S3 E27 Rouladen

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hello and welcome to Perfectly Seasoned, the podcast about all things culinary. I'm your personal chef, Greg Strom, and the Gates. Today on Perfectly Seasoned, we're off to Germany for a traditional favorite. Stay tuned. Hello everyone, and today on Perfectly Seasoned, we're exploring Rouladen. And Rouladen is a German culinary tradition, and the classic filling of Ruladen is mustard, onions, pickles, and bacon. They remain constant. However, there are as many recipes for Ruladen as there are German families because each uh area of Germany has its own Ruladen recipe, which have been passed down through generation to generation. And the regional preferences and available ingredients are what shape the interpretation of each preparation. Today we're using the recipe from Lauren Allen's A Taste of Europe. And while traveling through Europe with her family for a year, she compiled some of her favorite regional recipes on that tour. And she created a really cool digital version of the cookbook. It's called A Taste of Europe. And it contains 51 recipes from all across Europe. And it's available on her website, tastesbetter from scratch.com. And I have also included a link on my website, thesilvershef.net. So you can click on that and go to Taste Better From Scratch. And you can take you can look at it. You can I buy it and download it. It's very inexpensive. And it's really worth it's really worth it because there are some really fun, good recipes that she's compiled for over her year of travel. The preparation for this recipe this week was with my co-host this week, Kristen Byrum. And we're fortunate again to have her in the studio. She's down here staying with us for a week. And once again, hello, Kristen. Welcome back. I don't think we're ever going to get rid of you.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Not if you try, no.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

I'm rooted. Well, I want you to tell me uh what you thought about this recipe. I know we shared this because it we're there was no reason. Since there's only four of us, there's no reason to make make two complete different recipes just so we could each try it. So we we kind of divided and conquered. So I got the I did the Mise en Plas and got the meat ready, and Kristen did the made the filling, and then I finished everything else off, and it tasted good, I thought. What do you think?

SPEAKER_02 3:26

Well, I have to say it was a little bit of a role reversal for me because in the years that we've been doing culinary things together, I've served as your kitchen lunch, your first and forever kitchen lunch. And I can watch a meeting.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

And I say that with all love and respect because she's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

And I feel like I graduated a little bit with this with this recipe because you did the prep and and I did the assembly. And with with oversight, I will say, which I appreciated, this is a winner. This was not difficult. It was not particularly time consuming. And I am a more more is more person. And there are some pretty heavy flavors in here, you know, between the the dill pickles and the German mustard. And it's it packs a flavor punch and it's really delicious.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Well, the one ingredient that we didn't use, and that was because one of our dinner guests is allergic to pork. So we weren't able to use the bacon, which I I I've made this dish a number of times, the traditional rouladen. And this is actually a very traditional recipe for this. But be I've never made it without bacon. But if you I think you would be able to substitute turkey bacon.

SPEAKER_02 4:55

Well, and I'm a big fan of bacon. I didn't miss it.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Well, there's a smokiness in the bacon that I kind of like. But uh honestly, it wasn't it wasn't something that was completely necessary. So if you are alert allergic to or you don't eat pork, you can make this dish and not be concerned that you're you're not going to enjoy it because it is truly delicious. And this the gravy that is made from it, what did you think of the gravy?

SPEAKER_02 5:25

Delicious. And and I will say there are some tips that that I really appreciated along the way, which is I tend, you know, I am a more is more person, as I said, and I was kind of overloading it with the onion and the carrots, and I was going to like completely layer the meat with the pickles, and you're like, no, no, no. Restraint. And so I did. I dialed back, and you were absolutely right. I it didn't need to be overkill. The flavor still came through and it it still felt complete, didn't feel like there was anything lacking. Another thing I appreciated was when we were browning it off, and I just wanted to take those tongs and turn, turn, turn, turn. And you said, no restraint, restraint, which is not my strong suit. But again, you were right. You just have to you have to give it its time.

SPEAKER_00 6:23

Yes, yeah. One of the reasons is the more you turn it, it doesn't have a chance to brown properly. So you let it brown when it's when it check it and when it has a nice brown and there's some some fond on the bottom of the pan, time to turn it. You do have a tendency to either go way overboard on ingredients.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

100%. I own that.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

So this is my my my first question to her when I give her a recipe is did you follow the instructions precisely? And there's always like a big pause.

SPEAKER_02 7:00

Like, well, I tried.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

But this is a really wonderful traditional dish. And one of the things is the meat itself. This was this recipe called round roast. You can actually have the butcher cut the roast into one-inch slices, and you can so you have something to pound because you want it to be a little on the long side so you can roll it. Or I've actually made it with flank steak. No, because the flank steak is already just the perfect length, and you can cut it, and there's no reason that you can't, man, because there are recipes, traditional recipes, that do use flank steak.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

And it cooks long enough that it's it's going to get nice and tender.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Right, right. That's the reason for brazing. Brazing is the that's the secret of brazing and tender, it tenderizes the meat. So the other thing is you mentioned the German mustard. Well, I have traditionally just used Dijon because uh that's just what I had. But I thought, you know, I'm gonna follow the recipe as written. And I I actually do like the the German mustard. It's uh it has a little, it's a little more, has a little more tang. Yes, I I and I like that. And it's coarse, it has the it's the coarse mustard, so it there's also some texture that helps. To serve it, I served it with I made oven roasted potatoes and also green beans. I also made my grandmother's sweet and sour red cabbage, which was spectacular. Yeah. Well, I'm German by heritage, and so for me growing up, the this was like this was like old home week. My grandmother would have been proud. Would you change anything or I don't think so.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

I'm I might try it with the bacon, but no, I don't think I would change anything up on this recipe.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

We served uh a Tuscan reserva chiante, which was absolutely spectacular.

SPEAKER_02 9:11

And it stood up to this. That's that's the one thing you need, something that has a little more body, a little more little heft to it to stand up to these strong flavors.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Oh, let me ask you, was this the first time you've ever had Ruladen?

SPEAKER_02 9:25

It's not the first time I've had it. It's the first time I've made it.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Oh, okay. Okay. Because some people have wondered, a dill pickle? You have a dill pickle in this?

SPEAKER_02 9:33

It was interesting how you know, a couple of people that we spoke with over the week who who said, Oh, yes, you know, my mom used to make it. And they and they specifically mentioned the pickle, which is a very distinctive flavor. It would stick out in your memory.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Yeah, yeah. Well, there again, we had dinner guests and they had never had it. And unbeknownst to us, one of the dinner guests l loved beef and dill pickles.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

Win-win.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Win-win. Win-win. It was very, very good. I did see that in the instructions you can actually make it and freeze it. I wouldn't do that. I mean, it's not that difficult to make.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

What about the preparing it ahead of time and keeping it raw?

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Because you can. A couple of days you can you I wouldn't keep it more than that.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

But I think that's a big bonus, especially if you're gonna have guests to have it prepared, and then you know, you you're not rushing, you could just take it out and and brown it off and do it. They still they still get the benefit of of the kind of the show.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Right. Well the interesting thing is it does it take about two two hours, two and a half hours, because you want it uh especially if you're gonna use like something like a flank steak, you have and you want it really, really tender. The other thing is toothpicks or or twine. I chose I I don't like to g cook with toothpicks. I I they can get lost in the meat. I like to tie the meat because it's it it makes it for me easier to serve. You just cut the strings and then it's a perfectly formed roll. And the toothpicks I'm not a fan of.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

No, the tying it I think makes it so much easier to turn while you're browning it. I'm I'm afraid the toothpicks would become dislodged. It would I think it would be I think it would it's a lot cleaner and neater when you when you tie it.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

I I agree, I agree. So m that would be my if I would make a recommendation, that would be it is instead of the toothpick, use the butcher twine and just put two, just tie one both ends, one end, you know, around it so that it just stays together and it gives you a more uniform role as well. And don't look at it while it's cooking. Right, Kristen?

SPEAKER_02 11:58

That's right. Don't lift that wood.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Because one of the things is because it there's not a tremendous amount of liquid, so you don't want any of it to evaporate by lifting and keeping looking to make sure that you're just use your meat thermometer. Use your meat thermometer.

SPEAKER_02 12:17

And I would say just cook smart, which is I was here, hmm. Do I have to get a knife out of the drawer to spread the mustard? How do I do this? And Greg just handed me a pastry brush. And I went, duh.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Well, that's part of the meason plus. You have your ingredients and your utensils right there in front of you. So you don't waste any time because in the restaurant industry, time is money. Besides that, when you get everything in front of you, you realize do I have this or don't I have this? And if you're halfway through the recipe and you discover you don't have something, you're screwed.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

Been there, done that.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Yeah, yeah. So on a scale of one to five, you know, in our five fork system, how would you rate this one?

SPEAKER_02 13:10

I I give this one a five.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

I would give this one a ten. This is this I really enjoy this recipe.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

It's not is it one to five or one to ten?

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Oh, it's one to five.

SPEAKER_02 13:20

All right, so you're be okay. Wait, did I just give it a mediocre? Because I didn't do it. No, no. No, it's really very good.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

I would actually give it a service for twelve. It's really, really good. It's actually German comfort food. I would definitely give it a five. And this is a key. This particular recipe is a keeper. This is not the same recipe that I have you grown up with, but I have to say my grandmother would like this recipe.

SPEAKER_02 13:46

Agreed. This is this is one I will be making.

unknown 13:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Well, let's head over to Cynthia and see what she chooses for this. I don't think she's gonna serve. No, I had I'm guessing I think she might uh choose a German wine. I'm not sure, but we're not German wine fans, so we chose a Tuscan wine. So let's just go over to wine o'clock and Cynthia. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 14:17

I'm doing great.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

We actually tried instead of a German wine, which I I said to Kristen, I said, I have a feeling she's gonna probably choose something German for this. But I said, Tim and I tried a Tuscan Chiante Reserva that was absolutely scrumptious. I want to hear what you have to say about this recipe and the wine you've chosen.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Well, you know how the beans, so I absolutely did choose German wine here. Because I try not to pick the things all the time. But I'm gonna go ahead and tell you that there's two reds. So tell me if you try the beans but a German. So Gunder in Germany is Peter Noir, the German name is female. It's just a different bit of a different profile because of the cooler climate and the German lighting profile. So a German female for a change, or a blau front. So that's a completely different rate.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

How do you smell that? How do you smell that?

SPEAKER_01 15:30

It is B-L-A-U, F-R-A, N K-I-S-E-E. So it's darker fruit, it's more pepper, more tannin than peanut. It's a really fun variety. Really, really like myself about foundish.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Okay. Well, you know, we'll try it. We absolutely will try it. You know us, we'll try anything once. Kristen, uh, I know you you helped me with this recipe. And what did you think of the wine that we had with this?

SPEAKER_02 16:05

You you I know you like red, so I do like reds, and I I thought it was wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Have you ever had the any either of these two wines that no, and that's Cynthia?

SPEAKER_02 16:13

I'm really looking forward to trying both of these because uh German reds are not anywhere in my universe. Like I just don't know anything about them. I think everybody knows, you know, at Thanksgiving, they know the Gewertz demeanor and and the uh, you know, the other the other Riesling. But this and my husband likes a nice Pinot Noir. And I like you, you had me at pepper with the uh Blau Frankish. So I I'm really looking forward, and maybe I'm sure there's something that is completely underrated and under the radar because you just I I just don't ever hear anything about German Reds, really.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

They can be intimidating because of the names, you know. You see all these foreign names on the bottle that are difficult to pronounce, and it can be a little intimidating, but you know, ask your local wine merchant. I know we sell a few. We actually sell a few from Austria. Paul Ox is a great one. He has a wonderful blah blah gift, so we can go Austria or Germany. I'll not end up pointing you to a uh a solid producer, but absolutely delicious. I'm excited for you to try those. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Thank you once again for for your insights. If you have any questions about today's recipe or if you would like to be a home guest home cook on Perfectly Season, just email me at the info at the silverchef.net. And Kristen, I I wish you could be here all the time. Thanks for joining us in the studio again today. And I'm going to be sad when you and Kurt leave on Monday. But thank you also, Cynthia. You're always an inspiration, and I'm I'm I look forward to our next wine o'clock. So you can listen to Perfectly Seasoned on my website, thesilverchef.net, my Facebook page, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Greg Strom, and thanks for joining us today. Remember, eat fresh, may the fork be with you, and may all your days be perfectly seasoned.