Beef Olives - Simple Scottish Classic

My kids absolutely rave about this meal! So if you've never had the pleasure of Scottish Beef Olives, then you have to make this super simple recipe. It's easy to make and the perfect comfort food for winter and beyond!

I've grown up eating Beef Olives; it's one of those classic family Scottish dishes that my Mum and Gran made on rotation.

So imagine my horror when researching the backstory of Beef Olives for this recipe, and I discovered that Wikipedia quite literally describe it as: "Beef olives are an English meat dish consisting of slices of beef rolled and tied round a stuffing and braised in stock." My Scottish heart broke!

But since it's extremely popular here in Scotland, I'll continue on regardless (I can be quite pig-headed when I want to be). And I've added it to my Scottish recipes category because I know it as a Scottish recipe, and many Scots would claim the same.

Ingredients for Beef Olives

• Sausages: I love using Simon Howie pork link sausages, because the skin is so thin that you don't even need to remove the skin for this recipe.

Opt for any sausage you like the taste of, but you may need to remove the skin from most other sausages. Which isn't difficult, but makes the recipe a little more arduous (annoying), so I highly recommend these sausages.

• Breadcrumbs: I use fine (un-dyed) breadcrumbs, but any breadcrumbs will do - panko, dyed, homemade etc.
• Onions
• Carrots
• Dried Mixed Herbs: if you'd prefer to use fresh herbs here, the a blend of some thyme and rosemary (finely chopped) can be added to the carrots and onions when softening them.
• Beef Ham: also known as topside of beef, when cut very thinly (we need approx. 4mm in thickness - you can pop to any butcher and ask for this) it's known as beef ham. And offers the perfect coating for your beef olive filling. If you want a supermarket-friendly option (rather than having to pop to the butchers, see my ingredient hack below).
• Beef Stock: I use OXO beef stock cubes, as I love the deep, beefy flavour that encompasses the dish. I also have a code (LAUREN15) for 15% off Borough Broth Company, if bone broth is your preference.
• Gravy Granules: I'm a big fan of classic Bisto gravy granules.

You can find more detail on the background of my family's love of Bisto gravy in my Mince and Tatties post.

How To Make Beef Olives Recipe

Finely chop ½ onion and fry in some olive oil with mixed herbs until soft.

Chop carrots and remaining whole onion and start to fry in a separate pan.

In a bowl, add sausage meat (if using Simon Howie pork sausages you wont need to de-case but de-case otherwise) softened (cooked) onions and breadcrumbs - mix together using your hands.

Weigh the mixture, coat hands in oil (this helps to prevent stickiness) and split into 4 balls (approx 100g each).

Using your hands, shape each individual sausage ball into a cylindrical oval shape.

Using a slice of beef ham (or beef bacon), wrap each sausage ball until fully encased.

You may need to stretch the beef ham to ensure it's as tight as it can be, and tuck in the sides at the end.

Remove softened carrot and onion from pan and place on a plate to the side.

In the large pan, fry the beef olives on all sides (seal side down first) until browned. If you're worried about the beef ham separating, then you can insert cocktail sticks into the beef olive for support. These aren't necessary but can provide structure if you're concerned.

Add the vegetables (carrot and onion) back into the pan and pour in beef stock cube dissolved in water.

Simmer for approximately 30-40 minutes, then remove beef olives before stirring through gravy granules. Once stirred through and the gravy has thickened, add the beef olives back in before serving (this prevents the granules sticking to the beef olives). 

Serve with mashed potato and green veg or anything you like and enjoy! 

Storage and Reheating

Beef Olives can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.

They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. 

When reheating, you can either reheat on the hob (stovetop) or in the microwave until piping hot throughout. They reheat really well so are an excellent make-ahead dinner option.

You could also make and shape the beef olives and freeze uncooked, ready to make fresh once defrosted (overnight in the fridge).