Rouladen

My mum makes really good dill pickles (we all fight over the jars), but there's only so many times you can have hamburgers! You'll need toothpicks or short skewers to hold these rolls together.

Mats:
Beef chuck roast, about 2.5 lbs
Whole grain mustard
6 slices of bacon
6 spears dill pickles, or 2 whole ones you spear yourself
Large yellow onion, sliced
4 Tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced or thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1/2c dry red wine
2 1/2c beef stock
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp flour

How-to:

Slice the chuck roast against the grain into 6 cuts. Pound the cuts as thin as you can get them without tearing the meat.

Working with one slice at a time, spread 1Tbsp mustard over the surface, then lay a strip of bacon, a pickle spear and a few slices of onion along the narrow end. Roll into a tight package and secure with a toothpick. Repeat until you've rolled them all up.

Melt 2Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, brown the beef rolls. It takes about 3 min a side to get nice and seared. Don't overcrowd the pan!

When done cooking, transfer the rolls to a plate. Add the remaining onion, carrot, and celery. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 4 minutes.

Add wine, reduce until almost all evaporated. Add the beef rolls back to the skillet, then stir in stock and bay leaf. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Turn the rolls over so the other side is submerged and cook for another 30 minutes.

Transfer the rolls to a plate and remove toothpicks.

Strain the stock into a bowl, the add the remaining butter to the pan and melt over medium-high. Add the flour and stir around to make a roux! Cook for 2 minutes until the roux is nutty brown. Whisk the strained stock back into the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until thick.

Plate the rolls with a few boiled potatoes and a handful of sauerkraut and pour the pan sauce on top.