Beef Roll Ups in Gravy (Czech Ptacky)

Czech ptacky beef roll ups with gravy and rice.

Beef Roll Ups in Gravy (Czech Ptacky)

Stuffed beef rolls served in a pleasantly tangy gravy! This delectable Czech dish, intriguingly named "Spanish Birds," is sure to pique your curiosity. Let's dive into the recipe!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Czech

Keyword Beef recipes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 1 50

Servings

Calories 413kcal

Author Petra Kupská

Ingredients

4 slices beef round Each piece should be at least 4×8 inches in size, approximately ¼ inch thick, and weigh around 5 ounces (150 grams).
1 piece soft sausage e.g. Frankfurter or Vienna sausage
3 ½ ounces bacon
2 hard-boiled eggs
2 small dill pickles
⅓ cup pickle brine
4 medium onions
5 Tablespoons yellow mustard Czech, Polish or German
2 Tablespoons sunflower oil (or canola)
1 ½ Tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste
4 cups beef broth

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the stuffing: Peel and halve 2 hard-boiled eggs. Cut 1 piece soft sausage into thin strips. Cut 2 small dill pickles in half or quarters lengthwise, depending on how big they are. If the ingredients are too large, simply trim them when filling the beef slices.
Prepare 4 slices beef round: Use a meat mallet to gently tenderize the beef on both sides. The final result should be a slice of meat that is twice as long as it is wide and no thicker than ¼ inch.
Season with salt and ground black pepper on both sides. Slather one side with a layer of mustard. On the top half of each piece of beef, place half of a boiled egg, a piece of bacon, a slice of soft sausage, an onion wedge, and some pickles.
Roll the meat slowly from top to bottom, tucking in the sides as you go. Finally, tie it securely with kitchen twine. Don't hesitate to tighten the string a bit; the meat will shrink during cooking, and you don't want the contents of the roll to fall out.
Sear the meat: Heat 2 Tablespoons sunflower oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and brown the beef rolls on all sides.
Make a gravy: Transfer the browned roll-ups to a plate and set aside. Add the rest of onion and bacon to the pan with the browned bits. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the onions, stirring often, until they are golden, about 5 minutes. If necessary, add 1 Tablespoon of water. Sprinkle in 1 ½ Tablespoons all-purpose flour and stir for an additional 1 minute.
Add the remaining mustard and stir. Pour in ⅓ cup pickle brine and 4 cups beef broth, then stir to combine. Return the meat to the pan, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer gently for 1½ hours or until the meat is fork-tender.
Take the finished roll-ups out, remove the string, and set the meat aside on a plate. Season the gravy with salt and pepper, then blend it briefly with an immersion blender until smooth. Return the beef rolls to the sauce and let them warm through.

Notes

The basic recipe makes 4 portions. For hungry eaters, serve two roll-ups pro person.
SERVING: Serve the rolls warm, topped with the gravy on the plate. The best side dishes are boiled rice or Czech dumplings.
STORAGE: In the fridge: Store completely cooled roll-ups with gravy in a resealable container in the refrigerator, where they will keep for about five days. In the freezer: Beef rolls, including gravy, freeze great. Seal them in an airtight container and store them in the freezer, where they last about three months.
Instead of cooking twine, close the roll-ups with wooden toothpicks.
If you have an oven-safe pot, you can also put the beef rolls to cook in the oven, set at . In this case, cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer for 90 minutes. Cooking in the oven will save you space on the stovetop.

Nutrition