How I Make Amazing Beef Rouladen for Oktoberfest 

Today we're making beef rouladen, another new favorite of ours! If you haven't watched the sauerbraten video yet, it's right here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xtfi7f0OkQQ.html. The ingredient amounts (also in grams) are right in the description and the print recipe is linked there as well. As always, thanks for liking our recipes and videos and sharing our family table each week.

Thank you for making these German recipes! I think they are underrated in North America.

My mom was from Bavaria. Her Rouladen filling was mustard bacon pickle parsesan cheese (a little) and parsley. She changed the recipe and sauted carrot celery and onion and added them to the beef broth before braising. Then when Rouladen were cooked she would blitz the veggies to thicken the gravy. No flour or corn starch. This was yummy. It was served for special occasions with red cabbage and spaetzle. Potato knodel were always served with Saurbraten. She was a marvelous cook and showed me how to make many of her mothers traditional recipes. Thank you for your Oktoberfest recipes

As a German i can say that this is pretty authentic. I have never seen Soffrito (or Suppengrün as we call it) in the Roulade, but I wouldn't be surprised if someones Grandma has always done it that way.

I'm German and my wife is a Texan, we used to make Rouladen once a week now only once a month for the last sixty years. We make it with potato dumplings or spätzle.

When my first generation German mother-in-law made this recipe, she only used mustard, small piece of pickle thinly slice raw onion and uncooked bacon. One of my favorite meals. Thanks for sharing your version.

Interesting take... not the way most fellow German chefs that I know would do it, but close enough to keep the German food vibe and the results looks good too. Here's how my Grandma made it and that's pretty close to how it was made at the place where I did my apprenticeship as a chef too: - Flatten the beef, garnish with mustard, bacon, shallots and thinly sliced pickled cucumbers + salt&pepper on the inside, then roll and either secure with a toothpick or cooking twine. - prep Onion, celeriac, carrots and leeks diced (what we call Suppengrün in German, similar to mirepoix but in Germany celery root is more commonly used than leaf celery like you did) - heat a pan, put in some neutral oil or better clarified butter, roast the roulades from all sides until you get a nice colour on them and set them aside - sweat your diced vegis, then add tomato paste and a pinch of sugar - de-glaze with small amount of red wine three times, reducing it down before adding the next round - add either good quality or self made beef stock - add the roulades back in, braise them in the oven - take them, strain the remaining liquid - reduce the liquid for a couple of minutes, then stir in cold butter - serve the roulades with the sauce and either spaetzle or some kind of potatoes. In my family we always serve them with home made potato dumpling (if anyone is interested, I can add a recipe for them too) and some veggies like broccoli or green beans. There are some recipe variants where they slightly dust the rouladen with flour, but tbh I prefer the version that skips it. If you want to thicken the sauce without using butter at the end, I'd rather use corn or potato starch. But that's just me looking at it from a view as a chef, because not using flour means you can serve it to people who have celiac disease.

Not enough appreciation for German food in the USA. Hard to find German restaurants. Only one in my hometown closed in 2021. People just don't seem to go for it, for whatever reason.

My mother was from Germany and was an excellent cook. She made this dish fairly often and yours looked very close to hers. It made me long for the good old days. Just so you know, it's pronounced roulaten, all one word, rather than rou - laten. In answer to your question, Mom often served it with spaetzle. James, I'm glad you love this dish. It was one of my favorites. I think you and I would get along famously!

Thank you so much, Sip and Feast! As a 75-year old who used to be a good cook, I have been away from cooking for a while. I want to get back into it. I AM SO OD'd on these very short videos from younger cooks. They are more interested in the art of the film rather than content. As a result, they omit a great deal because the speed is so fast. We older serious cooks need long and slow instructions.

German Canadian here and you did an awesome job very authentic recipe❤ it's great that you're sharing Oktoberfest recipes wirh your audience. Hope you do some more!

In germany we say:"DAS IST VOLL GEIL!!" Well done Jim!

Jim and family--I appreciate all you do: recipes, detailed instructions/tips, video quality/editing, modeling enthusiasm, respect, and teamwork as parents, etc. It warms my heart. Futhermore, the comments from viewers are supportive and valued; I especially like when someone says "this is the way my grandparent/parent/friend cooked" a dish and shares their personal experience and tips. Truly a special channel in a sea of content. 🥰

Milwaukee here....a very German part of the Midwest here. We wrap our meat rolls in the raw bacon, put toothpicks in to hold the bacon on. Pan sear them till the bacon is almost done then slow braise them with about a can or slightly more of broth. chicken broth is acceptable. We also put onion in with the pickle. We make a gravy from the broth....I've had it from MANY a German grandmother and never had it with tomato paste.....

This looks amazing. James giving it a 10 has me wanting to make this right away. This will be on the menu for Thursday. Thank you for sharing this recipe and the idea of the purple cabbage and potatoe 🥰🥰😋😋❣❣

that kid is so self-aware and chill. this looks delicious

I wanna see a supercut of James just saying "Costco". But seriously, this is one of the best cooking channels on RU-vid

Can I also recommend making some vegetable cream soups? They're a staple of southern German and Austrian cuisine and are perfect for fall. 1. Roughly cube your chosen vegetables, 2. Toss in some oil 3. Bake on a tray until browned 4. Boil with a little bit of water 5. Puree with an immersion blender 6. Add in some cream, ground nutmeg and black pepper (I also like to add some celery salt but you can do you ofc) 7. Salt to taste and serve with some toasted bread or if you have gluten problems you could do roasted chickpeas or nuts instead. So for example today I made one with cauliflower, onions, garlic and potatoes (I only put in potatoes in step 4 but you could have easily put them in at step 1 as well). I love making these soups bc here in NYC the street vendors often have special deals on vegetables that didn't sell in the supermarkets. These veggies often look beaten up but for this recipe you really don't care, so long as they're not green or moldy.

i made it tonight with my wife! i have a broken left wrist and we still managed to make this delicious meal! My wife doesnt like pickles but still ate it and we agreed on a 9/10 rating! was excited to try since we have never made this before! thank you! will make it again!

German here .. Traditionally we sear the meat much more (make it more "brown") and we stew it for 2-3 hours with a lid on. The result is amazing. This is getting close, but it's still far from my christmas meal.

YESSSS!!! This is such an underrated recipe. Super simple to make in an instantpot. I just skip browning them alltogether - there's already so much flavor in there. I also cut up everything into spears, (pickles, celery, carrot) and cut the onions into big slices as well.

This is a childhood meal.

Sip and Feast, the best recipes on RU-vid!

I have fond memories of my 2 years in Germany as a young Infantryman. 84-86 and I was 10 km away from the Eastern border and got to go into East Berlin on a tour and did urban combat training in West Berlin. I was in a small, beautiful town called Gelnhausen and the people were generally quite good to us. I remember German WWII veterans sending us beers and being kind a respectful to us. Our barracks still had some bullet marks from the war. And yep, the food was good! Going to try to make Jaegerschnitzel this week. If it fails, there is always Jaegermeister. Great job as always Sip and Feast

What a great team you are that you can talk honestly and support each other. That’s what happy loving marriages should be. Kudos to you both ❤

Hands down this is my favorite German dish.

Looks pretty darn good to me! My grandmother made rouladen with just onions and bacon inside, but we are of German/Transylvanian/Austro-Hungarian heritage. Rotkohl is one of my favorite vegetables.

YUM! Great recipe!! Thank you! Note: honing knives often sheds small metal particles so clean surface honed over & rinse knife blade prior to using ;)

Thank you so much for teaching me how to cook. You don't use fancy appliances and you use ingredients I can easily find in stores. Hope to see some soups for the colder months ahead!! ❤❤

thank you for sharing this recipe!!! when i was visiting some relatives in frankfurt back in 2022, this was one of the dishes they had me try, it's so good!!!

The most wonderful part of your videos is the "taster"! ❤

Ah, German bracciole. Lol. Ive probably made this 20 times....I love it. Cant wait to see how you do yours.

My Mother in law makes Rouladen, she's from Berlin. It's the best dish she makes and she does make the giant potato dumplings and they are fire.

Whoa! What a surprise, Jim! It's Tuesday and as I always do every night, I check to see if you've got something new and tonight you DID! I thought you were only new on Thursdays. Anyway, I was so encouraged by James' rating and obvious enjoyment of this German recipe. I found you because I am Italian and love that cuisine. But ironically I am half Hungarian and can relate to German cuisine too. I think it's a great move on your part to introduce other cuisines into your channel. With your charm, as well as that of your whole family, the worst that can happen is that you attract some new viewers. Maybe lots of them! Also, I got an email from Patreon today which was nice. And my upgrade is still coming, I promise! Thank you so much for all your effort and cheerful presentations! - Marilyn

ROU-LADEN! Love it! And the recipe and the final Rouladen seems pretty much correct, just like my mother do them since oh so many years! Greetings from 🇩🇪

Oh My!!! Everytime you do a German Recipe I have to go buy the meat to make it. Makes us all happy since it is now Fall. Comfort food. Got to have an Oktoberfest Beer to add to almost all the German gravy's or a good Bock Beer. YUMMY! We add beer to Irish meals too. I am almost 70 and still a foodie? What a beautiful plate. WELL DONE!

First of all thanks for the video, nice to see some german cuisine on an american channel. Just one importand thing ro add: Never render the bacon before you add it into the stuffing. It goes into the Rouladen as it is to keep the rather lean beef from getting dry! Otherwise, there's no real "must do" when it comes to this dish. There's of course a classic recipe, but basically you can add whatever your heart is desiring. Best regards from Bavaria.

damn he even put the pickle in

My husband and I went to Germany for the first time last year and we still cannot shut up about how much we miss the food. The vinegar! The pickeling! The mustard! The beer! It was heaven. I miss that food here but look forward to attempting to recreate it!

My family is from Germany and I've had rouladen at German restaurants here in the States, in Germany, my Oma making it and I've made it myself. Is this 100% traditional and authentic? No. Is a good introduction for an amazing European comfort dish? Hell yeah. Also, not sure when this was filmed but "perfect for Oktoberfest, which is coming up soon", Oktoberfest started September 21. Starts the second to last Saturday in September.

This is a dish from my childhood my grandfather was an immigrant from Germany, he handed down his recipe to my dad who gave it to me. It's basically the same techniques only his has no carrot, celery or onion in the meat. And instead of bacon he would roll it with a slice of ham. I will be making it soon. Thanks for the memories.

One of, if not THE best German dish (I‘m German). Looks very good and authentic. Just the mirepoix we put in the sauce and don‘t use it as filling. Filling for me is just salt, pepper, mustard, onion (long thin raw strips), bacon and pickles (I personally leave the pickles out). As sides I prefere mashed potatoes and cucumber salad. The cucumber salad with a lot of dill brings a nice fresh element to the dish and is also the reason, why I leave the pickles out of the rouladen.

Jim, I have a recommendation for what you're doing at 11:10 in this video. When whisking a paste or whisking the fond off of the bottom of a pan, I highly recommend using a flat whisk or a roux whisk. Those whisks are designed specifically for this procedure. Given how often you do this in your recipes, it would be well worth obtaining such a whisk. Also, I recommend not using a nylon whisk for this sort of thing. The friction between the nylon whisk and the rough cast iron may abrade microplastics into your food.

Thank you for doing this one!! I remember it from my childhood and I’m sure my mom at age 91 would not remember how she used to make it. This is indeed a gift!

No disrespect to James but there is a German chef on RU-vid that has fantastic authentic German recipes. “Let It Cook”

Well, I’m making this for dinner on Saturday.

Hi Jim! I'm happy to see a German inspired dish on your channel, I've enjoy all your Italian dishes but being German/Dutch this is the type of food my grandmother would make. I'll make it soon. Thanks for the continued culinary inspiration. - The grown up Kid from Northport LI

This recipe has been in my family for generations (thanks to my grandmother, who was born in the "German" part of Kashubia). In Poland, it's called zrazy. And it's DELICIOUS. You just have to have something on hand for heartburn. But really - if you like pepper steak (like I do) then there is a high chance you will fall in love with this dish.

When I viewed this, your "like to view" ratio was 25%. That pretty much says it all about your channel. It is hie highest I've ever seen.

if you can nail this one effectively you’re pretty much a boss in the kitchen

Looks like a German brasciole. The toothpicks work well. My family would use a thick sewing thread to tie the brasciole closed.

Great video!! Love these Oktoberfest recipes!!!! More of them please!!!

I love your recipe! I’ve made my own version a few times, but you have just taken it to a new level with the sauce! Thank you!!

what a delicious classic In germany its a bit like the ragu in italy, probably every Grandma is doing it different and the best is always what you like most. Yours look fantastic. some really good variations are also filled with Paté or minced meat. You can also wrap it at the widest point to the inside, like a burrito, so the filling stays inside.

I'm sad that my old butcher retired, because he had premade rouladen and spiedigni in his freezers or fresh in the case if you were there at the right time. The new hack that took over the shop thought running a knackery was like turning on a money faucet. He can barely fill regular meat orders or the cases, let alone make specialty meats.

After you brought back the beef stock san sodium with emphasis it all came to gather for me as a culinary duffer .I love good food and still have my youngest at home and he has been a good student of food,I appreciate him. But about you kind sir . I just came across this channel but am mo def a fan

very well and authentic made....greetings from cologne Germany...love your channel!!!!

Thank your for raising kids with a broad palette. My dad did the same for my brother and I.

German experienced home-cook here, my tips: Mustard and pickles are not only for seasoning the meat but also to tenderize it, therefore use a good amount of mustard and spread the pickles thinly sliced or diced more evenly over at least half the meat slice. No mirepoix or tomato paste on the meat, just in the sauce. A fattier bacon will make the meat juicier, no need to fry it first. It will melt away almost completely. Stronger roasting the Rouladen will enhance the sauce aromas, they should be dark brown all over. Definetely reduce the wine three times. Add some bay leaves and allspice to the sauce. The Rouladen should be more covered by the sauce so the won’t dry out so use a smaller pot. The meat will shrink with cooking time. The meat should almost fall apart so cook long enough. A traditional German sunday dinner recipe, make a lot and freeze in! My grandpa loved them sliced and cold on a slice of sourdough rye bread.

Great take on our German Rouladen. Our favorite variant doesn’t have the vegetables inside the rolls except for the onions. But added to the bacon and the pickle we put a bit of minced and seasoned pork („Mett“) inside. This enhances the flavor and helps keep the roll moist. Keep going 👍

The chef I worked for during college was German and made this dish once in awhile, and OMG was it good!!!!!

Thank you so much for this recipe! Used to make something similar years ago but your recipe looks so much more tasty - can’t wait to try this!

I love hearing that accent from where I grew up. I never heard it when I lived there.

Looks great…I’m just trying to wrap my head around the pickle inside! Jim, you make every dish so much fun to watch!

Thank you for another great recipe. I grew up with my Mother and Oma making Fleisch Rouladen, which I now make regularly. They made it very much like your recipe; however, they substituted mixed mushrooms and garlic for the carrots and celery. We also make it with veal instead of beef and put a little marinated red pepper in that recipe. Spätzle goes wonderfully with both. Again, thank you. God bless you.

Just so you know October fest has already started

My grandma used to make this for me a lot.

My aunt woudl always make this when I was a kid, and she used a box of tomato soup instead of stock + paste. Not traditional, but something she thought was good. I've done it both ways, and thought both were good. Braising beef in tomato soup changes the characterisitcs of the soup significantly

I love rouladen....yours is pretty close to my recipe. Pickles are the best in cooking. My Jager schnitzel recipe has thin sliced pickles in the sauce also. Good job!

This is so similar to something my mom made and now I make called "Beef Rollups" - basically the same thing in English. Biggest difference is our recipe has no celery or carrot, uses Weber's Horseradish mustard from Buffalo, and the sauce is made with ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, and beef base. It's the favorite thing I make for whomever has it! Serving them over buttered egg noodles is a MUST.

We make this in our family and never knew what it was called… my mother’s grandmother was German. Thank you

“I love all the October shi- stuff.”

I'm loving all these German recipes!! They are so overlooked!

"nothing, I gave it a 10". How can you argue with that logic?

Jim, as usual bravo my man! Awesome job!

Oktober... fest and stuff... Yeah. I heard what Dad said. Love what you guys do and you crack me up 😂

10 from the teen. Highest honor.

Yours are very much like my German mom and grandmothers made. Just not the same in a restaurant. I’m going to try these

Beef Rou'laden

I make this every Christmas Eve❤

We make roulades like that in Sweden too with different kinds of filling. It's very tasty :) The recipe you made I guess is the classical one even here. Often served with oven roasted potatoes and black currant jelly 😋

Supposedly allowing braised meat to cool, after cooking, while remaining in the braising liquid helps the meat not dry out as much. I learned this from Serious Eats, and it's always worked for me..I am loving these Oktoberfest dishes

My family made this without bacon or pickles. The beef is seasoned with mustard, salt and pepper on the inside and filled with seasoned ground pork and diced oninons (Mett). Everything else is made similar. The "Mett"-filling makes an incredible sauce.

My family has always done this with a mushroom gravy 💜 we chop the bacon finer, no carrot or celery, keep the onion raw… we usually use Dijon or grainy mustard and a nice garlic dill pickle spear 🙂

Angedickt wird die Soße nicht mit Stärke sondern "Fruhstücksbrot" oder "Aachner Printen"

I made your Italian pepper stew ( I forget the proper name of it ), came out incredible. Will give this one a go soon, thanks man!~

Taking this one to Elk Camp 2024!!!

Definitely going to give this one a try! Also, I'm really enjoying the full meal videos on patreon (I'm actually making that pork tenderloin meal for dinner tonight). Some awesome tips on meal prep, timing, etc. that I'm finding super helpful!

We just love all of your recipes! Great explanations and directions! Thank you so much!

I love the switch blade (-; Food looks good too. Thumbs up.

love your recipes and the way you present them, keep doing it !

Pro tip - if you let the meat rest for a few minutes in the sauce after you take it out of the oven, it'll relax and soak up a bit of the liquid so it won't be as dry

guten Appetit!

Wow! Like one thing that is great is how unique this recipe is. Great new video. I hate to ask because honestly I am not fussy with food but have never enjoyed pickles. Anything else we could substitute in there ?

That looks absolutely amazing

Great video ! Definitely making this. Trying boiling your potatoes using some south Louisiana crab boil. Great for hot dogs too.

i live in the southeast US and i find the packages of meat labeled for milanesa and it works great for this recipe

if you need a heavier mallt for pouning the beef use a 5lbs dumbbell wrap in plastic wrap and have at it

Looks BANGING!

I grew up with rouladen and this is very close to our version only better. The reduced stock and red wine places it above my version. Excellent ! Also i have used german mustard but i actually prefer the north american regular frenches mustard. I feel like the vinegar is more pronounced cutting through the richness.