Monday, January 11, 2010

Our family tradition - Beef roll-ups


 

Ever since I was a little girl, my Mom made these roll-ups for special dinners. The kind of dinners that are spent at the dining room table.The ultimate, mid-western comfort food. My Dad (stepdad) is German, and I as far as can we remember, the recipe came from him. All I really know is that I started making them, every Christmas, years ago. I even ended up with the official serving dish, which is a beautiful, hand-painted, (Italian) bowl, on a stand.



They are a little involved, but sooo good, it is worth the trouble!
-A few things you'll need to start:
-1 meat tenderizing mallet
-saran wrap
-round steak ( figure about 1/2 pound per serving)
-dried onion flakes
-yellow mustard
-toothpicks
-your favorite dill pickles (spears, cut in 1/4 or 1/8 lengths)
-large frying pan


Now, place between saran wrap and start pounding. Turn over and pound again. Trim all fat, and cut into pieces about 3" x 6", set aside. Don't fret over the size too much.



Spread each piece with mustard, sprinkle on onion flakes, salt and pepper. Place the pickle on and roll up the meat. Secure with a toothpick.
Brown the roll ups very well in the frying pan. You will do this in batches. It is important to brown well, that makes the gravy dark and rich. Set each batch aside until they are all browned. Then put them all back in the pan, add water just to cover,(a little red wine can be added too) and simmer for about 1 or 1 1/2 hours. When they are tender, take them out and make your gravy as usual.( The pickle adds a delicious flavor to the gravy! ) Served with mashed potatoes, you have a wonderful dinner fit for your favorite friends and family. Don't forget to remove the toothpicks before serving!
This post is dedicated to my brother, Joe, who apparently has been asking for this recipe for years. Here you go, Joe!! Enjoy.( Love ya)

Note: leftovers freeze well.

4 comments:

Finding Charm said...

That sounds yummy! I'm a midwestern girl too.

Anonymous said...

Yea! Your husband comes to the office bragging about this recipe every year since I've known him!(23+yrs??) Can't wait to try it out! making it tonite for my hubby.

So glad to see your beautiful talent being shared. I'm so lucky I have some special things you have made me through the years. I treasure everyone. Great website & blog! will be checking it out often :)
XOXO m

debi said...

Your funny M!!!!! thanks and xoxo to you too! (I thought this was going to be a bad spam at first!)

Lori P said...

This looks so good, Debi! I'm going to bookmark it in my favorite recipes. Your link worked great, btw. Thanks for participating.