Rullepolse - Spiced meat Roll

HSi-ESi

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I wanted to share a family tradition of mine over the Holiday Season. I had this rolled meat when I was little - but by the time I had gotten into my teens, my Grandmother had stopped making it. She passed away in the late 90's - and I didn't get the "family recipe" (if it ever did exist). But every year around the holidays - my Dad and Uncle would always reminisce about the Rullepolse. Trying to recreate the family traditions, I first started making it in 2008, just trying different recipes I could find on the internet. Most of them are the Danish variant, using pork belly. My family always used the rib meat off deer or elk. So I've experimented over the years - and have it pretty close. My Dad says it's exactly as he remembers, but old Norwegians have poor memories.

The correct pronunciation is more like 'ruhl-puls', but my family always pronounced it 'Rolla-Polsa'. Anyway, given the high number of Minnesota / Scandinavian folks on this board - maybe some of you will have some tips and recipes. Here is the current recipe I have in working order. I welcome any suggestions.

When I am butchering (in the field most often) - I look for keeping long, flat pieces together as much as possible. I'll trim them up before freezing - but keep them as big as possible. Here is a chunk off a bull in 2013:



I'll filet the meat so that I can get about a 1/4" consistency. Sometimes you need to pound the meat a bit as well:



I filet'ed 2 other pieces to kind of make a rectangle:



According to the recipes - you usually roll the meat around meat. So I strip some more rib meat off the elk:



When I am ready to start building the roll, I will lay out a piece of cheesecloth and build on top of it. For spices on the meat I use Allspice and Paprika. I stay with generic - but I'm sure you can get fancy with it (toasted spices, etc). I put a dusting / coating of each onto the meat. Then I'll make a paste with Onions, Garlic and Fresh Basil in the food processor:



I'll dust with the spices, spread out the paste on the meat and lay in my strips of meat:



Next comes the rolling. It's good to include the next generation in this process (and write down the recipe so they don't have to figure it out).



After it's rolled, I secure it with kitchen string as well to keep everything together.



This will now go into a brine. I used a simple brine:

10 cups water
1.5 cups salt (non-iodized)
0.25 cups sugar
0.5 teaspoons of Morton's Tender Quick salt

The roll goes into the brine, stored in a cool location for 4-5 days. After the brine, I'll make the cooking liquid in a stock pot. I add enough water to fully cover the roll, then add in 3 teaspoons of allspice, 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper and 3 bay leaves. I then simmer the roll for about 2 hours. I consider it done when I can push a skewer into the meat easily.

Now it's time to press the roll. After I let the roll drain of liquid for a few minutes - I wrap it in saran-wrap. I have a press made out of 2X4's - but couldn't find it this time. So I improvised this one up:



A closer look at the roll:



I'll let it press in a cool place for at least 24 hours. The press is important - I've tried it without doing it. The texture and moisture content isn't the same without it.

After the press is done - time to unwrap:



I'll trim the ends a little bit (the chef's way of tasting anyway):



I usually cut it so I have 4-5 inches of roll "per serving". I've found that my family will eat it all regardless of how much is served at a time. So if we're getting together over multiple days - it's better to package separately at the beginning.



I wrap each little log in tinfoil and place in the fridge. I'll slice them up one at a time over the holidays. Just slice them thin - how thin will depend on the pressing. If it's really firm you can slice thinner than softer rullepolse (at least that has been my experience).

This past weekend I put them on a platter with some pickled plums, Dilly Beans and Brie cheese. I have one more serving saved for Christmas day.
 
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It looks interesting for sure. How would you describe the flavor? What could you compare it to? The fist thing that comes to mind is corned beef but I'm guessing it's not the same. I would definitely give it a try.
 
It looks interesting for sure. How would you describe the flavor? What could you compare it to? The fist thing that comes to mind is corned beef but I'm guessing it's not the same. I would definitely give it a try.

The allspice flavor really comes through. I haven't done deer yet with this recipe, but that will be in the future since I'm almost out of elk rib meat. The last time I did it with deer, I didn't use the Tender Quick - and the cheesecloth made the meat come out very light (almost white). It tasted fine, just looked a bit off.

It's hard for me to describe - maybe dense roast elk with allspice??

I'm looking forward to the 25th when I can polish off the rest of it.

Thanks for all the other comments.
 
A little update on this one. Tweaked the method a little bit this year - I used Sage (instead of Basil) for the "paste". I did keep the salt content the same this year in the brine - but I think I'll cut it back next time. I did leave it in the brine for 4 days longer (12 days total this year).

And moose this year. I'm probably the only one that marks packages with "Rolla":

9AC1wqI.jpg


I also have made a new press. We did some new flooring, so I used some scraps to build a better press. The pressed roll is very dense and has been slicing very well. I also removed the butcher string after cooking prior to pressing. That helped as well.

9TTlb1N.jpg
 
Few Questions, Cause I LOVE rolled Flank steak....

You are pressing out moisture post cooking....Are you capturing it for gravy and soup base at all?

Then you Freeze it post cooking? or before?

Serving it hot or cold?
 
I am pressing after cooking, but I do let it drain before I put it in the press. Some liquid does come out, but I don't reserve it. My current press looks like this:

p4Kj6oh.jpg


When I did do the 2X4 pressing, I wrapped the roll in saran wrap so it wasn't too messy and didn't dry out. With the sealed ends on the new press, I just leave it in the cheese cloth.

It's always been a cold cut (sliced thin) for us. It never makes it to the freezer as I consume it within a week. So I just wrap it in tin-foil and refrigerate.
 
This years version. I'm gonna have to make some more this year - with the distancing I'm putting together a couple of care packages to go out to family - and I only have a small chunk left now.

fAH5bgn.jpg


Differences this year:

I dropped the salt to about 3/4 cup in the brine and used Instacure No 1 (instead of the tenderquick). Also, instead of simmering after the brine I sous-vide it at 145 for 2 hours.

I like the consistency and texture much better. Even though I cut the salt - I'm going to drop it some more. I think sous-vide didn't allow some of the salt to leach out during cooking. They'll be good on crackers, etc - but are a tad salty by themselves.
 
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