What are beef olives and how do you cook them?

If you’ve not heard of beef olives, you’re missing out. Think of them as an extravagant sausage that, instead of sausage skin, uses delicious beef steaks. Perfect for a special meal that’s sure to impress.

In our comprehensive butcher’s guide, we’ll share more on what beef olives are, how to make them and how to cook them. Give them a try to experience a completely new, extravagant dish.

What are beef olives?

Dating back to the 1600s, beef olives are a Scottish dish which combines sausage meat or stuffing with beef and occasionally veal. Beef olives were a somewhat outdated dish but have recently surged in popularity thanks to the delicious flavour combination.

There are no actual olives in beef olives. Rather, the name is speculated to come from their appearance or possibly from a corruption of the French word alouette, meaning lark. A bird that was often stuffed back in the Middle Ages.

Beef olives are typically served with gravy and veg, siilar to roast beef on a Sunday dinner.

How to make beef olives

For ease, you can buy pre-made beef olives or, alternatively, make them yourself. All you need is several thin slices of topside beef, sausage meat, onion, breadcrumbs and seasoning.

Start by slicing your topside into very thin slices – around 1 or 2 per person. Then, place between baking paper or clingfilm and flatten them with a rolling pin.

In a large bowl, mix your onion, breadcrumbs and sausage meat and split into portions. Put your filling in the centre of the beef and tightly wrap it.

You can tie with a cooking string, use toothpicks or for a little more decadence, wrap with a rasher of bacon. Just make sure you remove the string or toothpicks before digging in.

How do you cook beef olives?

Preheat your oven to 175°C. Take the beef olives out of the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes before cooking.

Heat oil in a frying pan and sear the olives for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until brown.

Add to a roasting tin and cook for 90 minutes to 2 hours until the beef is tender.

If you’re making a gravy, save the juices from the roasting tin as they’re packed with flavour.

Fancy making some beef olives? You can get delicious sausage meat and beef steaks with Campbells Meat with free delivery on orders over £40.