of pounding the meat until it’s quite thin, and forming the rolls. Once the meat is pounded, a layer of German mustard goes on first, followed by a strip of bacon. After adding chopped onions and dill pickles, Mom rolls the meat like a burrito and tucks the ends in, securing them with toothpicks.
We then brown the rouladen on all sides in a pan. You can use the instant pot for this step too, but Mom likes to use our large cast iron pan. It’s slightly easier than reaching into a deep pot to turn the roulades and it’s bigger. Honestly, I think food just looks gorgeous in a cast iron pan.
After the roulades are browned, we remove them from the pan and start on the gravy. Vegetables are first browned in the same pan, then transferred back to the instant pot. Many people like to use celery, onion, and carrots, but we use whatever we have on hand. Finally, tomato paste and liquid are added. We use beef stock and sometimes a little red wine, but water is also fine. The roulades are returned to the pot to simmer in the broth or cooked under pressure if using the instant pot.
Compared to the long cooking time on the stove, rouladen only takes about 25 minutes to cook in the instant pot, plus the release time. That’s definitely faster than simmering for a couple hours. We like to serve rouladen with potatoes, but for an authentic German meal, knӧdel dumplings or spaetzle are also great options. Every time Mom and I make this dish, the family loves it. If you’ve never tried rouladen, or are looking for a way to use up some tough meat, I highly recommend it.
"Anna" is a teenage girl who loves to write, read, and do just about anything artsy. She enjoys writing about nature crafts and her experiences while learning to hunt and cook wild game. Anna firmly believes that backyard chickens lay the best eggs and that spending time outside with her flock every morning will start the day off happily. She is extremely grateful to her best friend, who inspired her to really take writing seriously. You can find her lost in her latest idea or listening to her sister "Rose" read book quotes. View all posts by Anna
