Beef Flatladen - same taste as Rouladen, just cheaper and easier!
Beef Flatladen, you've never heard of it, right? Of course not! That's my son's name for Beef Rouladen that are flat!
My family loves rouladen, but I didn't like the work nor the expense. Buying top round for weekday dinners and then pounding and rolling, just wasn't in my budget or schedule.
That was alright for special birthday dinners or company, but not for everyday dinners. But, I loved them too!
So I experimented. What everyone loved, other than unrolling the roulade when they were eating, was the flavor of the meat AND THE GRAVY! (Check out the traditional German Beef Rouladen Recipe!)
Use almost any cut of meat especially cheaper ones. Slow simmering tenderizes the meat. Cut meat into size needed. Brown meat in small batches in butter. Add onion, bacon, dill pickle (the traditional rouladen flavors), seasonings, and water. Let the whole thing simmer for about 2 hours.
The result: rouladen gravy and tender meat chunks! This Beef Flatladen meal is a real favorite! Vary the type of meat. (Even pork works!) Vary the size of chunks (usually about a 2 - 3 inch square and about 3/4 inch thick). Leftovers are delicious, so make lots! Adjust the recipe for the amount needed - the quantities don't need to be exact!
Beef Flatladen
Ingredients:
2 - 3 lb. bottom round, chuck, etc. (see above)
6 slices lean bacon
1 onion, cut into chunks
4 garlic dill pickles, sliced
3 tbsp. butter
salt, pepper, corn starch
Instructions:
Heat 2 tbsp. butter in large skillet. Brown meat well on all sides. Do not crowd, but do in several batches. Add extra butter if needed.
Once meat is browned, add bacon and onion and brown briefly. Slowly add some hot water and gently stir to loosen browned bits at bottom of pan.
Return meat to skillet and any meat juices. Add pickle slices and enough water to almost cover meat. Bring to simmer and cover.
Simmer for 1 - 2 hours (depends on how tender the cut of beef is). Remove bacon (it will be soft and unpleasant to eat).
To thicken gravy, combine 2 - 3 tbsp. corn starch in a little cold water. Stir into cooking liquid until slightly thickened
Season gravy to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper
Hints:
Fry bacon in butter first, remove, and then brown meat. You can use the crisp bacon to add to mashed potatoes or a salad
If you want this to be just meat and gravy, remove cooked meat, strain gravy to remove onions and pickles. Thicken gravy. We like the onion and pickle pieces in our gravy, so I leave them in
Since we love mushrooms, I add quartered mushrooms for last 1/2 hour of cooking time.
You can turn this into a Rouladen Stew by just adding cut-up potatoes, carrots, and celery to the simmering meat after the first hour. Delicious!
This recipe usually makes lots of delicious gravy. Freeze it for later use or add it to other recipes as needed
