Polish beef roulades
Zrazy are won or lost at the cutting board. The beef must be sliced across the grain and pounded to 5 mm — otherwise two hours of braising give you a tough roll instead of meat that falls apart under a fork. The filling is sour and salty, and it carries the flavour.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Pounding the meat 15 min
- Rolling the roulades 20 min
- Searing 15 min
- Braising 105 min
- Gravy 10 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneSlice across the grain
Lay the beef so the knife cuts across the grain and cut 1 cm slices. Slices cut along the grain turn stringy and hard to chew once braised — the most common mistake with zrazy, and braising will not fix it.
Ingredients: 1200 g beef topside · 4 tbsp mustard · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp pepper
TipBeef slices more evenly after 30 minutes in the freezer, when it firms up slightly.
Pound to 5 mm
Pound each slice between two sheets of film to 4–5 mm, working the mallet from the centre outwards. Aim for an even rectangle — ragged edges tear when you roll them.
Ingredients: 1200 g beef topside · 4 tbsp mustard · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp pepper
An even 5 mm rectangle — the basis of a good roulade.
Fill and roll
Spread each slice with mustard, season with salt and pepper, then lay on a slice of bacon, a pickle baton, a few onion slivers and some mushroom slices. Roll up tightly, tucking the sides in, and secure with a toothpick or twine.
Ingredients: 200 g smoked bacon · 4 pcs pickled cucumbers · 2 pcs onions · 200 g mushrooms
TipDo not overfill. The filling should be one layer — thicker and it pushes the roll open and falls out during braising.
Tucked-in sides keep the filling inside.
Sear on all sides
Heat the oil in a heavy pot and sear the roulades in batches, 5 minutes each (2–3 batches, about 15 minutes in all), turning until deep brown all over. Lift them out and in the same fat soften the onion and mushrooms set aside for the gravy, about 5 minutes.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp oil · 1 pcs onion · 100 g mushrooms · 700 ml beef stock · 3 pcs bay leaves · 5 pcs allspice berries · 1 tbsp marjoram · 2 tbsp plain flour · 150 ml sour cream
Four sides, each with its own crust.Braise for an hour and three quarters
Return the roulades, add the stock, bay, allspice and marjoram. The liquid should reach three quarters up. Cover and braise over low heat for 105 minutes, turning once after an hour.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp oil · 1 pcs onion · 100 g mushrooms · 700 ml beef stock · 3 pcs bay leaves · 5 pcs allspice berries · 1 tbsp marjoram · 2 tbsp plain flour · 150 ml sour cream
TipCheck at 90 minutes: a fork should slide in without resistance. Topside can be temperamental and sometimes needs 2 hours.
Thicken the gravy
Lift out the roulades, remove the toothpicks or twine, and fish out the bay leaves and allspice. Whisk the flour smooth into the cold sour cream, temper it with a few spoonfuls of the hot sauce and pour it into the pot in a thin stream, stirring. Cook 5 minutes until thickened. Season with salt, pepper and more marjoram if needed, return the roulades and heat them through in the gravy.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp oil · 1 pcs onion · 100 g mushrooms · 700 ml beef stock · 3 pcs bay leaves · 5 pcs allspice berries · 1 tbsp marjoram · 2 tbsp plain flour · 150 ml sour cream
TipSour cream poured straight into boiling sauce splits easily. Two or three spoonfuls of hot sauce stirred into the cream first even out the temperature, and the flour stabilises it further.
A thick, smooth gravy — no lumps, no split cream.
Before you start
What to serve with it
Classically with buckwheat and braised beetroot. Mashed potato works too — the gravy is thick and needs something to catch it.
Flat zrazy instead of rolled
The same cut without filling, pounded and braised with onions, makes zrazy bite. They usually need a little less braising — check with a fork after an hour.
Better the next day
After a night in the fridge the gravy is noticeably deeper. Reheat covered over low heat, not in a microwave.
Nutrition
per servingStep photos are computer-generated from the recipe.
