Favourite Steak Roulade

Steak roulade is European farmhouse cooking at its most clever. Thin round steaks get spread with chopped bacon and onion, rolled tight like a jelly roll, tied with kitchen twine, and braised slow until the meat is fork tender and shot through with the smoky, savory filling.

The slow cooker does the work that a Dutch oven would in a German or Polish kitchen. Eight hours on Low is exactly what tough round steak needs to break down completely, and the bacon renders into the small amount of water at the bottom to make a savory, fatty cooking liquid that turns into gravy with one quick step at the end.

The rolling matters. Each steak becomes its own self-saucing package, with the bacon-onion filling caught in the spirals so every cross-section shows the swirl. Slice the chilled or rested rolls into pinwheels and the cut shows off the layers like a tiny, savory cinnamon roll.

Kitchen Tips

• Pound the steaks thin if they aren’t already. Even thickness ensures even cooking and tighter, prettier rolls.
• Tie the rolls tight with kitchen twine in several places. Loose rolls unravel during the long cook and lose their filling.
• Don’t add too much liquid. A quarter cup of water is enough. The bacon and steak release plenty of juice as they cook.
• Skim any visible fat from the cooking liquid before thickening. The gravy is much cleaner and richer without it.

Variations

• Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on the steaks before adding the bacon and onion for a more classic German rouladen flavor.
• Add a sliced dill pickle spear to each roll for that signature tangy backbone.
• Use thick-cut bacon for a more pronounced smoky character and meatier filling.