Beef Rouladen

Preparation

1. Pat the rouladen dry, cut the onions into half-moons and the gherkins into lengthways strips; have kitchen string, roulade skewers or toothpicks ready.
2. Spread the rouladen out flat, brush thinly with mustard, and season with salt and pepper. Lay onion, bacon, gherkin and, if you like, prune halves lengthways down the middle, fold in the two long sides slightly, roll up and fasten tightly with string or skewers.
3. Heat the clarified butter in a frying pan, brown the rouladen all over, remove and put in a braising pot. Preheat the oven to 160 °C (conventional).
4. Chop the celeriac, onion, leek and carrot small and fry in the pan until light brown. Pour in a sip of red wine, do not stir and let the liquid evaporate; as soon as the vegetables are frying dry again, add more wine. Repeat until the wine is used up except for a sip; this makes the roasted vegetables dark but not dry.
5. Add the beef stock, a little salt, pepper and a dash of pickle liquid to the vegetables, add them to the rouladen in the braising pot and braise covered in the oven at 160 °C for 1½ hours, adding more liquid if needed.
6. After 1½ hours check whether the rouladen are tender; they should give when pressed with a wooden spoon, otherwise braise for another half hour. Lift out the rouladen and keep warm.
7. Strain the gravy through a sieve and bring to the boil. Stir the mustard smooth with the cold water and cornflour and stir into the boiling gravy until it reaches the desired thickness. Season with salt, pepper, the remaining red wine and pickle liquid and serve with the rouladen.

Drink with it

• Red wine · excellent match

  Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) or Lemberger, dry, with some age

  Red fruit and fresh acidity carry the red wine gravy, the moderate tannins pick up the long-braised beef, and mustard and gherkin do not let the wine tip over.

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• Dark beer · excellent match

  Munich Dunkel or dark bock

  Roasted malt and caramel mirror the dark braised vegetables, and the carbonation loosens the bacon and gravy.

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• Sherry-cask whisky · good match

  Sherry-cask whisky, neat or with a few drops of water

  Raisin and plum notes from the cask find the prunes in the filling, and the cask spice suits the dark gravy.

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• Aged rum · good match

  Aged rum with dried fruit, neat or with an ice cube

  Molasses and dried fruit meet the prune and roasted flavours; more of a sip to finish than a companion for the table.

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