Beef roulades – or Rinderrouladen, as they’re called south of the border – are one of the dishes that turn a perfectly ordinary Sunday into a celebration. Thin slices of beef are spread with sharp mustard, filled with bacon, onion and pickles, rolled up tightly and tied with kitchen string. Traditionally they simmer away in a pot for an hour and a half or longer.
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In the airfryer, it works differently. The roulades are browned first at high heat, so the surface gets color and the roasted flavor kicks in, and then they finish braising in a dish with sauce at a lower temperature. The whole dish takes 70 minutes from the first slice of meat to serving, and you still get the tender, fibrous meat and the mustard-sharp sauce that beef roulades are known for.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Table of Contents:
Why I love beef roulades in the airfryer
What the airfryer does best is the surface. The hot air circulates all the way around the roulades, so they turn golden on all sides without you having to stand over a pan dodging grease spatter. And because the basket is smaller than an oven, the heat builds up fast, so browning kicks in almost immediately.
After that, braising takes over. The roulades move into a dish with sauce, the temperature drops, and the circulating heat keeps working around the dish. It’s the same process as in a pot, just in a smaller, better-enclosed space – which is why 40 minutes of cooking is enough.
The difference between airfryer and pot
In a pot on the stove, the heat only comes from below, so the roulades need turning several times and more time before the connective tissue lets go. The airfryer heats the whole dish at once, which makes the cooking more even. On the other hand, you need to keep an eye on the liquid: the dish is smaller than a pot, and the sauce reduces faster. If it starts getting too thick, top it up with a little stock as you go.
My kitchen test of beef roulades
I made beef roulades in my Philips XXL, because the roulades need to sit in a braising dish with sauce, and there has to be room for it. The method that ended up working best: 190 °C at the start, until the roulades have color all the way around, then 160 °C while they finish braising. The cooking itself takes 40 minutes, prep around 25, and the last 5 minutes are resting time under foil – 70 minutes in total. At a core temperature of 85 °C, the connective tissue has broken down, and the meat can be pulled apart with a fork. That’s exactly the point where beef roulades go from tough to tender.
Tie the roulades tighter than you think you need to. The meat contracts during browning, and a loosely tied roulade unravels in the dish and loses its filling into the sauce.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The common mistakes and how to avoid them
The first mistake is meat slices that are too thick. Roulade meat needs to be pounded thin and even between two sheets of plastic wrap, otherwise the slice won’t roll up tightly, and the result will be tough no matter how long it braises. The second is too much filling. It’s tempting to be generous with bacon and pickle, but an overstuffed roulade won’t close properly, and the filling ends up in the sauce instead of inside the meat – a thin layer of mustard and one layer of each ingredient is plenty. The third mistake is skipping the browning and going straight to braising at low heat. Then the surface stays pale, and the sauce loses the depth that makes the dish special. The first few minutes at 190 °C are the whole foundation of the flavor.
How to serve beef roulades
Beef roulades are a saucy dish, and the sides need to be able to stand up to it. The classic pairing looks like this:
- Boiled potatoes or a fluffy mashed potato
- Tangy red cabbage or braised red cabbage
- Glazed carrots and parsnips
- Extra pickles cut into sticks
- A piece of rustic bread to mop up the dish with
Storage and reheating
Beef roulades are one of those dishes that get better the next day. Store them in the sauce in an airtight container in the fridge – if they sit dry, they lose their juiciness. Reheat slowly and covered, so the meat doesn’t tighten up again, and a couple of tablespoons of stock in the dish keeps the sauce smooth. The dish also freezes well, and here the sauce saves the day again: freeze the roulades covered in sauce, so they don’t dry out.
Beef roulades aren’t the quickest weekday dish, but that’s not the point. This is Sunday food, where the preparation is part of the pleasure – and the airfryer cuts down the long pot time without compromising on either color or tenderness.
FAQ
Use thin slices of topside or silverside – at the butcher it’s often called roulade meat. The slices need to be pounded thin and even so they can be rolled tightly without tearing.
Yes. The pickle adds acidity and crunch, but strips of bell pepper or carrot work just as well. Keep the mustard – it’s what carries the flavor in the filling.
Plan on 70 minutes in total: 25 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking and 5 minutes resting. The meat is done at a core temperature of 85 °C.
Recipe
Beef roulades in the air fryer
Cooking Guide
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Cost of the dish
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Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
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Airfryer size
All our recipes are tested in a Philips Airfryer 2000 Series NA230/00 – 6.2 L
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Kødhammer - Or the bottom of a heavy pot
- 1 Kødsnor - Or a metal skewer
- 1 Brush
- 1 Ovenfast form - Must fit in the air fryer basket
- 1 Aluminum foil
- 2 Pot - For the potatoes and gravy
- 1 Meat thermometer
Shopping list
Ingredients
Beef roulades
Brown gravy
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp plain flour (For the roux)
- 3 dl beef stock
- 1 tbsp brine from the pickled gherkins
- 1 tsp gravy browning (For colour, if you like)
Sides
- 800 g potatoes (Peeled)
How to make it
Preparation
- Cut 2 pcs onions into thin wedges and 4 pcs pickled gherkins into strips lengthways. Set aside in two small bowls.
- Place 4 thin slices of beef between two sheets of baking paper and pound flat to about 5 mm with a meat mallet. The thinner the meat, the more tender the roulades will be.
- Distribute 8 slice bacon and the onion and gherkin strips over the slices. Leave a 2 cm border on each side so the filling doesn’t get pushed out while rolling.
- Roll the meat up tightly from the narrow end, and secure each roll with kitchen string or a metal skewer. Never use wooden skewers in the air fryer.
- Brush the rolls all over with 1 tbsp rapeseed oil.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 190 °C.
- Place the rolls in the basket with space between them, and sear for 8 minutes at 190 °C. Turn them after 4 minutes so they turn golden all over.
- Transfer the rolls to a small ovenproof dish that fits in the basket, and pour in 3 dl beef stock and 1 tbsp brine from the pickled gherkins.
- Cover the dish tightly with aluminium foil, so the steam stays inside and keeps the meat juicy.
- Put the dish back in the air fryer, and let the rolls simmer for 30 minutes at 160 °C, until tender and the core temperature is about 85 °C. The roulades need to be braised through, not served pink.
Gravy and serving
- Meanwhile, boil 800 g potatoes until tender in lightly salted water, about 20 minutes depending on size.
- Melt 1 tbsp butter in a saucepan, and stir in 1 tbsp plain flour to make a smooth roux.
- Let the rolls rest for 5 minutes, remove the kitchen string or skewers, and serve with boiled potatoes and the brown gravy.
Our notes for the recipe
Pound the meat completely flat and roll it up tightly — a loose roll falls apart during frying, and the filling burns in the basket. Braising under foil is what makes beef roulades tender; skip it and the meat stays tough no matter how long you cook it. Variation:
Use coarse mustard instead of dijon for more bite, or tuck in a slice of pointed cabbage along with the bacon. A tablespoon of whipping cream stirred into the gravy at the end makes it rounder in flavour. Serving:
Classic with boiled potatoes and brown gravy. Red cabbage, pickles or a dollop of redcurrant jelly go well with the tangy gherkin flavour. Portion size:
If your air fryer is smaller, you can sear the rolls in two batches and gather them in the dish before braising.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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