Zrazy (beef rollups) recipe has been a favourite in my family since I was a child. My mother’s specialty, which I took over when I started having a family of my own. Although this delicious meat dish has been enjoyed in Poland for centuries, I was quite suprised, when I first cooked it for some of my Polish friends living in Australia, that they did not know what it was and have never tasted anything like it before. Zraz is basically a very lean and thinly cut piece of beef, that is filled with something inside, rolled up and fried. Usually one to two zrazy per person is plenty as they can be very filling. This is my special recipe. When you cook the zrazy you will also create a fantastic tasting sauce/gravy to go with them. Enjoy.
Ingredients
10 thin slices of beef ( ask the butcher for Weiner Schnitzels)
4 Sweet & Sour or Dill Pickles (cut into small cubes)
1/2 Polish sausage or 150 g smoked bacon (cut into small cubes)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
2 Tbsp dried marjoran
3-4 Tbsp flour
S & P to taste
3 Tbsp oil for frying
Method
- Pound the slices of beef covered with some plastic wrap to avoid splatter, until double in size, making sure not to break up the meat. Put aside.
- Combine onion, pickles, sausage or bacon and marjoran in a bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix all ingredients together well.
- On a chopping board, spread the thined out piece of beef in front of you. Season with some salt and pepper. Place about 2 Tbsp of the mixture onto the meat about 2 cm from edge. Roll the edge over the mixture away from you then fold the sides in and continue rolling forward until the end. Continue with remaining beef pieces.
- Heat oil in a pot or very deep frypan, to medium high. Place as many zrazy into the pan as will fit to cover the bottom, with the rolled up end down. This will sear the meat and secure the zraz from falling apart.
- Brown the zrazy well on all sides. Once some are browned remove from the pan and place more to brown up. Continue until all zrazy are well browned. Note: As you brown the zrazy make sure that they are very close together. When browning, the juices that are released will create a liquid that will foam up, this will be the base of the gravy.
- Once all zrazy are browned, place them all back into the pan and pour enough water over to cover. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour, until meat is cooked. More water might need to be added, making sure that the meat is well covered while cooking.
- When the meat is tender, taste the liquid and add more salt and pepper to taste if required. Remove the zrazy and strain the liquid into a bowl or jug. Place the strained liquid back into the pot. In a small cup, mix flour with a little water to make a thin paste. Add the flour mixture to the liquid and simmer stirring, until mixture thickenes. If the sauce is too thin for your liking, then simply mix a little bit more flour with some cold water and add a little bit at a time, until you achieve a consistency to your liking. Place zrazy back into the sauce to heat.
- Serve with some boiled potatoes and beetroot or polish mizeria which is a salad made with grated cucumbers, vinegar and cream.
