Venison Rouladen with Spaetzle

The other day I was thinking about German food again and decided that was what I wanted to fix for supper.  I had settled on rouladen and spaetzle, then reality intruded in the form of our son.  The problem is that rouladen is made with beef and the boy has a severe reaction to beef.  Then I had, so I believed, a stroke of genius and thought of some venison roasts still in the freezer.  So an Uncle T variant of a German dish was born.

Using venison did require some adjustments in preparation though.  In German metzgerei (butcher shop) and in the Commissaries on Army bases you can find beef sliced thin for rouladen.  Typically it is from the top inside round so it is a large thin slice.  There is a significant difference in sizes of the same muscles between a deer and a steer.  That was solved by slicing my venison thick and beating it down to the thickness I wanted.  It still didn't make as large a slice as beef would have but it was workable.

Making the rouladen would also let me test a couple of functions on a new electric pressure cooker we got a few weeks back.  Look for a review of it in another week or so.  That initial test of the sear and slow cooker functions turned out well.

Venison Rouladen  -  Beef alternative

2 lbs venison steaks pounded 1/4 inch thick  -  2 lbs beef top round sliced 1/4 inch
8 slices thick cut bacon
8 dill pickle spears
1 onion cut in half slices
Mustard, German is best but use what you like
4 cups venison broth   -  4 cups beef broth
salt
pepper
flour or corn starch

Lay out meat slices and spread mustard on the surface facing up.  At one end, lay a slice of bacon then the dill pickle spear and sliced onion.  You want each to go to the end of the roll so you may need to add  more than one.  Tightly roll up the meat to secure everything inside.  You can use a couple of toothpicks or a couple of  pieces of butcher's twine to keep the rouladen from unrolling.  Repeat until all are made.  Sear the rouladen on each side.  Once they are seared, put them in a large pot or slow cooker and pour the broth over them.  Cook for 1.5 hours.  Remove the rouladen from the broth and stir in a mixture of either flour and water or cornstarch and water to thicken the broth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Put the rouladen back into the thickened broth and simmer for another 15 minutes.  Serve and enjoy.

OK, a bonus for any hunters out there on how to make your own venison bouillon cubes.  The process would work for beef as well.  Take all the bones from your processed deer and put them in a large stock pot.  I use my turkey frying pot.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Boil until any meat left on the bones is soft and flavorless and the cartilage is loose.  Remove the bones and continue boiling.  Once the water is reduced by half, let it cool over night.  Any fat will congeal on the top so you can remove it the next morning.  Strain the remaining liquid to remove any meat bits or pieces of cartilage.  Bring back to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Once it has reduced by about 1/4 get a spoon full and set it on the counter.  If it starts thickening up and getting sticky you're almost there.  Let simmer another 10 minutes then pour it into a 9 x 9 pan.  Set it on a rack to cool.  It should set up like jello from the collagen cooked out of the cartilage.  When it has cooled and is almost solid, cut it into cubes and spread them on a cooling rack to finish drying.  They will dry very hard and can then be stored in a jar until ready to use.  To make broth, bring 1 - 2 cups water to a boil and add a cube.  Stir it until it dissolves.

Spaetzle is a common side dish in southern Germany and Austria with variations showing up in several other countries to the east and south.  What makes the most sense to me is that they originated with a people group that lived in what is now these different countries.  Once borders became set and countries were formalized then regional differences started appearing.  That's just my theory to you can take it or leave it.

Spaetzle is not difficult to make but if you don't want to take the time you can generally find some dried spaetzle in the European section of ethnic foods aisle at the store.  If you are lucky enough to be in a city with a European foods store you'll likely find more choices.  Like pasta, fresh spaetzle is better than dried but either will do.  For supper this night I used some dried spaetzle we had in the cabinet.

Spaetzle

3 cups flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Sift the flour, salt, and nutmeg together in a bowl.  Make a well in the center and add the eggs and 1/4 cup water.  Stir, traditionalist will say it has to be a wooden spoon, adding enough water to make the dough slightly sticky while staying elastic and stiff.  Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling.  Put the dough in a collender and using a spatula press the dough through the holes and into the boiling water.  Work fast because once the spaetzle floats to the surface it is done.  Once the spaetzle is done, strain it well and put in a skillet with melted butter and toss to coat. 

Whether you keep it in the skillet long enough to start browning is personal preference.  I generally don't brown it unless it is going to be a side by itself.  If it will have a sauce poured over it I don't  brown it.  You do what you like.

Venison rouladen, spaetzle, and gravy

A couple of things about the rouladen I forgot.  The pickles I used were hot zucchini dill pickle canned by my good wife from zucchini from our garden.  I forgot about taking pictures of the rouladen building process until the last one was done.  Oh well, I'll remember next time.

I hope you give these a try and I believe you'll enjoy them.

Uncle T.