Zrazy date back to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth nobility (szlachta) cuisine of the 16th-18th centuries. The dish was served at manor houses as an elegant but economical way to stretch thin slices of beef.
A fork-tender beef roll, sliced to reveal a colorful spiral of bacon, pickle, and onion. The sauce is deeply savory, enriched by the filling's juices. Each bite is complex — beef, smoke, sour, sweet.
The thin beef slices must be pounded to tenderize before rolling. The filling's moisture (from pickle and bacon) bastes the meat from inside during the long braise. The acid in the pickle helps break down the beef's connective tissue.
Variations
Some fillings add mushrooms or hard-boiled egg; served with buckwheat or mashed potatoes.
On the Palate
Where Zrazy Wołowe sits in the Polish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
6 steps · 1 hour active + 1 hour waiting
- 110 min
Pound beef slices thin; season with salt and pepper.
Watch outPound the slices evenly thin — thick or ragged spots stay chewy after the braise while thin edges shred.
- 215 min
Prepare filling: dice bacon, onion, pickle, and soak bread in milk.
- 310 min
Place filling on each slice; roll up; secure with toothpicks.
- 490 min
Brown in oil; add stock, bay leaf, allspice; braise 1.5 hours.
Watch outGet a real brown crust on the rolls before the stock goes in — that fond is the sauce's whole backbone; pale rolls make a flat gravy.
- 55 min
Remove toothpicks; thicken sauce with flour.
- 61 min
Serve with buckwheat groats or mashed potatoes.
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