Sunday Lunch: Perfect Homemade Svíčková (Czech Beef Sirloin in Creamy Vegetable Sauce)

Step-by-step method

At a glance

This beloved Czech classic takes about five and a half hours from start to finish, but most of that is hands-off roasting time. The trickiest part is larding the beef with frozen bacon strips to keep it juicy and flavorful, then you'll sauté vegetables, build a rich sauce with vinegar and mustard, and roast everything together until the meat is tender enough to slice thin. Homemade dumplings and a smooth, creamy sauce finish off this Sunday showstopper.

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Freeze the bacon strips

Cut the bacon into strips about 1 cm thick, running the full length of the piece. Put the bacon strips in the freezer for two hours — they'll firm up and become much easier to work with.

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150 gram
Pork Fatback
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Lard the meat with bacon

I happened to have bacon the same length as my meat, so I was able to thread it all the way through in one go. If your bacon strips are shorter, insert them from both ends instead. Use a sharp, narrow knife to make a hole through the meat, then push a strip of bacon into it.

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750 gram
Beef Tenderloin
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Tie it up

Tie the meat firmly with kitchen string.

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Roast in a pot

Get out a roasting pan or cast-iron pot you'll use for roasting the svíčková. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the lard in the pan or pot. Season the meat with salt and pepper on all sides, then sear it. Meanwhile, peel the vegetables and dice them finely.

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3 piece
Carrot

2 piece
Parsley root

200 gram
Celeriac

1 piece
Yellow Onion
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Sauté the vegetables

Remove the seared meat from the pan or roasting dish and set it aside. In its place, add the vegetables (but not the onion yet) and sauté until golden brown.
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Add the onion

Keep an eye on the vegetables so they don't catch and burn. Once they look nicely golden, as in the photo, add the onion.
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Sprinkle with sugar

Stir and let the onion turn golden too, watching that nothing in the pan catches. Once everything is a lovely golden color, sprinkle in the sugar and stir for about two minutes.

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20 gram
Granulated Sugar
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Add vinegar and mustard

Add the red wine vinegar and mustard. Let it boil down quickly, then return the meat to the roasting dish and pour in the stock. Add the whole spices (about 7 peppercorns and 7 allspice berries, a pinch of thyme, and a bay leaf if you like).

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15 milliliter
Red wine vinegar

15 gram
Wholegrain Mustard

500 milliliter
Beef Stock (Clear)

7 gram
Black Pepper

7 gram
Allspice

5 gram
Dried Thyme

5 gram
Dried Thyme

3 gram
Bay Leaf
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Roast, then wrap in foil

Cover with a lid and put it in the oven. Roast the meat for about two hours, turning it occasionally. The finished meat should be tender and juicy. Once done, wrap it in foil. Turn off the oven and put the foil-wrapped meat back inside while you finish the sauce.
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Blend the sauce

Remove the whole spices from the sauce. Blend it smooth using a powerful blender or an immersion blender. Stir in the cream. If you like, you can thicken it further with a roux.

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250 milliliter
Whipping Cream 33%
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Tip:

Sometimes there's plenty of vegetables but not much liquid, and the sauce is already thick enough as it is. If you do use a roux to thicken it, let the sauce simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes.
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Serving

Slice the meat thinly and serve with the sauce and homemade dumplings.

Sunday Lunch: Perfect Homemade Svíčková (Czech Beef Sirloin in Creamy Vegetable Sauce)

Name: Classic Homemade Czech Svíčková
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 168 min
Total time: 318 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Czech
Ingredients: 2 piece Parsley root; 1 piece Yellow Onion; 15 gram Wholegrain Mustard; 3 gram Bay Leaf; 10 gram Dried Thyme; 20 gram Granulated Sugar; 7 gram Allspice; 250 milliliter Whipping Cream 33%; 7 gram Black Pepper; 200 gram Celeriac; 15 milliliter Red wine vinegar; 3 piece Carrot; 150 gram Pork Fatback; 750 gram Beef Tenderloin; 500 milliliter Beef Stock (Clear)

bohynekuchyne

Prep 10 min Cook 2 h 48 min

Plus 2 h of resting (not counted in active time)

15 Ingredients

12 Steps

Hard Difficulty

About this recipe

Svíčková is one of those dishes that instantly brings back childhood memories for me. My grandmother made an incredibly good svíčková, and after years of experimenting, I've come back to her tried-and-true recipe. My sauce is beautifully dark, thanks to the carrots and the juices from the meat. The dumplings are homemade, and the meat turns out beautifully tender and juicy.

Gluten-free Beef Poultry Pork Game Meat Main Course Czech Sunday family lunch Comfort food Warming & cozy Hearty & filling

Step-by-step method

At a glance

Freeze the bacon strips

For this step

Lard the meat with bacon

For this step

Tie it up

Roast in a pot

For this step

Sauté the vegetables

Add the onion

Sprinkle with sugar

For this step

Add vinegar and mustard

For this step

Roast, then wrap in foil

Blend the sauce

For this step

Tip:

Serving

Sunday Lunch: Perfect Homemade Svíčková (Czech Beef Sirloin in Creamy Vegetable Sauce)

Ingredients — what you'll need

About this recipe

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