This is another heirloom family recipe from my Aunt Mary! It serves four and is a bit complicated for a weeknight, but delicious if you have a little extra time to invest in something special. There are two separate hand-written recipes which I’ve attempted to merge here. I think the chopped ingredients can be selected, as they’re not the same on both. Neither recipe says how much to add, so it’s entirely “to taste.”

The gravy recipe below says to blend the veggies before serving. I didn’t do that when I made the version in this photo. What can I say? I was tired (this dish is a LOT). If I make it for again, I think I’ll go the extra step to blend it so it doesn’t inspire any unfortunate comparisons. It still tastes amazing, so don’t let the appearance fool you!

Make this with Potato Dumplings to complete the meal.

Rouladen:
Round steak cut into serving-sized pieces
Bacon (try 1 slice per steak)
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
Pickle spears (1 per steak)
Mustard
Salt
Pepper
Oil or butter
Flour

Smear some mustard on the surface of each steak, then add a small amount of the chopped ingredients and one pickle spear. Roll up each steak and tie with string (or use toothpicks to hold together). 

Heat oil or butter in a saucepan and brown the rolled-up steak (Aunt Mary wrote “quite brown” — so go for a good sear). Sift flour over the top and turn over; sift again to “melt” (brown) the flour.

(If you’re following the new gravy recipe below, skip ahead past this next part and go directly to the New Gravy recipe.)

Cover with water and simmer 2 hours (“or any length”). Take off the strings 30 minutes or so before serving. 

Aunt Mary’s Gravy:
Make a gravy from the remaining liquid by adding more flour while whisking. Put the rolls back in and let simmer until ready to serve.

New Gravy:
I found a good gravy recipe on this Rouladen recipe. It calls for more ingredients but it’s delicious! Be sure to blend the solid ingredients (which I didn’t do in the photo above) if you want it to look good, too.

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small leek, chopped, rinsed and drained in colander
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large celery stalk, chopped
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups strong beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chilled butter
cornstarch or flour dissolved in a little water for thickening (depending on how much gravy liquid there is, you’ll need about 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in 2-3 tablespoons of water or 2-3 tablespoons flour dissolved in 1/4 – 1/3 cup water)

After the steaks have browned, set them aside.

Do not remove the browned bits in the bottom of the pan (important for a flavorful gravy): Add the onions to the pot and a little more butter or oil if needed. Cook the onions until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the leek, carrots, and celery and cook for another 5 minutes. Pour in the red wine, bring to a rapid boil for one minute, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 2-3 more minutes. Add the beef broth, tomato paste, bay leaf, sugar, salt and pepper.

Nestle the beef rouladen in the pot. Oven or Stovetop: You can cook the rouladen, covered, on the stovetop on low for about 90 minutes or until fork tender, but for the most even cooking, transfer the pot (make sure it’s oven-safe) to the oven preheated to 325F and cook it there for about 90 minutes or until fork tender.

When the beef is fork tender, remove the rouladen from the pot and set aside. Use an immersion blender to puree the vegetables in the gravy. The vegetables will add some depth of flavor and you don’t have to puree them, but everything will look more appetizing if you do.

Return the strained liquid back to the pot and bring to a simmer. Thicken the gravy either with either a cornstarch slurry (for a clear/translucent gravy) or flour slurry (for an opaque gravy). For a creamy gravy, you can also add a few tablespoons of heavy cream at this point. Simmer, whisking constantly, until the gravy is thickened. Add the chilled butter, whisking constantly, until the butter is melted and incorporated. Add salt, pepper, and mustard to taste.

Carefully remove the toothpicks or cooking twine from the rouladen and return them to the gravy and heat through.

Serve with Potato Dumplings.