What's The Best Cut Of Beef For German Rouladen?

Do you like thinly sliced beef covered in delicious gravy? How about bacon and/or pickles? If the answer is yes to all of those questions, then we humbly welcome you to the mouth-watering world of rouladen. This German staple is perfect for Oktoberfest, a fall day, or to impress at a tailgate. But before you get cooking, Food Republic spoke with Carissa Erzen, recipe developer and baking blogger behind the site Humbly Homemade, to find out which cut of beef is best for this magical creation.

Erzen draws on both her culinary expertise and family history to bring us some much-needed answers. "My favorite cut of beef for making rouladen is thinly sliced top round (or London broil)," she says. "It's lean, full of flavor, rolls up easily without tearing, and becomes juicy and tender after being cooked low and slow."

Take those thin slices, layer on mustard, bacon, pickles, and onions, then roll the entire thing into a pinwheel and cook it in butter and oil in a Dutch oven. Once browned, you'll want to add veggies, broth, and aromatics to make a sauce, then return the meat to the pot so it can finish cooking and absorb all that delicious flavor. Finally, turn the sauce into a thickened gravy and enjoy.

For those unfamiliar, the origins of London broil steak are actually American, not British. The name doesn't refer to a specific cut of meat, but rather a preparation method: London broil is cut thin and often marinated before being cooked hot and fast, transforming a typically less expensive cut into something flavorful. Top round and flank steak are two types of steak commonly used for this cooking style. To get the cleanest possible slices, try cutting the beef straight from the freezer after it's been in there for about a half hour — this helps create clean, uniform pieces.

To add maximum flavor to your rouladen, Carissa Erzen shares a tip passed down from her great-grandmother via her grandfather. "Before rolling the rouladen, I rub a little bouillon paste on the sliced beef, then roll it up so the paste, mustard, and seasonings are on the inside," she says. "As the beef braises, it gets a ton of rich, nostalgic flavor infused from the inside-out."

Rouladen is often served with boiled potatoes or potato dumplings, red cabbage, or spätzle, a German egg noodle dish. And of course, what meal would be complete without a deliciously unique German bock beer?