• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
dirndl kitchen
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
    • Christmas
    • Breakfast
    • Bread & Rolls
    • Pastries
    • Cakes
    • Appetizers
    • Main Courses
    • Sides
    • Drinks
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
      • Christmas
      • Breakfast
      • Bread & Rolls
      • Pastries
      • Cakes
      • Appetizers
      • Main Courses
      • Sides
      • Drinks
    • Lifestyle
      • Travel
    • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Main Courses

    Rinderrouladen: Beef Rouladen

    Published: Sep 27, 2021 · Modified: Oct 6, 2022 by dirndlkitchen · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Rinderrouladen are German, stuffed flank steaks also called Beef Rouladen. They're stuffed with bacon, mustard, pickles and onion, then simmered in a flavorful wine or beer based sauce for about 90 minutes. 

    Rinderrouladen

    About this Recipe

    rinderrouladen beef rouladen recipe dirndl kitchen8

    This Is A Sponsored Post That Contains Affiliate Links

    Stuffing meat is a common thing to do in Germany! It adds a nice surprise of another layer of flavor and texture. Like a Chicken Cordon Bleu, today's Rinderrouladen recipe is stuffed with lots of flavor! Using either your oven or cooktop, it's simmered in a super flavorful, reduced wine or beer sauce for roughly 90 minutes. I actually went ahead and tried both version with wine and beer for you because I wasn't sure which one to make (see below)! Wine's the winner for me by the way, but they were both amazing and I think you should just try both versions as well! This recipe is drool-guaranteed and should pretty much satisfy anyone who is big on comfort food and beef!

    So What's In Rinderrouladen?

    Rinderrouladen or Beef Rouladen are thinly cut flank steak (you can also use top round), rolled up with mustard, onions, cornichon pickles and bacon, then simmered to perfection in a red wine broth. I served mine with homemade spätzle to go along with this meal (find the spätzle recipe here although pumpkin spätzle would also be amazing this time of year!).

    plate with rinderrouladen, spätzle and carrots

    This would be a great meal to feast over with friends or family, finishing that bottle of Affentaler German Pinot Noir or the beer you used to cook with. Rinderrouladen are easily prepared in advance and kept warm. They also reheat well if you happen to have any leftovers.

    Scroll on down for the recipe, now in printable version.

    Rinderrouladen Essentials

    Wine or Beer?

    Affentaler Pinot Noir Vs. Free State Oktoberfest

    rinderrouladen beef rouladen recipe dirndl kitchen15

    So, you could go twofold with today's recipe and either simmer your Rinderrouladen in a wine sauce or a beer sauce! Both are fantastic options! The wine sauce tends to be richer and more full-bodied in taste, while the beer sauce is slightly lighter and a few of the hop and malt notes come through. Honestly, it's been super fun experimenting with both! If I had to pick a favorite though, it would probably have to the the German Pinot Noir I used by Affentaler for my wine sauce and naturally also for my wine pairing! If choosing wine, stick with a lighter-bodied wine like Pinot Noir. To find out where Affentaler is available in your area, fill out the short product finder form.

    If choosing beer, stick with a balanced brew that's not too hoppy or malty. Think Lager, Pilsner, Dunkel, and a few Oktoberfest Märzen can also make the cut, like the lovely Octoberfest by Free State beer in Lawrence, Kansas.

    Happy Cooking & Prost!

    more German Beef Recipes

    dirndl kitchen glühweinbraten mulled wine roast recipe1

    Make This

    Gefüllte Paprika

    German Stuffed Peppers Jack-O'-Lantern dirndl kitchen15

    Make This

    Lauch-Käse Suppe

    Make This

    Next Up:

    Rumtopf Scones

    Rumtopf kegging season is only a couple of months away! I am working on recipes for you to make sure you know what to do with it when it's time to enjoy all those fruits of summer you have been preserving! Make sure to subscribe to my blog now, so you're not missing out when my new Rumtopf Scones post goes live!

    rinderrouladen beef rouladen recipe dirndl kitchen8

    Rinderrouladen: Beef Rouladen

    Rinderrouladen or Beef Rouladen are mustard, bacon, onion and pickle stuffed flank steak, simmered in a red wine or beer sauce! They are great made in advance, and will be the perfect rustic Fall or Winter meal to impress friends and family with!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 2 hrs
    Total Time 2 hrs 30 mins
    Course Dinner, Entertaining, Main Course
    Cuisine German
    Servings 4 people
    Calories 732 kcal

    Equipment

    • Kitchen Twine
    • Toothpicks
    • Oven-Safe Pot

    Ingredients
     
     

    Rouladen Ingredients

    • 4 flank steaks I bought 4 thicker steaks and carefully butterflied them, resulting in 8 thin steaks.
    • 4 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
    • 4 yellow onions Small in size, or 2 large yellow onions. You could also use the white parts of green onions if you'd like.
    • 20 cornichons The Whole Foods brand are my favorite, but World Market also sells some great German-style pickles!
    • 8 slices bacon You can use 8 thin slices, but I actually used 4 thick-cut slices of bacon this time around!

    Sauce Ingredients

    • 30 grams butter
    • 1 stalk celery
    • 1 carrot
    • 1 leek
    • 375 milliliter red wine I used Affentaler Pinot Noir (you could also use one bottle of Lager, Pilsner or Dunkel beer. I tested the recipe with Oktoberfest beer!
    • 500 milliliter beef stock beef stock or even water works, too!
    • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
    • 75 milliliter pickle juice
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Instructions
     

    • In case you have an oven safe pot, preheat oven to 320° F or 160° C. If not, see below for alternative method. Rinse and pat dry the halved flank steaks.
      4 flank steaks
    • Cut 3 onions in half, then slice. Slice cornichon pickles long ways. Prepare your twine and keep scissors handy. You can also use toothpicks instead of the twine.
      4 yellow onions, 20 cornichons
    • Spread a thin layer of mustard on the meat, season with salt and pepper. Cover with a little less than ½ an onion, 2 to 3 pickles, and 1 ½ slices of bacon.
      4 Tablespoon Dijon mustard, 4 yellow onions, 20 cornichons, 8 slices bacon, 4 flank steaks
    • Roll up and tie up with twine or secure the seams with toothpicks. Add butter to a large skillet and heat to medium high.
      30 grams butter
    • Sauté the Rouladen for a few minutes on all sides, until browned. Transfer to a large pot (oven safe if possible).
    • Medium dice the celery, the onion, carrot. Slice the leek. Add to the skillet you transferred the meat from.
      1 stalk celery, 1 leek, 1 carrot
    • As soon as they start yellowing in color, add a thin layer of red wine. Let the wine evaporate and refill with a thin layer of wine. Repeat until you used half a bottle. This will help develop a deeper flavor. Add salt, pepper, broth and pickle juice. Alternatively, you can also use beer! Beer gives it a different, wonderful flavor. I personally prefer the wine sauce, but they're both amazing options!
      375 milliliter red wine, 500 milliliter beef stock, 75 milliliter pickle juice
    • Add everything to the Rouladen. If the pot is oven safe, cover it with a lid and put in the oven for about 90 minutes. If it's not oven safe, cover and cook on your cooktop on medium-low heat instead.
    • If needed, add more broth about every 30 minutes or so.After 90 minutes, test to see if the roulades are tender (use a cooking spoon to gently press down on one). If not tender, cook for another 30 minutes. If they're tender, carefully remove them and keep them warm.
      500 milliliter beef stock
    • Strain the sauce and bring to a boil. Whisk together 1 tablespoon of mustard, a little bit of water and the corn starch. Whisk into the boiling sauce until desired consistency is reached. Season sauce to taste with salt, pepper, red wine and pickle juice.
      1 Tablespoon cornstarch, salt and pepper
    • Serve with spätzle (link to recipe here) and roasted carrots or any sides you desire! (Semmelknödel and red cabbage would all be a great choice!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 732kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 59gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 181mgSodium: 1255mgPotassium: 1507mgFiber: 3gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 3191IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 125mgIron: 5mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Sponsored Content and Affiliate Links Disclosure

    I received compensation from Niche Import Co. in exchange for writing this post. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions, thoughts and recipes are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may be compensated if you click certain links.

    More German Main Courses

    • Healthy Egg Salad Recipe
    • Chicken Noodle Soup
    • Wine Pairings With German Food
    • Amazing Homemade Currywurst

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Sophie Sadler dirndl kitchen headshot

    Hallo, I'm Sophie!

    I am so happy that you are here at my German food and recipe blog named dirndl kitchen! Let's cook and bake authentic German recipes to help us feel closer to Germany!

    I moved from Germany to the United States in 2009 and soon started to terribly miss the German food (okay, my family, too)! I still miss a nice weekend brunch with crusty Brötchen (rolls) and Teilchen (pastries), Döner Kebab and German cake and coffee time at 15 o'clock! So I decided to educate my fellow Germany-missing friends by writing about German food and traditions. I do so in a fun way with easy-to-follow recipes! I hope you stay a while and bookmark some recipes, so we can cook and bake together.

    Mit viel Liebe (with much love)

    More about me →

    Trending

    • Authentic, Soft German Pretzels (Brezeln)
    • Döner Kebab Recipe (Chicken Version)
    • German Potato Salad with Würstchen
    • How to make Donuts (German Berliner)
    • Pretzel Beer Bubble Bread
    • Easy German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)
    • Rumtopf Tagebuch: German Rumpot Recipe
    • Nudelsalat: Classic German Pasta Salad

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for new recipes

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 dirndl kitchen