Directions: |
Directions:Slice Beef Flank steaks through the thickness to form 4 steaks. Then cut each steak in half, through the width, so that you have 8 steaks. Place 1/2 or 1 slice of bacon on each steak. Cut up 2 of the pickles and sprinkle over the bacon. Slice the onion and then chop. Sprinkle on the beef Rouladen, then roll the pieces of meat and filling with the crosswise grain. Tie each one up with string, or place short toothpicks in each one to hold the shape. (Be sure to count the toothpicks and remove them from the meat and gravy before serving.) Brown each beef roll in a large pot or frying pan. Return to pot in a single layer after all are browned. Add any left-over onions and cut or whole pickles to the pot. Add boiling water.
Simmer until tender. Take a tiny sliver from one Rouladen to test for doneness after 1/2 hour. Test again every 15 minutes if not done. When done remove all from the pot. Next, make gravy. Thicken with flour, stirred into the pot. Add boiling water, then stir and return meat to pot. Heat while stirring. Serve over mashed potatoes or your favorite bread. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: The other recipe from my husband-to-be’s family was BEEF ROULADEN. We ate it almost every Sunday for dinner. It was their favorite meat dish and it also became mine. Charlie’s mother and father were separated by this time so his father was the cook.
However, I did not learn this recipe from him. I had to learn how to prepare this delicious recipe in Germany after World War II when I went overseas on the third ship after the war. But the recipe that I learned there was identical to the one that Charlie’s father used. And since I grew to love BEEF ROULADEN from Charlie’s father, I made sure to learn it in Germany, but I am giving him partial credit for the recipe.
I went to Germany because my husband, who was a U.S. Air Force navigator, did not have enough points to return home after the war. I had no choice but to go there if we were to be together. I went to Germany with my infant daughter on the third ship after World War II ended. My husband's first glimpse of his daughter, our first child, was on Father's Day eve when we arrived in Frankfurt by train after having traveled from New York City by ship to Bremerhaven. Our time in Germany was the beginning of our travels to many places in the world where I would excitedly learn about foreign foods, customs, and people.
As part of the reparations in Germany we were assigned household help. Our only cost was for their meals. When we were transferred from the air base to a two-story house without central heat in a nearby village, we acquired a gardener and a cook, Frau Schuman, in addition to Helene the maid. With four adults to feed at noontime and with no lunch meat available, a cook was needed. I gave the help a continental breakfast and a hearty lunch every day cooked over a wood burning stove. But help was needed to do this well.
Since my husband could speak German, the cook took him aside the first day to tell him she would not learn my language; I must learn hers because this was her country. I was taking German lessons every Wednesday morning, but I could comprehend much better than I could speak the language. This was not the problem.
When I grew tired of her telling me what to feed my toddler, how to dress her for the weather and any other thoughts she had about raising little children, I let her go. To my surprise after she left, Herr Schmidt told me she did not have a “hund” (dog) at home to feed all those bones and meat scraps she took home with her. He and Helene were delighted that she was out of their lives, too. I have always loved to cook so I did not really mind being in the kitchen as long as Herr Schmidt kept the kitchen stove working. And I did learn how to make ROULADEN by watching Frau Schuman prepare them.
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This recipe for GERMAN BEEF ROULADEN is from