German Beef Rouladen (or beef rolls) is a very delicious and popular German dish. It is not only popular during the holidays, it is served for Sunday lunches when the whole family and friends get together. They are called in German “Rindsrouladen”.
The German beef Rouladen are filled with bacon, onions, mustard and pickles, and are wrapped in thin sliced beef.
Served with mashed potatoes or Spaetzle and red cabbage, and a glass of red wine makes a delicious German dinner. You can get German Style pickles from the US brand Kruegermann, many local supermarkets carry the German brand Hengstenberg. You will find German mustard and pickles especially during the Oktoberfest season. Happy Cooking!
(serves 6)
– 1 1/2 pounds flank steak (calculate 1 piece each person; if you can get it from a German butcher already sliced; if not slice it as thin as possible, about 1 cm or 0.5 inches thick)
– Dijon mustard or German style mustard, enough to spread a thin layer on each piece
– 1/2 pound smoked bacon (Speck) cut in thin slice (per slice meat 1 slice speck)
– 4 medium sized onions
– 3-4 pickles (preferably German pickles like from Hengstenberg or Kruegermann)
– 2 1/2 cups water (as needed)
– red wine to taste, about 1/4 cup or more
– 2-3 tsp clarified butter
– 1 celery stalk
– heavy cream or crème fraiche for the gravy
– some dry red wine for the gravy – optional but adds a nice taste
salt, pepper, mild or sweet red pepper (paprika) to taste
– Cut the meat in 6 rectangular pieces, 1 cm or 1/2 inches thick, pound the meat if it is too thick.
– Spice them with salt, pepper and red pepper (paprika) on both sides.
– Spread mustard on the spiced side.
– Place one thin sliced bacon stripe on top.
– Chop pickles and onions. The pickles can also be sliced very fine.
– Add onions and pickles on the meat, then roll the slice.
– Use sewing cotton or metal picks to prevent that they fall apart (don’t forget to remove them before serving).
– Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the rolls from all sides really well.
– Add celery leaves and another onion and quench it with water (or if you like you can use red wine instead).
– Put on the lid and let it simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours (the meat should be very tender and might need cook longer, depending on the meat).
Tip:
Turn Rouladen one time and add more liquid if needed. Important is that the rolls should be always covered with liquid so they won’t get dry.
– Place the Rouladen on a plate, cover with a lid or foil, keep warm in the oven while making the gravy.
– Use the liquid with all ingredients, mix it very well, pour through a fine sieve.
– Mix, depending on how much liquid you have, 2-5 tbsp flour or potato/corn starch with a bit of cold water or red wine, add to the beef juice.
– Add some heavy cream or crème fraiche to the liquid.
– Bring gravy to a brief boil. Should the gravy not have thickened, add some more starch.
– Attention: Never use hot water with the starch otherwise it will clump.
If needed add some salt and pepper or 2 table spoon tomato paste (adds a nice darker color).
Tips
If you don’t want to make the gravy from scratch use some instant gravy and stir it up with some cream.
Serve it with mashed potatoes and vegetable (red cabbage or peas/carrots mix) or Spaetzle.
To save time for the next meal, make the double amount and freeze the rest (without the metal picks of course).
Instead using yarn to hold the rouladen together, you can use special rouladen skewers or rings that are available at Germanshop24.com.
The “Nusszopf” or German sweet bread with a hazelnut filling is a classic German cake or pastry. It is made out of a yeast dough and filled with almonds or hazelnuts, braided. This is an authentic and proven German recipe. To make this German sweet bread you need to have some baking experience. It’s a great addition for the Sunday brunch or for the traditional coffee and cake table Sunday afternoons. Happy Baking!
500g flour
30g yeast (fresh) or 1 package dry yeast
1/4l lukewarm milk
80g butter
50g sugar
1 dash salt
zest of ½ organic lemon
Available Now! The German Bienenstich Baking Mix
Filling
200g marzipan, raw
2 egg white
2 tbsp sugar
150g ground almonds or hazelnuts (or half/half)
2 cl rum
4 tbsp powdered sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp water
– Sieve flour in a bowl, form a mold in the middle, add or crumble yeast and mix with some milk and some flour.
– Let this starter or “pre-dough” raise for 15 minutes (covered with a clean kitchen cloth).
– Melt butter and mix it with sugar, salt, lemon peel, entire flour and starter dough.
Make the Filling
– Mix marzipan with egg whites, sugar, almonds and rum.
– Roll dough to dimensions 50×40 cm or 20 inches x 16 inches and spread filling on top.
– Roll it lengthwise and cut in half, then turn it into a braided bread (Zopf).
– Place it on a baking tray layered with baking paper and let it raise for 15 minutes.
– Pre-heat oven to 200 C or 350 F and bake it for 35 minutes on the lowest level.
Make the Glaze
Mix powdered sugar with lemon juice and water. Spread it over the hot braided bread.
In many parts of Germany the Weckman season starts with St. Martin’s Day. What is a “Weckman” you may ask? It’s a figure that is made out of yeast bread with raisin eyes and a smile and/or a clay pipe. Bakeries make them starting around St. Martin’s Day on Nov 11 until Saint Nicholas Day on the Dec 6th. It’s a lovely tradition that is missed so much!
This sweet bread speciality has many names which depend on the region where it is originated.
Rhineland/Saarland: Weckenmännchen
Southern Germany/Austria: Krampus
Switzerland: Grittibänz or Grättimaa
West Rhineland/Ruhrgebiet: Puhmann or Stutenkerl
Kleve: Klosmann
Eifel: Märtesmann or Piefeklos
Solingen: Böxepitte
Münsterland: Kiepenkerle
Mönchengladbach: Buggenmann
Bonn: Hirzemännenchen
The dough is good for 15 sweet buns, 15 raisins buns, 8 Weckmen or 1 sweet braided bread (Zopf).
500 g flour, all purpose, wheat
60 g butter
60 g sugar
7 g salt
35 g fresh yeast (see below) or 1 package active dry yeast
200 ml milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk for glazing
– Place flour into a bowl, add warm milk and mix in yeast, mix a bit with flour then let raise for 15 min.
– Add other ingredients and knead until dough is smooth and not sticky.Form to a ball.
– Let dough ball raise for another 20 minutes, covered and at a warm place.
– Knead again on a baking board and form the Weckmen: Use raisins for the eyes and buttons, place them on a baking tray layered with baking paper, let sit for another 20-30 min.
– Beat egg yolk and with a baking brush, brush it all over the dough, the Weckmen or whatever you are baking.
– Preheat oven to 220 C or 350 F and bake for 10-40 minutes (time is depending on what kind of bread you are making).
TIPS
– If you want to bake raisins buns mix about 120 g raisins to the dough.
Make the dough the night before. Place dough buns on a baking tray and keep in the fridge, cover it with a moist kitchen cloth. Bake in the morning and enjoy them fresh for breakfast.
– Use the dough as base for a prune or apple cake that will be baked on a deep baking tray.
What about a Quark Streusel Cake with fruit to combine with a cup of German coffee or tea? My favorite German coffee is from Tschibo. This is an authentic and proven German recipe, you just have to make the quark which is not so difficult. There are also alternatives for quark – Curious what it is? Check out our article: Substitutes for Quark – If you cannot get the desired fresh fruit use alternatively frozen or canned fruit. Trader Joes or ALDI carry the sour cherries in the jar. Happy Baking!
Check this out: HOW TO MAKE QUARK
DOUGH
250 g butter
200 g sugar (or less depending on your taste for sweetness)
1 package vanilla sugar – 0.5oz
1 egg
1 dash salt
1 package baking powder – 0.3oz
500 g flour
TOPPING
1 kg quark
200 g sugar
1 package vanilla pudding – 1.5 oz (alternatively corn starch and vanilla extract)
juice of half lemon
1 egg
1 jar sour cherries or other fruit like raspberries or blueberries (fresh, jar or frozen) – 24oz
– Melt butter, let cool off.
– Combine all dough ingredients and knead until you get a crumbly dough.
– Keep 1/4 of the dough.
– Layer a high side baking tray (Height 2 inches) with parchment paper.
– Press 3/4 of the dough evenly on the baking tray.
– Pre-heat oven to 375 F (175 C).
– Mix all ingredients – NOT THE FRUIT – for the topping, and spread evenly over the dough.
– Place the fruit on top plus the remaining dough as Streusel (if you use frozen fruit, defrost it first and drain all liquid).
– Bake for 30-35 min on the middle rack.
It is time for great Halloween recipes like the Bloody hands recipe. It is an original German recipe but it is easy to make. You find all ingredients for the German Halloween recipes on LoveGermanfood.com, Amazon or in your local super market. This is for sure a scary dessert!
The hands are made out of Dr. Oetker Vanilla pudding and the blood is made out of raspberries with cherry juice. Happy Cooking and Happy Halloween!
2 packages of Vanilla pudding Dr. Oetker – How to Make Vanilla Pudding –
1 liter milk
sugar as per instructions or to taste
For the Sauce:
250 g frozen raspberries, 2 tbsp sugar, 100ml cherry juice