Bierocks – Nebraska

Cathy: Bierocks (pron. bee-ROKs) are yeast bread pockets that are filled with ground beef, cabbage, onion, cheese and simple spices. Also called Runzas (after the restaurant chain popular in Nebraska), they’re like hand pies, or meat pockets. This true Nebraska original, via a specific group of immigrants – Germans who emigrated from Russia – allow me visualize a small cozy kitchen, cold outside, Mom baking up a batch with on-hand ingredients, to feed the family, stow a few in the freezer for later. Bierock is derived from the Russian word Pirog, which would be pirogi, the dough filled potato and cheese yummies I remember snacking on in high school in Delaware.

They’re actually fun to make, too. The filling is just sautéed and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, you make the yeast dough, let it rise and roll it out into little squares or triangles. Mound the filling and cheese in the middle and pull up the corners and press closed. Ted and I decided it’d be fun to make little meatball calzones like this, for a party, if we ever have a party again post COVID.

If you don’t want to hassle with homemade yeast dough, you can use those thawed frozen yeast rolls, instead. Either way, we’re going to hand wrestle for the last one for lunch today.

Makes 12 Takes about 2 1/4 hours total, including dough rise

For the Dough

• 1 cup whole milk (or lower fat if you prefer)
• 1 package active dry or quick rise yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/4 kosher or table salt
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 4 – 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the Filling

• 1 Tbs cooking oil of choice
• 1 medium onion, small diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb ground beef (85-90% lean)
• 4 cups shredded green cabbage
• 1 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
• black pepper
• 4 oz. shredded cheese of choice (I used medium cheddar)

1. Make the yeast dough: Warm the milk to about 110 – 115 degrees C. This can be done on the stove or in the microwave. It should take about 45-60 seconds in the microwave. Make sure the milk isn’t too hot or it will kill the yeast. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and stir together.
2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the cooled butter, sugar, and salt with a spoon or a rubber spatula.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding the next one.
4. Stir in the milk/yeast mixture.
5. Stir in 4 cups of flour (or use your stand mixer with a dough hook) until all is hydrated. The dough will be shaggy at this point.
6. Knead – This dough can be kneaded by hand or with your stand mixer. If kneading by hand, lightly flour a work surface and knead the dough for about 6-7 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. The dough will be very sticky to start, but will become less sticky as it is kneaded. If kneading in the stand mixer, knead at medium/high speed for about 5 minutes, stopping about halfway through to scrape the bottom of the bowl. If needed, add more flour while kneading until you have a soft dough.
7. Lightly spray the dough with oil and cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature until double in size. This will take about 30-45 minutes if you used quick rise yeast and 1-2 hours if active dry yeast. A warm spot will speed up the fermentation time.
8. Make the filling: Heat your oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium/high heat. Cook the diced onion and minced garlic for about 3 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent and beginning to take on some color.
9. Add the ground beef to the pot and cook, breaking up the meat with your spoon, until the meat is cooked through.
10. Add the cabbage and 1 tsp salt to the pan. It will look like too much but it will wilt down considerably. Saute until the cabbage completely wilts down, about 3-4 minutes more.
11. Taste the mixture and add black pepper and more salt to taste. Allow the mixture to cool for at least 10 minutes before filling the bierocks. I set it aside for a couple of hours while I did other things.
12. Assemble the Bierocks: Gently press down on the middle of the yeast dough to deflate it, and then turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 12 even pieces.
13. Roll each piece of dough to about 1/8″ thick. Place about 2 Tbs shredded cheese on the dough and then top with about 1/3 cup of filling. It may look like too much filling but the dough will stretch to close. Bring the corners of the dough up to the center and pinch to seal like a little purse. Place the filled bierocks on parchment lined baking sheets. For me, 12 fit fine on a large baking sheet.
14. Cover the prepared bierocks with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise for about 30 minutes. At this point, I put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, until I was ready to bake them. I let them sit out at room temp for about 30-45 minutes before I put them in the oven. I also brushed them with a beaten egg before baking.
15. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes (check at 25 minutes), until the bierocks are golden brown. You can brush the baked bierocks with melted butter. Serve with mustard or a sauce of your choice.

These are easy to freeze either before you bake them or after.

Recipe was inspired by www.bakerbetty.com