Cooking at Home - Rouladen and Braised Red Cabbage

Cooking at Home - Rouladen with Braised Red Cabbage or Kochen zu Hause - Rinderroulade mit Geschmorter Rotkohl

Cooking at Home - Rouladen with Braised Red Cabbage and Mash Potatoes

Rouladen is a German meat roulade usually consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles wrapped in thinly sliced beef which is then cooked.

Traditionally the rouladen are first seared in a roasting dish. In a heavy pot or Dutch oven the carrots, celery and onions are cooked until the vegetables are somewhat, caramelize. Red wine, chicken or vegetable stock is then added, then the rouladen slowly braised until the meat is tender. The braising takes between one and two hours depending on the meat and preferences.

Rouladen are usually served with either spätzle, potato dumplings or boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes and red cabbage. Roasted winter vegetables are another common side dish. The sauce is an absolute requirement to round off the dish and is usually poured over the meat.

Rouladen Recipe

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, cut into small cubes

1 (1 1/2-pound to serve 4) piece of flatiron steak, cut into 4 equal pieces and pounded 1/4-inch thin. Note: We chose to make one a little larger (.75 pound) to serve 2

 Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons country-style or Dijon mustard

1 1/2 large yellow onions, diced

4 Slice dill pickle

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup red wine

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can of diced tomatoes

Remember: Stage all your ingredients near your workstation.

Special equipment: kitchen twine and meat mallet

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a small sauté pan over medium-low heat, cook the bacon just enough to render the fat, and set aside.

Tenderize the thin beef slices with a meat mallet on both sides evenly.

Salt and pepper the steaks and lay flat on a large cutting board.

Brush the top side of the slices with enough mustard just to coat.

Add the sliced pickles

In a small bowl, toss together half the onion and the reserved bacon (with as much of the bacon fat you feel comfortable with) sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spread the onion mixture over the meat.

Starting at the short end, roll the meat up jellyroll style, and secure with kitchen twine.

Heat the oil in a medium heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and brown all sides of the meat.

Remove the meat from the pan, and add the remaining onion, carrot and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook another minute.

Deglaze the pan with the wine

Add in the canned tomatoes (with their juice).

Nestle the meat back into the pan, bring to a simmer, cover and then bake until the meat is tender, about 90 minutes. Turn the meat once halfway through cooking.

Remove the Rouladen; add red wine or vegetable stock to the liquid

This liquid is reduced and then thickened to the sauce. Note: the cooked vegetables may be strained out at this time or left as part of the sauce. Our option was to keep the vegetables.

The rouladen may be returned to the sauce and gently reheated.

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) - select a thin cut of meat

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – pound the quarter inch or less

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – pound the quarter inch or less

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – sauté bacon 

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – spread mustard

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – add pickles

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – add bacon and onions

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – roll the beef into a log

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – roll the beef into a log

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) - tie with kitchen twine

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – braise on all sides

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) –preparing the braising sauce - sauté onions and carrots

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – preparing the braising sauce - deglaze with red wine

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – preparing the braising sauce - add crushed tomatoes

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – add the rouladen to the braising liquid

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – placed in oven

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – turn once

Cooking at Home – Rouladen (beef roll-up) – finished

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We wanted to serve our rouladen with red cabbage (Rot sächlich) and mashed potatoes.

Rot sächlich also known as rotkohl, is a popular German side dish. It is most often served with pork, sausages, goose, duck or game and a side of mashed potatoes or potato dumplings.

Cooking at Home - Braised Red Cabbage Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1 yellow onion, sliced with the grain

1/2 head large or 1 small red cabbage, quartered, thinly sliced (core removed)

1 tart apple, peeled and grated

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, plus a splash

1/4 cup water

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

In a medium pot or Dutch oven, cook the onions in the butter over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage and cook, stirring, for a few minutes.

Add the apple, brown sugar, wine, vinegar, and water, and bring up to a simmer, stirring.

Cover and braise for 30 minutes, stirring once and checking on the texture.

Cook a little less for a firmer cabbage; a little more for softer cabbage.

Add a small splash of cider vinegar just before serving.

Cooking at Home - Braised Red Cabbage – slice thinly

Cooking at Home - Braised Red Cabbage - cook the onions

Cooking at Home - Braised Red Cabbage - add the cabbage

Cooking at Home - Braised Red Cabbage - add the apple and brown sugar

Cooking at Home - Braised Red Cabbage – add wine

Cooking at Home - Braised Red Cabbage – now add the vinegar and water

Cooking at Home - Braised Red Cabbage - bring up to a simmer

Cooking at Home - Braised Red Cabbage - add a small splash of cider vinegar just before serving

Cooking at Home - Rouladen with Braised Red Cabbage and Mash Potatoes

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The great thing about the red cabbage recipe is that you can prepare it a day or two ahead.

We had red cabbage left over from our Rouladen dinner. So we decided to have pork schnitzel, red cabbage and boiled potatoes.

Heat the red cabbage in a pan using a little water in a splash of vinegar. Cook down to your desired texture.

Cooking at Home - Pork Schnitzel with mushroom cream sauce

Cooking at Home - Pork Schnitzel with mushroom cream sauce, red cabbage and boiled potatoes or Kochen zu Hause - Schweineschnitzel mit Champignon-Sahne-Sauce, Rotkohl und Salzkartoffeln.

Making the mushroom cream sauce:

Sauté the mushrooms in the same pan you cooked the schnitzel. Add approximately 1 cup of half-and-half and deglaze the pan. Reduce down and add salt and pepper to taste. Add a tablespoon of butter.

Cooking at Home - Pork Schnitzel with mushroom cream sauce, red cabbage and boiled potatoes

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