Rouladen (Little Mice)

I was born in Germany.  My Family lived there for a couple years but left when I was only a few months old.  Obviously I have no memories of Germany but since I was born there everything German has always been cool to me.  Knowing that it should come as no surprise that one of my favorite dishes growing up was Little Mice.  The name might not be the most appetizing but the food certainly was.  Fork tender beef wrapped around bacon (Yum!) and onion.  It took me a while to recreate this dish in my own home because well, my Mom's recipe was a little lacking.  Here it is

1 1/2-2 lb round roast sliced very thin-arranged flat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika. Spread w/ small amount prepared mustard. Place thin sliced bacon and slice on onion on meat. Roll and secure with toothpick or string.

Brown in a little oil. Cover with water and 1/2 can tomato paste. Simmer slowly until tender. Add sour cream 1/2 hour before serving.

Measurements aren't very exact so I looked around for other recipes for rouladen.  There are a lot of variations out there and some of them shocked me with the inclusion of dill pickle!  It sounded so weird to have pickles in there but the idea intrigued me too.  So when I finally made rouladen myself I added the pickle.  It was even better than I remembered.

I think with recipes rules are made to be broken so I have also tried the recipe with a more gravy like sauce and it was fantastic.  I like it both ways  Try it yourself and see which way you like it best.

I tried my best to get a more accurate recipe but a lot of it has to be eyeballed.  If you think you need more of less of something, go for it.  Save yourself a lot of trouble and ask your butcher to slice the meat for you.  Grocery store butchers do this free of charge.  I ask for about baloney thickness. 

1 1/2 -2 lbs round roast sliced thin. 
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
mustard
one yellow onion sliced into thin wedges (and broken apart if large)
1/2 lb bacon sliced into thirds
dill pickle sliced about 3 inches long and only a half a centimeter wide.
Beef broth or bouillon
about two tablespoons flour mixed in a half cup of water.


Take one slice of meat and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Add a small squirt of mustard (about a half teaspoon) and spread it around.  Place one small slice bacon, a sliver of dill pickle,  and a few slices of onion.  Roll it up and secure with a toothpick.  Repeat with the rest of your meat.  Brown in a little oil and then barely cover the meat in water and a little bouillon or beef broth.  Simmer for about an hour.  Remove meat and add a slurry of water and flour to thicken broth into a gravy to serve over your rouladen and mashed potatoes.