How to Cook Beef Olives

Thinly sliced beef, cleverly stuffed with a filling of your choice, rolled up in a blanket and cooked to perfection. Beef olives, have been a frequent guest on the dinner table for centuries.

A traditional British dish that has found its way to millions of kitchens throughout the world. Enjoyed by everyone, this flavourful recipe offers a delightful savoury taste, promising to satisfy your beef olive cravings.

Here are a few tips and tricks to have the best beef olives on your dinner menu.

History of Beef Olives Recipe

The beef olive recipe has been around for ages, first making an appearance in the early 16th century. With a variation of stuffing’s and cooking methods, this underrated dish has the potential to make a lasting impression.

Although it has no relation to the olive fruit, as there is none in the recipe, it is however quite similar in shape and content. The olive appears with a protective skin layer over a soft meaty textured fruit, just as the beef olives have the protective beef layer encasing a delicious stuffing.

They are both encasing juicy tender fillings, one belonging, and the other with a borrowed partner, however, their distinct olive shapes are evident. How you perceive this delicious dish is up to you, but what I can assure you of is that beef olives are as scrumptious as they look.

My First Encounter with Beef Olives

The very first time that I had the opportunity to taste this beautiful dish was at a friend’s house. Her mum had prepared the dish, and on first hearing the beef olive name, I expected there to be olives in every bite.

To my surprise, the dish had no olives at all. I didn’t question them as the meal was so satisfying that I enjoyed and savoured every mouthful. I vowed to find out more about this mysterious recipe, so inquisitive little me started the hunt. What I found out is that this classic dish is actually available to buy at my local butcher, so from then on beef olives became a weekly accompaniment on my table.

How do you Cook Tesco Beef Olives?

Tesco beef olives are a ready-made recipe that requires just a few simple instructions to cook it to perfection. There are a variety of ways to cook these neatly wrapped babies, but here are a few tips and tricks to help you get perfectly cooked Tesco beef olives.

Oven Roasted Tesco Beef Olives:

Grease a medium size oven tray with vegetable oil.
Preheat oven to 360 F / 180 C
Place Tesco beef olives in a single layer in your oven tray ensuring to leave even spacing between them.
Roast Tesco beef olive for 60 minutes making sure to turn them on the 30 minute mark.
Remove from oven tray and let it rest before serving.
This will ensure for an all-round evenly cooked beef olive.

How do you Cook Simon Howie Beef Olives?

The beautifully wrapped Simon Howie beef olives also have a variety of ways to prepare them. Whether stewed, fried or grilled, they always promise to satisfy your cravings. Here are a few tips to help you get that perfectly cooked Simon Howie beef olives to impress your guests.

Heat up a non-stick frying pan or skillet on medium.
Add vegetable oil to the hot pan.
Carefully place beef olives in the hot pan ensuring not to crowd them.
Fry Simon Howie beef olives until it is beautifully browned on all sides.
Remove from pan and let it rest before serving.
This method will ensure an evenly browned, crispy beef olive.

Why are Beef Olives Named as Such?

There are many different explanations as to how beef olives got their name, and whether it’s a fact or myth is up to the believer. The story that seems to make the most sense to me is that the beef olive name derived from the shape of the assembled beef olive.

When looking at the fully assembled beef olive, the resemblance to the olive fruit shape is evident. Thinly sliced beef, securely wrapped, encasing a juicy stuffing like a protective layer over a treasure. These olive shaped meat parcels are a carnivore’s version of the olive fruit.

How long do Beef Olives Keep in the Fridge?

Beef olives can be safely stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, cooked or uncooked, however, caution needs to be taken when storing your beef olives in the fridge. Making sure that your beef olives are packed in an airtight container will ensure that it stays fresh for up to 3 days. Alternatively beef olives can be frozen in an airtight freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

Varieties of Beef Olive Recipes

There are countless varieties of the beef olive recipe, with additions and subtractions to the flavours and tastes in the stuffing and overall preparation.

Here are a few beef olive recipes that stand out.

Beef olive stew
Beef olive parmesan
Beef olive bacon casserole
Beef olives with lamb
Beef olives in red wine

How to Cook Beef Olives?

Tips to Get Perfectly Cooked Beef Olives

There are many methods to cook beef olives but here are a few tricks that I have used to ensure a perfectly cooked beef olive dish.

Slow cook for extra tenderness.
Medium fry for extra crispiness.

Use a skillet or non-stick pan for stove top cooking.
Evenly grease your baking tray when grilling.
Slow cook your beef olives when stewing.

Tools Needed To Prepare your Beef Olives

Stovetop and oven cooking:
A Skillet, non-stick frying pan or baking tray.
A Sharp knife.
A Dish or bowl.
A Toothpick or string.
Cooking Tongs.
A Serving dish.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Preheat oven at 360 F / 180 C

4 Thinly sliced beef steaks
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
200g beef sausage meat
2 sprigs sage
2 cloves garlic
1 large onion
1 cup water or wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Assembling the beef olives

In a bowl or dish add sausage meat and chopped sage, and mix together. That will serve as the beef olive stuffing. Carefully lay out your thinly sliced beef steak and add 2 tablespoons of sausage filling. Evenly press out the filling on to the steak. Roll the steak tightly ensuring that the filling does not spill. Secure the ends and middle of the roll with string or a toothpick.

Cooking Method:

Heat a heavy bottomed saucepan on medium heat. Add vegetable oil, onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Carefully add the prepared beef olives, setting them in a single layer on top of the cooked onion. Remove pan from stove, add salt and pepper, water or wine, and transfer pan to the oven. Cook for a further 55 minutes in the oven.

Storage Tips:

You can safely store your beef olives in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure to use an airtight fridge and freezer safe container to ensure maximum freshness.