Instructions

1. Slice a roast or large piece of meat down the middle lengthwise, cutting about three-fourths of the way through to form a hinge that allows you to open the piece and lay it flat. For single-serving pieces of meat such as a boneless, skinless chicken breast, skip this step.

2. Place the meat between two pieces of plastic cling wrap. Cut the plastic wrap at least twice the size as the piece of meat so the meat has room to spread.

3. Pound the meat flat with a meat mallet to about a 1/2-inch thickness to make it a uniform size and thickness. Flip the meat over repeatedly to pound and tenderize both sides.

4. Cover one side of the flattened meat with your choice of filling ingredients, such as spinach, fennel, sliced peppers, onions, shallots, chopped nuts, apple slices, carrots and cheese. Alternatively, top a piece of flattened chicken breast with sliced peppers and onions, along with spices like chili powder and garlic to make a Mexican-inspired chicken fajita roulade.

5. Roll the meat from one long side to the opposite long side. Roll the meat slowly to keep the filling ingredients from pushing off the meat. When you look at the roll from one end, the meat and filling should form a spiral.

6. Tie the roast with butcher's twine every 1 to 1 1/2 inches along the length of the roulade to keep it rolled tightly, the preferred method for roulades that will be roasted. Chicken breast roulade, on the other hand, is often poached before being seared in a pan. After rolling up a chicken breast roulade, tear off a piece of plastic cling wrap and place the roulade along one edge. Roll the roulade inside the plastic wrap, wrapping the plastic as tightly as possible. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap and secure them with butcher's twine.