Thin pounded beef fillets rolled around a savory filling of fried onion, mushrooms or egg, then browned and braised until tender in a rich gravy. Each rolled parcel is sliced to reveal its spiral of meat and stuffing.
Zrazy entered the Ukrainian table from the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where legend credits a fifteenth-century king with the dish, and it became a festive favorite across the region. In Ukrainian kitchens it settled into two beloved forms — pounded-meat rolls and mashed-potato patties — both wrapped around a hidden savory filling.
Tender beef yields to a warm, savory core of sweet onion and earthy mushroom, all napped in a velvety gravy. Each slice shows a neat spiral, and the sour-cream-enriched sauce gives the whole thing a comforting, homey depth.
Pounding the beef thin tenderizes the fibers and lets each piece roll easily around the filling. Browning then slow braising develops a savory crust while keeping the lean meat moist inside the gravy.
Variations
Beef or pork rolls, mashed-potato zrazy patties, fillings of egg and rice or buckwheat, a mushroom-cream sauce finish
On the Palate
Where Zrazy Ukrainian sits in the Ukrainian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 112 min
Slice beef into thin fillets, place between plastic and pound them flat and even.
Watch outPound to an even quarter-inch — thin enough to roll, but a torn-through spot will leak filling as it braises.
- 210 min
Fry chopped onion and mushrooms until soft, then season and let the filling cool.
- 35 min
Season the pounded beef with salt and pepper and lay a spoonful of filling on each piece.
- 48 min
Roll each fillet around its filling and secure with a toothpick or kitchen string.
- 58 min
Dredge the rolls lightly in flour and brown them on all sides in hot oil.
Watch outBrown all sides in properly hot oil before any liquid goes in — that seared crust is where the gravy's flavour comes from.
- 640 min
Add stock or water to the pan, cover, and braise gently until the beef is tender.
Watch outBraise on the gentlest bubble until a toothpick slides in with no resistance; a hard boil squeezes the lean beef dry.
- 75 min
Stir in a little sour cream or thicken the pan juices into a gravy.
- 83 min
Remove the picks, slice if desired, and serve hot under the gravy.
