Vegetable Beef Rolls

Vegetable beef rolls take seasoned ground beef and roll it jelly-roll style around a confetti of shredded carrot, celery, and green bell pepper, then wrap the whole bundle in two slices of bacon. It’s a cookout main from the steakhouse-and-Tupperware era that still earns its place on the grill.

Italian salad dressing does double duty as marinade and basting liquid. The acid tenderizes the beef while the oil keeps the bacon from sticking to the grates, and the herbs in the dressing season the meat without you having to mix a thing.

Flattening the patties into 6-by-4-inch rectangles is the key step. Too thick and the inside stays raw while the bacon burns, too thin and the rolls split when you try to lift them. The toothpick trick keeps everything together until the bacon crisps and self-seals.

Pro Tips

• Wet your hands when patting out the rectangles. Damp palms keep the meat from sticking and make even thickness easier to nail.
• Let the rolls marinate the full hour and turn them every 15 minutes. Italian dressing flavor only penetrates so far without time and rotation.
• Grill over medium coals, not high heat. Hot fire chars the bacon black before the beef cooks through.
• Don’t forget to pull the toothpicks before serving, an easy thing to overlook when you’re plating fast.

Variations

• Swap Italian dressing for a teriyaki marinade and serve with rice for an Asian-leaning take.
• Tuck a thin strip of pepper jack inside the vegetable filling for a melted-cheese surprise.
• Use thick-cut bacon for sturdier wrapping, just expect a longer grill time.